Bio Identical

   Hello to all of you fellow bloggers and even though I am having trouble banging out these words to form one day of blogging, I do read all of yours and appreciate that you do write. I am in a bit of a slump and have been for a couple of weeks now. Some things are changing for me internally and that affects my external life too. God is trying to get my attention in a big way. There are some internal happenings that I need to step back and look at. What is it? After wondering, if it is as simple as a growth spurt, or lack of sleep, or diet, or whatever I can conjure up, I truly believe it may be hormonal now. All the signs are there, after speaking with a couple of my sister friends. The confusion, the memory loss, the sleep depravation, the lack of concentration, the crazy thoughts and the mild depression all point to signs of hormonal difficulty. So, my next step is to look into that and see what my options are. There is a new treatment out there that is apparently being pushed on Oprah called Bio Identical Hormone. I will be looking into that. Everyone you talk to has an opinion about this and one about that. Try eating soy products! Take black Kohosh! Take only natural supplements….eat less….drink more water…on and on!  It can get confusing. My doctor will help sort that all out and I will find what is best for me. That is one of the reasons it has been a little hard to blog lately. My motivation is down some. I am starting to bounce back though and this is a good discipline for me! I have always believed that routine in ones life is a good thing. It is a comfort. This blog has become one of those daily familiarities that I really have come to enjoy so I will not give it up even if I do not have much to say!

   Today is Saturday and a day of cleaning and cooking and laundry and then just kicking back maybe with a movie later on. I am cooking a spiral ham! This is my absolute favorite meat! Next would be turkey I guess. We usually only have it on holidays, but they have a sale on them right now and I could not resist! The smell of that wafting through the house will be wonderful while I am doing chores. No pictures yet of the big snow banks outside my house. I still plan on getting out there….maybe after my slump.:( Thanks for all you faithful bloggers for writing and Alice Mary for starting her new blog!! I love it!! Now we just need to hear from her when she is ready. Take your time Alice….it will be a treat when it happens. I thought I would drop in a photo of a blanket sunflower from my garden this last year….see you tomorrow everyone.:)

 

The Calm After The Storm

I guess it is getting harder to predict the storms up here in Maine. The prediction of some news stations was up to 2 feet and we ended up with one. Still that is a lot of snow!! I was not able to get photos of the huge embankments in our yard made by our plow man today but will try in the morning light. It is an awesome sight. It always reminds me that there will be lots of melting in the spring and water everywhere in the yard. Would you believe our plow man was here again as we were getting home this afternoon….that was his fourth trip here. He came to clean up and smooth out the edges. What a guy! He is friendly and courteous and does a fine job. You can’t ask for anything more can you? It is getting harder to see traffic on our road when you leave the driveway because of the size of these enormous snow banks! No more playing king of the hill for Obie! The hills are just to big to climb!

I see signs of my good friend and mother in law Alice’s new blog. This is so exciting!! From what I can see, she has chosen a beautiful background and picture and a catchy name too. I can’t wait to be one of the first to leave a comment! My cousin says she tried to sign up to create one and couldn’t for one reason or the other. It can be a bit complicated without the help of someone who knows computers. So, when we go to the island to see her soon, we will try and help her with that. She and her friend who lives there with her are two wonderfully talented people. My cousin is the artist in many ways. She writes really good poetry and music and she paints scenes, inside mussel shells. and she does murals and creates character figures from polymer clay, to name just a few. Her friend has a multitude of talents as well. I don’t think I have ever met a better interior decorator! They also dabble in homemade crafts and they are extremely adept at computers and can figure just about anything out if given enough time. That is more than I can say for myself and I have a husband that does that! So….maybe in the future I will share some of their wears if they will allow me.

I guess that is it for today. Hey I thought I would drop in a picture of Obie when he was a pup. The photo was taken at my cousins house. She had the mother and father of Obie. Obie is the only black and white and tan Jack Russell in the picture. The dog to the left with the dot on his head is Obie’s brother Ziggy. My brother has him in Nashville, Tennessee.  So….brother and sister have brother and brother dogs! Ok….that’s it for today from Blueberry Plains….Cheerio for now.:)

So You Want Some Snow?

