Wowza

First off.....the soup recipe is in the tab at the top  of the page......enjoy.

FYI it will not be the same if you don't use the red lentils, they cook and break up differently....makes the soup to be honest.

So here it is, my new table and chairs, I think at least one of my daughters thinks that I have lost my mind, but I love it.

I'm ordering a bigger round rug, this one is a bit small, it should be here Friday.

To be honest, this is more me.......I'm not fancy, just never have subscribed to that, it doesn't feel natural to me.  This is old, used, it has been loved.

It's home.

Just one of the chairs has arms.  The chairs don't match the table, the table could stand a refinish.

I still love it.

Several weeks ago, I started having this pain in the ball of my foot......it felt like there was something in my foot.  Youngest daughter went at it with a needle, but found nothing.

So I've been limping around on it, and it hurts.   A couple of weeks ago, I saw a local podiatrist.  The podiatrist I have seen in the past, is over an hour away, so I decided to give this new guy a try.

Big mistake.

He looked at it, didn't touch it........said, nope it's not a foreign body, and it's not a plantar's wart, which is what I thought it "might" be.  He put a FOAM cushion under my sole in that exact spot, and sent me on my way.

Nurses are notoriously lousy patients,  and I am no exception.  I was not happy.

I limped around another week, and made an appointment with my regular guy, and took the drive today.

Thank GOD.  

It WAS  a foreign body, trying to work it's way out.   He performed minor surgery on it right then and there.  When I told him what the other doctor said, he just shook his head.

It's sore right now, but at least I'm hopefully on the healing path at last.  

And yes, it's the same side as my soon to be replaced knee.   Of course it is.

Spending a lot of time on the screen porch, and I imagine it will really be my friend come July.

My lease was up on my Subaru Forester, so here's my new one.

Driving down the highway today, I thought about how fortunate I am, to have all that I have.

Sure, I have things to deal with, but still.........how amazing is it to   have your own home, your

 own car, money to buy food,  health care, family, friends.

And that brings me to all your lovely responses.   Thank you.  Thank you for taking the time to

 let me know that you are out there reading this blog, thank you for sharing that I have

 somehow touched your lives, made a difference, no matter how slight, inspired you, made you

 feel not so alone,  allowed. me to be your friend.   

You truly made my week with all your kind words.

I used random.org to choose the winner. and the number that came up was number 1!!!!

So the winner is Marsha Melson.   Email me your address.....and tell me what color your kitchen is......and I will send your towel right out.

And no, I'm not going anywhere.  Just think of all the time I will have this summer,  to blog 

 and read!!  It boggles the mind!

A Giveaway

Every now and again, I wonder why I am still blogging all these years later, and I wonder, is anybody out there, other than the handful of people that I am pretty sure  are still hanging on??

So that tells me it's time for another giveaway.......you know the kind, where all you have to do is comment, to get a chance at something from Crazy as a Loom Weaving Studio........this time it will be a hand woven towel from my collection.

Today is Sunday, so I will draw the winner on WEDNESDAY, the 26th, to give everyone a chance.

These next two photos are from a couple of weeks ago, but they make me happy, so here they are.

They love the hot tub, and I love that you can see the chickens in the background.

I

I swear that my living room is not usually quite this messy, but a 7 yr old, a 4 yr old, and a 1 yr old can change all that in a heartbeat.

And I never mind one bit.  It's worth it.

My neighbor's had a yard sale the other day, and because they had run the country store for years apon years, I wanted to see what they were selling.

I bought a few small things, keeping in mind that I have just downsized my house by over  600 items.  But I just could not resist this.

I love things with lights in them.  It's a weakness.

I also bought their dining room table and chairs, and I will be getting rid of mine soon, but that's for another post.

Today I have a Spinach lentil soup on the stove,  it smells heavenly.

Yesterday, I spent a great deal, ok......all day, trying to convince myself that I do not need this knee surgery.   That changed this morning, when I stepped out of bed to extreme pain.  So I decided today to stop whinging about it, and get some stuff done.

I had my little loom on the screen porch, and I've been occasionally amusing myself making wall hangings.  One of them is sold already, the other is pending.  They were a lot of fun to weave.

I am trying to accept the fact that for probably July and August, I will not be of much use to 

myself or anyone else.  But I know that I have to have this done, if I want to stay on my 

feet, and I do.

My oldest daughter read me the riot act this morning, kind of.  Wonder where she gets THAT from?

She said I need to be thinking about this as a positive thing in my life, and if I decide it is going to be good, and an improvement, and it's going to make my life better, then it will, that whatever I put out there into the universe, will come back to me.

So that's what I am doing.

You can comment on any old thing you like, to be entered into the free towel drawing on WEDNESDAY.

Getting old.

Those of you who have followed my blog from years ago, will remember my brain surgery in August 2012.

Shortly after that, my grand daughter, Gabby, wanted a "prairie girl" outfit for Halloween, and of course, I said no problem.

But it was a problem.

I didn't admit it then, and I don't really like admitting it now, but my brain was not completely rebooted.

I struggled with reading the pattern, and just about all of it.  I'm embarrassed to say that it was really, really hard, and I was not happy with it.

But she loved it.

And that made it all worth while.

Fast forward nine years, and the outfit gets passed down to my youngest grand daughter, 

And the power of persistence pays off, again.

It just makes my heart glad, and puts some of my grief, for all the losses to come of that incident, to rest.

If that makes sense.

There is nothing that makes me happier than these grands.  

Watching them, knowing them, being a part of their lives.

I have no idea how long I will be around.  They may grow up and barely remember me.

But still, I will have impacted their lives, and those feelings may stay with them, for a long, long time.

I hope so.

This piece of silk weaving gave me fits.  It was an awful warp, but it turned out to be beautiful.

And it's gone.  I kind of wish I'd kept a piece of it.

In other news, I have been amusing myself making some funky art pieces to hang on the wall, for no other reason than that they make me happy.

Sydney says, " That sounds like a plan, to me."

One of these days, I'm going to write a book, called "Sydney Says".

I have wanted a fountain for a long time.  I had this old whetstone behind the  barn, the wooden frame had rotted, and there was a metal rod sticking through the middle of it.  My neighbor and friend took the rod out of it for me, and it is perfect.  I can hear the sound of the water falling, from the screen porch.  It is soothing, and I love it.  $40 total cost.

L brings  me asparagus every spring, so I made two asparagus leek tarts, one for her, and one for me.

They were easy to throw together, and delicious.  Definitely a keeper.

Another idea that has been rolling around in my brain.....the fountain in the middle of the labyrinth.  I had water in it the first year, but the cord was an issue, keeping it buried under the rocks and the pebbles, so I eventually gave it up.  Last year, my "hens and chicks" went a little wild, so when they came back this year, I decided to give them a new home.   I am hoping that they will fill in  and come back every year, and that the fountain will take care of itself somewhat, and not look so empty and forlorn.

On the knee issue, 8 months of dealing with the pain is just about enough.  It has made me miserable, and there is no getting better unfortunately.  So after seeing two different doctors, I am scheduled for a knee replacement the end of June.  I wish it was tomorrow.

Yes, this getting older thing is tough.

There are a whole lot of things about it that I don't like.

I am sure you know what I am talking about.  No need to elaborate.

But then there are perks.

So many.  Not caring about what people think anymore, after years of doing just that.

Not getting up and going to work for someone else, morning after morning.

Appreciating all those little things you took for granted your whole life.

But most of all, this.

Being grateful for the opportunity to get old enough, wrinkled enough, to be their "Mimi".   

Or getting to be, as my little grandson said,  an "old lady".

How is that so fine?????