I have been a little busy so I have had to ignore the guilt I am feeling for not writing in my blog! As hard as it is to believe, we are getting hit with a HUGE winter storm. They are claiming that we are getting between one and two feet of snow and some of that may turn into freezing rain. Our noon time local news report turned into an hour today. They had an extra half hour of news specifically dedicated to the storm. That should tell you something! That only happens when we have a severe ice storm and we had a terrible one in 1998. We have videos of that devastating storm, taken by all of our local tv channels at the time. Guess who is on one of those videos?….yup….my husband. We were getting water at the local town office to use to boil for cooking and flushing the toilet and washing dishes when the news crews caught him to ask questions. We were without power for some time back then. Hope we don’t lose it with this storm. Two feet is a lot of snow!

Our plow guy has already done a sweep and it is only 3:30 p.m. He may have to come 2 more times. He’s a great guy….a Plummer by trade, but makes a little extra cash with his plowing jobs. He does not charge us for the extra times he comes and that is awesome! I will get some photos tomorrow of the big storm to share with you all.

I started cooking on my new stove once I figured out how to run it. Bobby and I had the day off due to the storm….no school today…yeeeehaa! So…I ventured out to the store, early, to get supplies. Us Mainers do that you know when there is a good storm brewing.:) I came back and made a big brunch for both of us. We had blueberry pancakes and home fried potatoes, and green pepper, onion cheese omelets, and turkey bacon. It was delish!! Everything cooked more evenly and much faster on my new stove. I love it! All this time I thought it was my cooking! Ha! I just finished baking mini meatloaves, and we will have that with garlic spaghetti and a big salad, later this evening. The meatloaves cooked very quickly and evenly. Why did I wait 25 years for a new stove?:(

Bobby is busy on computers, baby is catnapping, and Obie is gnawing on a big rawhide I got for him this morning at the store. He has been working on that for hours. It keeps him busy. Me?….cooking….dishes….cooking….dishes….that’s my day so far! Now I will relax with some sewing on my crazy quilt pillow I am making. I will share some photos with you when it starts to look respectable.:)

I was looking at some Maine photographs and came across this cool site of Maine photos….I will drop it here and hope it comes through…..Cheerio!….See you tomorrow after the storm.

http://www.kennebunkport-me.com/Maine-May08/index.htm

Baby & Obie

I did not get a chance to blog yesterday as we took a nice trip up to the farm to visit with Woody and Alice. We had a great time and I got some wonderful pictures of Alice’s wall mural. I am going to have Bobby help me put them in a slide show to share with you all soon. Her wall is not completed yet. It is a work in progress and takes a lot of time to do as you will see. She is working in many mediums. So stay tuned to see that on an upcoming blog. You won’t want to miss it as it is fabulous and one of a kind. I would also like to share some of my cousins work too. She is an artist that lives on an island here in Maine. She paints the insides of mussel shells with beautiful scenes and she does many other artistic things. I will ask her permission first. She did manage to leave a comment on my Mahna Mahna blog entry yesterday!! She has been trying and got a bit confused about it. It can be a bit intimidating at first…all of this blogging stuff! This morning I am heading out early to meet a friend by 9:00 and it is vey cold out there. My thermometer reads 20 below!! I will have to start the Jeep and warm it up soon.

I wanted to share some photos of my two pets Baby and Obie and what they were up to yesterday morning. Obie was outside playing king of the hill on the snow banks while Baby was inside waiting for Obie to come back in. She was in a frisky mood and had wrapped herself around the bottom of a chair waiting to pounce on him! They are good friends. She cleans his ears every morning like he was her baby! They sleep together in front of our monitor heater in the morning too….too cute. Ok….see you all tomorrow……we had fun at “The Good Old Beans”……yesterday!!:)

One of her eyes turned green from the camera flash! Kind of cool.

We Did It!

Well, our friend David got busy and it started getting dark, so Bobby and I had to finish the job of getting that annoying new hood/fan into the wall. There were two rectangular shaped tin pieces that needed to fit into each other perfectly. The problem was, needing a “man” outside and one inside. So, I became the “man” inside and Bobby outside and we got it done! When Bobby heard that tin pop in finally, I could hear him giggle through the fan.:) Next was hooking up the stove and then we were done with no time to spare. We had to leave the house at about 6:00 to be somewhere and that is when we finished! So, maybe tonight I will try cooking on my new stove I have waited so many years for. Last night we ordered Chinese and it was fantastic! We almost always get the same thing. Bobby gets beef lo mien with no water chestnuts and extra garlic and I get pork fried rice with extra onion, garlic, and pea pods. They know our order by heart now at the restaurant but every once in a while a new employee will stumble over our order. “You want what?….peapods in your rice?” It is always fresh and good. Two brothers own the restaurant and they both cook. Their names are Bing and Sing….really….you can’t make this stuff up! Bing is the better cook (we think)…..sorry Sing! Actually, they are both good but Bing adds a little sumpin sumpin to it that Sing doesn’t…not sure what?….but it’s good. Ok…..here are some photos of the old stove and the new as promised….hopefully they will come through. When we removed the hood/fan, I caught a bit of a sunset through the opening….cool! See you all tomorrow….and a special hello to my cousin who lives on an island here in Maine who has been reading my blog! Will talk to you later my friend.

Out with the old and in with the new….yahoo!!:) I left out the pictures of how nasty the old one looked and how dirty it was behind that stove!! All clean now!

It Arrived!!

My new radiant range arrived today! It’s a beauty. My husband is currently on the floor at the back of it hooking up the clamp and power cord, they call it a range pigtail. I just got back from the hardware store picking up a new pigtail and two different sized clamps. One of them worked, so the new pigtail will go back to the hardware store. That will save us 15.00. The crew of two men arrived here around 11:30 with the stove in the back of a truck. I was hold up in the living room with Obie, (my dog) as he would have driven them crazy, trying to kiss their ears and jumping up and down! My husband was quite surprised to see the stove without a box. When asked if it was from the factory or a floor model, they assured him it was from the factory. He noticed two or three small nicks on the stove and asked what they could do about that? We paid a lot of money for it and we figure it should be like brand new….right out of the box….but no box?! A call was placed to the company and our warranty was extended from 1 year to 5 years for free!! My  husband saved us 150.00 to 200.00 because of his observant and persistent nature! He gets that from Woody! So….hopefully by this evening, the stove will be installed and the overhead hood as well. To put the hood in, we need another man outside looking in, standing on top of our bulkhead. We are waiting for our friend David to show up to help. He is a busy guy so it will be a while! Meanwhile, I am trying to rest my shoulder and it is still sore but better. I am being very careful. Bobby (my husband) has been very busy doing double time without much help from me. :(

It is good to hear some people clean behind their stoves!! Good for you. I think I will from now on! It is very clean there now! I don’t have to make it perfect, as we are getting a new floor within the next few months. I will show pictures of it all maybe later if I can. Very cloudy here today and cold….kind of a dreary afternoon…but we are warm and cozy in our nice little  home. I couldn’t ask for more. Have a great day all of you bloggers!! See you back tomorrow….Have fun!

Injuriously Late….

I am late to my new blog today because of many reasons. Everything I do today is taking me longer to do. I am running on a slower pace. I am moving more deliberately. I am contemplating every action before I take it. Why?….because I injured my shoulder yesterday. I was unloading bags of goods from the local grocery store cart to my car when I was all of a sudden in excruciating pain. It took my breath away and brought me to tears. My dear husband, noticing my distress, came quickly out of our Jeep to help me! A day later and a few rounds of ice packs and Tylenol, I am on the mend. So, today was slow going. It took me twice as long to do normal things, because I did not want to feel the pain I felt yesterday again! Pain is a great attention getter!

We have an electric stove that is 25 years old. We have been meaning to replace it for a while now, but just have not gotten to it. To further us in that cause, two burners died. So, it was inevitable and we got our monies worth after 25 years! Two days ago we went bargain hunting to Lowe’s and to Home Depot. We were in search of a radiant range and an overhead hood/fan and a set of new kitchen faucets (another thing that is 25 years old and leaking) and a craft table for my new room upstairs. Note: When children grow up and move away, you get a room of your own! Bonus!! My husband has my daughters room, (now turned into a computer repair room) and I have my son’s room, (a craft/catchall/spare bedroom…?? room)…..and we are quite happy about that! We got the overhead fan/hood, and the 6 foot craft table, and some lovely faucets and we bought a beautiful 5 burner GE radiant range with lots of extras. It has a self cleaning oven (doesn’t every woman need that?!)….a hidden bake element….I had no idea what that was and it is so cool! For anyone who doesn’t know….the element that heats the oven at the bottom of the oven, is not there!! That’s right….it disappeared! All you see is the metal base of the stove! The heat is under that! I love it! It also has a kind of 6th burner called a simmer burner. It has a high and a low on that burner but never gets beyond a simmer….weird huh? Why the high and low? Anyway….we spent a good part of the day taking out the old….very nasty stove and hood, cleaning….(do most of you regularly pull out your stove and clean behind it??…..well if you are like me (I don’t!)…..it’s a jungle behind there! There were  two french fries that were possibly 25 years old that fell out and of course my dog Obie ate them before you could even think about grabbing them! He seems to be alright! We’ll keep an eye on him!:) So…that was our day….out with the really old and in with the really new. The stove is being delivered from Lowe’s early in the morning. I can’t wait to hook it up and cook my first meal in it. It even has a clock! Mine hasn’t worked in at least 10 years!:) I’ll let you know how it goes…..we took pictures of it all.

History In The Making…..

Yesterday was an historical day for all of us in the United States of America. The swearing in of a new president….Barack Obama. Our first African American president brings the hope of a new day to our part of the world for many. The promise is of hope and change and I pray that it happens. I included our new president in my morning prayers today. He has a lot of hard work and thoughtful decisions ahead of him and I think he could use all of our prayers. What a wonderful sight to see, watching the inauguration on television last night. A scene of people of all colors and creeds coming together and uniting for a better country. You could not help but be overwhelmed by it all.

I felt bad for the Obama couple having 10 inaugural balls to attend after a very long day already! They did it quickly and with style. You could tell they were exhausted and our president had to get to work early this morning!

It makes me think that the old saying “all things are possible in the United States”….may just be true. We’ll see what the future will bring through our new president. I am not a Bush “hater” like a lot of people. I truly believe that he put policies in motion to keep us safe after 911 and for that I am grateful and I wish him the best. I am going to attempt to drop in a panoramic view of the State Capitol’s stage below. We’ll see if it works. Oh…before I forget, my wonderfully brilliant husband, the Computer Mechanic, designed a personal header at the top of my blog for me!! It is a field of blueberries!! Isn’t it great?? Another job well done by the computer mechanic! Aren’t I lucky to have my own computer mechanic??+:) Ha Ha…

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/capitol-panorama.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Alice Mary…..

Today’s blog is a tribute to my wonderful mother in law Alice Mary. I have been hoping that she would start her own blog because she is such an exceptional writer and and all around creative lady. I think she will, when she is ready. Two years ago, at Christmas time, she did an oil painting just for me, called Debbie’s Ladies. It was a take on Tom Barnes’s long neck ladies paintings that are fabulous! To see the Tom Barnes original, you need to go to Art.com and type in Tom Barnes and the painting is called The Harlequins Again. I have been quite a procrastinator when it comes to framing this great painting. I have a frame for it but it needs a matting for the inside which I plan on doing soon!  I was so honored and surprised that she had done this for me….especially since she had not painted in many years. I just love the painting!! Here are some photos of it….

The way it is framed is temporary but I just wanted to share how talented she is. She has also done a wall mural in her home that is unbelievable! She is a woman of many talents….she has been crocheting for years…is a genealogist and has done the entire family on both sides as far back as she could go….files and files of information with added photos and history in scrapbook style….for generations to cherish in years to come. She is a deep thinker which makes her a superb writer and of course an artist in many ways, besides her oil paintings, which she has done many. I am honored to have this painting and honored to call her my mother in law and friend. I hope she jumps into the blog world soon, as she has a lot to offer. One of the greatest gifts she has always given me is her friendship. She is one of those people that cheer you on in life….no matter what is going on….she stands on the sidelines and keeps on cheering and uplifting your spirit. She’s a great lady. So….Alice Mary…..much love to you from the blog world and beyond…..your friend and daughter in law……:)

Deep Into The White Stuff Once Again…

Wow!! Did we get hit with at first was a lot of fluffy white snow and then a second wallop of sticky snow on top! I believe we got about a foot here in my little town. As I write this, our plow guy is cleaning up and putting the finishing touches on the driveway. He came twice yesterday during the storm. It is a magical winter wonderland out there. Before I left this morning, I ventured out to take some photos of the snow on the big pines before the sun melted it. Guess what? Batteries were dead in the camera! So…I charged them up and when I got home the snow was still there. I love the look of the trees when that sticky snow stays on them and that is what I tried to capture.

My dog Obie was having fun yesterday running around with us while we shoveled. He is a snow dog and loves to dig in the snow. Jack Russells love to dig anything! He digs the carpet and the couch and his bed and on and on from time to time. Here are the rest of the photos taken today…..enjoy and stay warm….

Cheerio!….See you at the next storm…..

Mahna Mahna

Today is a winter wonderland here in Maine! We are expecting 6 to 12 inches of snow and my husband and I have already shoveled at least 6 inches off the deck. We drove to work and back in near white out conditions and at times it was a little tricky! Coming up a very steep hill on the way home, there was a little red truck with a cap on the back in front of us. That little truck was gunning it as fast as he could up that hill. He started to go sideways left and then right but he kept right on moving. My husband and I were cheering him on from behind! Go!!….Come on….keep it up!!….you can do it!!…..that’s it…..you’re almost there!! Finally, the little truck made it to the top of the hill and slowed down at the blinking yellow light and took a left slowly onto another road. My husband said: “either he lives on that road….or he’s taking a break…..or he’s going to change his pants!!” Now that was pretty funny! Sometimes he comes up with one liners like that and it is just hysterically funny. So….we made it home safe and sound and we even stopped at the local store for supplies! Us Mainers like to go out and get supplies when there is a storm…..we all do it!!

So….I’ll be you are wondering about the title of my blog today heh? You are probably thinking it may be misspelled? Nope….it is spelled correctly. I was looking at my wonderful daughters myspace sight and found a youtube video that was hilarious called…..you guessed it!!…..Mahna Mahna…….here it is……stay warm everyone ……..see you in the blog world tomorrow once we dig out of this blizzard!!

The Music Runs Through My Veins

My father was a banjo and guitar player. He got his first banjo when he was just a child. The story goes, that there was a man that lived across the street from my grandparents that did not have a garage for his car. My grandfather at the time had a garage but no car. My grandfather offered his garage or large barn to the neighbor to store his car in winter. To return the favor, the neighbor gave my grandfather an old banjo. My father started taking lessons and the rest is history. He played that banjo very well and all over the state of Maine and beyond. He owned a Les Paul guitar as well that he played very well. My house was full of music growing up. My mother didn’t play an instrument but she sang and sounded like Sophie Tucker. She would belt out old tunes like Bill Bailey and Five Foot Two and Alabama Jubilee. It was magical! I miss them so much. I play a little guitar myself but never really got very good at it….I just have enough knowledge to play a few songs for myself.

One of my brothers plays very well. He had a band in high school and beyond. He taught both his sons (my nephews) how to play and they become incredible guitar players. My nephew Adam moved to Nashville several years ago, as did his brother Joe and my brother and his wife. Adam married a girl named Carey who is an incredible singer who sometimes reminds me of my mother when she sings bluesy type songs the way my mom did! The band they are in is called the Sways. They write their own music and songs and are both a wonderfully talented duo!! I am going to drop in a video of the two of them if I can at the end of this blog. It is a promo and also some of their music done live at a place in Nashville called The Basement. I am so proud of both of them. Let me know what you think? If you like them….let them know. In the promo, Adam gives some ways of contacting them.

Adam & Carey

Clearing Up The Mess

Dorothy Parker once observed….”it’s not the tragedies in life that kill us, it’s the messes.”  Sometimes I don’t recognize a mess until it starts to become a tragedy. If I am not spiritually fit or my house is not in order or I just happen to be off the beam in life, I have many tragedies ahead of me. Last night I had a little mess I needed to look at and make some decisions about. Intuition is a wonderful thing. It tells me to leave this thing that is bothering me alone for now and sleep on it…so I did. I awoke with a lot of noise in my head still, but somehow it all seemed to be a little bit clearer as the day unfolded. I think this is how we grow in life. If we never look at anything we never really truly see it for what it is. Dr. Phil says you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge and it was time for me to acknowledge some things about me and my mess. I did some praying and some soul searching and talked to a couple of good friends to conclude that my “intuition” was probably right all along. All I needed to do now was take action. So….the action, I will take tonight. What does all this mean? To me, it means to listen to that little voice inside myself…..to not be afraid of her….to not challenge her….to not fight her….that little voice has my best interests at heart…..that little voice is my higher power looking out for me when I can’t look out for myself  because my brain gets in the way. Off I go to take care of my mess…..wish me luck! :)

Acu-Torture Did It!

 

We are in the deep freeze today. It is supposed to be extremely cold over the next few days. I worry about the elderly and animals. Not so much the wild ones, because they seem to adapt, but the domestic ones. Sometimes folks can be cruel and leave their animals outside. I hope all are safe and cozy inside their homes.

With this cold snap we are having, it brings a lot of good things with it. It means that the ice will finally freeze completely on a lot of the surrounding lakes. That means skating and snowmobiling and ice fishing for a lot of the townspeople and kids around here. In Maine we know how to bundle up in layers to be able to handle the cold. We have L.L. Bean to teach us how!!

Yes, I missed another blog yesterday! I was being tortured by a neurologist! I have been experiencing some numbness, weakness and pain in both my arms and hands. My physician suggested I get an EMG…which is an Electromyogram and that is what I had. It measures the muscle response or electrical activity in response to a nerve’s stimulation of the muscle. After having me move my arms and hands around in different positions, he hooked me up to many electrodes and began testing me by turning on the machine and an electrical current would go from that site to the end of my fingers. If that wasn’t bad enough, he then inserted a needle that looked like an acupuncture needle into my skin and the electrical jolts began once again! It was not comfortable at all. Some were not bad and some were quite strong and left bruising.  I am going to attempt to drop in a youtube video on this test right here. Don’t kid yourself…the girl that, who’s smiling in the picture is NOT being given the test!! She wouldn’t be smiling….that’s for sure!

Oh my gosh! It worked! Well….at least I can see it! So……after all that Chinese torture, I now know that I do NOT have carpal tunnel or fibromyalgia or arthritis (the last two were guesses by him)…..so it is still a mystery. Thanks to all you faithful bloggers out there! Love your blogs and photos. Time for me to head off the plains and get some work done. See you hopefully back here tomorrow in blog world. It would appear that (Just One Space) has been revamping his blog and writing in it too…..really cool new additions so check it out. Enjoy your day everyone……it is a gift from God! :)

The Missing Blog

It would seems that I got so busy yesterday that I was not able to write in my new blog. I did enjoy reading everyone else’s blog though. You tried and true bloggers are something else! It does take discipline and a little imagination, which all of you definitely have. I did, however, try to capture some of the sites of winter here in my little corner of heaven and beyond to share with you……nothing special……just some shots of winter in Maine. The January calendar that hopefully precedes it all is an xmas gift from my husband. It is a beautiful Victorian calendar and each month is more spectacular than the next. My cat baby is in there too. She was looking out the window at the snow (I think?)……actually, she has not given up on the idea that if she goes outside one more time, she may find summer back! In and out she goes every day trying to will the warm weather back. She’s still in denial about winter being here. She wants to run through the blueberry plains and catch herself a field mouse or two……or fly up a tree and chase a red squirrel or a swallow. Yup……you can’t blame an old girl for trying now can you. My jack Russell Obie knows better. He goes outside, takes care of his business, and is promptly back at the door waiting to come in. He’s no fool. Cats are a little slower I guess at accepting the concept of winter. They are both lying in front of our monitor heater right now napping. She has given in once more……went out and came back in and is now in surrender mode for the time being. Since we humans have many fun things to do inside, it may be time for me to find a fun thing or two for my two animal friends to do. I see Christer’s animals appear to go out with him and follow him everywhere……even the cats!! How cool is that! Ok…I am going to attempt to add a slide show right here….wish me luck….

 

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More Of The White Stuff!!

What a surprise to wake up to all of this bright white snow! It looked like blizzard conditions out there earlier. It definitely caught me by surprise. I knew there would be snow but apparently I did not listen that closely to the news last night. We usually think ahead and park our cars on the front lawn so the plow man can make a clean sweep. Not today….we forgot. So, the plow man came and did the best he could. We have to leave shortly to work and run errands so I suspect when we come home it will be all cleaned up. It is important to have a good plow guy or girl if you live in Maine. One that is dependable. One that does not dig up your lawn. One that doesn’t feel he has to plow when you get just 2 inches. One that won’t charge you crazy prices if he has to come back to clean things up. We found that type of plow man this year. He will come back later and open up our driveway without digging up the ground. He is not trying to send his kids to college with his plowing job….just supplement his income a little…..it works for all of us. I noticed when he did a swipe through this morning that he had someone with him. Maybe he is showing a friend how to plow or maybe he likes to have the company of another along for the ride. Yup….more snow…..it is winter in Maine…..bring it on!!! I will try to get some photos and add them later on to the blog. I will never be able to do what Woody does but maybe just a couple of shots. Until tomorrow, I am signing off…..coming to you from a Maine white out….on blueberry plains.

Enjoying The Season…..

I have a brother that lives in Nashville. One of the reasons he moved there is because he and his wife hate the winters here. I have a niece in Florida and one in North Carolina. One of my best friends lives in Florida too. It is interesting to talk to each of these folks who all came from Maine. As much as I am reminded by the warm weather they all are experiencing, I would not leave Maine to live anywhere else….ever! Well….ever is a long time but I do enjoy all the seasons. I have grown up in a state that gives me four beautiful seasons. People come from out of state and pay money to see my favorite season here, which is the fall. The trees are so colorful that when viewed by the human eye it appears to be a master painting! The master is this case would be God. He sure knows how to paint! Spring is all about melting and mud and wonderful new beginnings….trees budding….grass turning green….it’s fantastic. Summer of course is fabulous here but somewhat short lived. That is the time that I plant a big garden and watch in wonder, as my new seeds of choice for the season grow into great big vegetables, that we can eat and share with family and friends. And then, there is winter….and I love winter too. This is a time to reflect on the past year. This is a time to get things done inside the house that we have been putting off. Time to read a good book….connect with others on the computer….start a blog?….map out your garden and buy your seeds…lose a little weight for the upcoming hot summer days…and just enjoy the peace and serenity of winter days. I cannot imagine the holidays without snow! I wanted to take a minute to thank Woody and Alice and my husband and Christer for their wonderful comments in my blog! I am trying to encourage my cousin who lives on an island in Casco Bay, here in Maine, to start a blog! She is a very talented artist and poet and writer and sculptor as is our own Alice Mary too! Ok ladies….get on board! If I can do it, so can you! I challenge both of you! See you in the blog world……

Recession or Depression?

There seems to be a lot of talk about the country now going from a recession to an actual depression. Harry Truman wrote…. “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job and it’s a depression when you lose your own.” Perhaps the recession has effected some of you? It hard to believe there is anybody it hasn’t touched. I am sure there are many folks that are reordering their priorities in life. It is very easy to surrender to an emotional depression when a financial one occurs. I guess this would be a good time to learn to become an optimist! Optimism is an acquired habit that we can all learn. In a book I read called Simple Abundance, by Sarah Van Breathnach, she writes:

Start today with a little experiment. Smile at everyone you meet. Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday. Realize the past no longer holds you captive. It can only continue to hurt you if you hold on to it. Let the past go. A simply abundant world awaits.

I guess over the past few years I have come to realize that my net worth is not measured by my checkbook. Oh sure, I still, from time to time, think I should be out purchasing items of my hearts desire, to make my life happy and more fulfilling. Then I come to my senses and realize I have just about everything I need. That is usually followed by a mental gratitude list. I remember that I have a wonderful husband that I love very much and whom loves me. I have two healthy loving children. I have a nice home (small but comfy) that is warm and it has all the things I love in it. Two of those things, are my animals, who seek out my love and attention every day. I have food in my cupboard and money in my wallet….not a lot but just enough. I have many good friends and family members that I can call on anytime of day. I also have my health right now. What else could I ask for? If any of those things I have listed should change, I know that my higher power will see me through it.

So…..bring on the recession?….depression?….which ever it turns out to be because over here on the blueberry plains we remain optimistic….one day at a time.:)

A grateful heart….

Today is Elvis’s birthday. Somewhere, on some news channel, you will probably hear that today. He still lives in the hearts of those that loved him and he will never be forgotten. There is another very important person who was born on this day as well….my mother. She died in 1998, five years after my dear father had passed. I miss them both so much. January 8th is not only her birthday, but my parents anniversary. My father died one year before their 50th wedding anniversary. He had always promised my mother a diamond ring and she waited and waited….she was a patient woman. The year of their 49th anniversary he had told her that she would get it on their fiftieth. Well….of course that never happened but she never gave it another thought. His love and devotion was enough for her. I feel very blessed and grateful to have had them for my parents. They gave me many gifts….the gift of music….a sense of humor….a love for life. Still to this day, when something happens in my life that I think is significant, my first thought is to run to the phone and call them! I guess that never goes away and my love for them never will either.

They were both glad to be alive when here most of the time. I read a book quite often called “Simple Abundance” by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It is a daily journal of living and many more things. Part of today’s writing says….Every morning when we wake up, we’ve been given a wonderful gift….another day of life…so let’s make the most of it. Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind. Adopt a new state of mind about happiness. Let’s stop thinking that things outside our control will bring us happiness.

I think I will try doing that today. Happy birthday mom and happy anniversary mom and dad…..your loving daughter.

A mix of this and that….

This is my third day in this blogging world and I am finally getting the hang of it somewhat. There is much more to learn. Between my husband the computer mechanic, who has his own blog http://pwrless.blogspot.com/ and my father in law who has his, as well, at http://goodoldbeans.blogspot.com/….I guess I will get the advice I need. I thank them both for their help!

I can see the snow coming down outside my window as I write this morning. Morning?….yes…my first morning post. I was so intimidated to begin writing in the morning I had to wait until evening to get my blog legs. The weather folks are claiming we are getting a little of this and that today. Some sleet and snow and freezing rain and what else do we expect? After all….this is Maine! We are about to venture out into the world of white shortly and I am feeling like a kid who wants to have my own snow day. Remember those days? Mom would come into your room announcing NO SCHOOL TODAY! My brothers and I would get up and watch cartoons and have a leisurely breakfast and head outside with our sleds. There was a large sand pit at the top of our road and  then you would go through a patch of woods to get there. It was a magical place. We would dress in layers, say goodbye to mom, promise to be careful and head for the pit. Of course before we left we would call all the neighborhood kids and we either met them there or picked them up along the way. I grew up in a small town and most of those friends were within walking distance. It was a great ride down that pit and there was a bonus second pit at the bottom which fell onto an ice rink. If you had a good sled that went fast and the conditions were just right, you ended up on that ice! That was the best ride there. Usually a good waxed flying saucer would get you there. The walk back up that hill was unbelievable but the ride down was such a rush that it was all worth it. My brothers, and the other neighborhood boys were more daring than us girls. They would make snow jumps….big bumps of snow in the middle or sometimes at the top of the hill.  If it was in the middle, it would set you flying high and fast and depending on how big it was, it hurt like hell when landing! Oh that was a lot of fun and what a great place to grow up. I will be forever grateful for those memories. Gosh, I think I got a little carried away writing so I will wrap this up. It is time to step out into the snow and start my day as an adult….off to work! Have a wonderful day and for all you snowbirds in Florida and Tennessee and North Carolina and  other warmer climates….see what your missing!! Ha ha…….

Learning to blog….slowly but surely

This is my second post to my blog as I have been learning how to do this with the help of my husband. To me, a somewhat computer illiterate person, it does not come that easy. That is a bit of an embarrassment, considering my husband is a computer mechanic! I will get it done though eventually. It has been a very productive day here on blueberry plains. With the new year comes a feeling of letting go and ringing in change. I speak of the vast amount of items I continue to collect and tuck here and there and everywhere in my little home. Today I cleaned out some of those items and reorganized and dusted and bagged up things that will hopefully become someone else’s treasures to move from here and there! I have a good feeling about it all and will continue to do more when I have the time. They say (whom ever they is?) that if you haven’t used an item in several years, get rid of it. I think they call it purging. So….out with the old and in with the new. Enjoy your day and stop back to check out the plains anytime.

My First Day Of Blogging

Hello...My name is Debbie and this is my first attempt at blogging. I have been following my father-in-law's blog and really enjoy it. He and my husband Bob have inspired me to start my own. So, the blogging begins....and away we go..............