Confessions of a Grandma

I am always a bit behind the times, but I finally picked up You can find it on Amazon  or, I am sure, in any bookstore.  It's all the rage. Now I am not one to be overly attached to things and most people would consider my place quite neat and tidy.  In fact, I have alarmed some family members with my lack of sentimentality towards stuff. But I have to say this book is over the top.  What a hoot!  I can relate to it actually, but it still cracks me up. Check out the proper way to store socks .  You know socks work hard trapped there between your feet and your shoes.  They need to relax in comfort in the sock drawer. My son has his own method for socks--they are all exactly the same.  No matching them into pairs, no rolling them into balls, no need for fancy organizer insets for the sock drawer.  Stack them all up right out of the dryer.  Happy, free-range socks!  Pull any two at random out of the drawer and y...

I meet with a group of women to make cards, kibitz, share lunch, and laugh. Yesterday, one of the group hosted a Stampin'Up party, adding shopping to the general mayhem of our get togethers.  I had never been to her house before, but it overlooks Lake Champlain. Imagine waking up to this view on a summer morning, overlooking the treetops for a view of the lake.

The weather here has been damp. I can't really complain because we are not experiencing floods, but it does get a tad annoying when you can hear the weeds growing. Google image Not my lawn by a long shot! There are breaks in the clouds and I have been able to get out to do some yard work.  Today I mowed the grass...well, the lawn.  I can't really say there is much in the way of actual grass out there.  It is mostly ground ivy, violets, dandelions, and several other weedy things.  The crab grass will take over later in the summer. I do have clover, white Dutch clover is spreading throughout.  I kind of like clover.  It's good for the soil--fixes nitrogen and encourages earthworms to live in the soil.  Also rabbits are supposed to like it so much they might  leave other plants alone. In spite of the rain and the quick growing, as soon as I mow there are brown patched that make it look as though we are in the middle of a drought.  ...

I start my day with a cup of coffee.  Anything before that is totally on automatic pilot. This morning I had to open a new container of coffee creamer. I used to use soy creamer but then I read about soy being bad for you so I switched to almond creamer.  I found I really liked the almond creamer, but them I read about how almonds are sucking up all the California water.  I figured I would do my part and not contribute to the world wide demand (and, boy, that will show those profit mongers, but good!!).  I switched to coconut creamer (a decision that will no doubt crush the coconut industry in some way). But yesterday I was in a grocery store that did not have coconut creamer...not even almond creamer.  I bought good old half and half.  Local dairy. No artificial growth hormones. Here's the thing--this morning as I opened the creamer, I got stuck on that proud label: NO Artificial Growth Hormones. Don't we have this wrong?  I mean shouldn't t...

Mike and I used to peruse a local flea market many sunny weekend mornings. Mike had the eye.  He picked good stuff, as in stuff with value.  He could tell the genuine from the clever fakes. I, on the other hand, cannot really discern the genuine from the blatantly obvious fakes.  However, I do know what I like, what attracts me or calls my name for some reason.  It is not like I consider my flea market purchases investments. Carltonware made a line of pottery called Walkingware--because it had walking feet.  After the company closed, as I understand it, at least one company had permission to use original molds.  These pieces may or may not have been marked.  I found these egg cups at the flea market last Sunday.  They are not marked so I won't ever say they are "real," but I think they are cute. I thought I would start an egg cup collection for my granddaughter.  If she wants, she can use these for jewelry catch-alls. I also bo...

My sister-in-law, Jeannie, came for a weekend visit and made it a special birthday. On Saturday, we went to the Burlington Farmer's Market.  I had never even been before and I was impressed with the number of vendors and the variety of food items on offer. Jeannie bought artisan goat cheese and butter, pea shoots, baby garlic, fresh picked lettuce, strawberries, cookies, chocolate covered salted caramels and a beautiful birthday bouquet.  She made a fabulous dinner--salad with the lettuce, strawberries, and toasted walnuts; fresh fettuccini with mushrooms, pea shoots, baby garlic and goat cheese served with a basil chicken sausage.  SO yummy! I wish that the salmon color of this peony showed better, but it is a sweet smelling and beautiful bouquet that I was so happy to have on my table. I didn't take a picture of the lovely meal she prepared, but I had the left over pasta with sugar snap peas, the pea shoots, and goat cheese the next day. Delicious le...

Googled image June 14th is actually Flag Day.  The Continental Congress passed a resolution describing the 13 red and white stripes with 13 white stars on a blue field as the flag that would represent the 13 United States.  Later both Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge issued proclamations designating June 14 as Flag Day. It was not until 1949 that Congress passed legislation and President Truman signed into law, making it officially Flag Day. It's not a Federal holiday.  No Monday off and the banks are open when it doesn't fall on a Sunday. i will be celebrating though--cause it is my birthday.

The new furnace involved a certain amount of men in work boots tromping from the outside into the furnace room, back and forth for two days.  On Saturday morning I decided that the hallway carpet needed a shampoo.  I threw in a load of laundry while I was doing that. Then I decided to wash the windows in the French doors that lead out to the deck.  But, ick, the paint on the outside was peeling and dirty.  I ended up taking the doors apart and painting them. There had been a bit of rain this past week.  The grass was high.  I got out the weed whacker and trimmed all around.  I was going to wait for my son to maybe mow on Sunday, but you never know how the weather will cooperate with plans like that so I started up the lawn tractor and mowed the lawn myself.  Then of course there was the raking and sweeping to finish off that project. It looks like a huge yard, but I mow about one acre. When I took this picture out of the front window...

My librarian friend asked me to go with her to see two other librarians present a puppet show they do to introduce kids to their summer reading program.  Idea scouting...I was up and on the road with her at 7:30 on Friday morning.  The school was an hour's drive away.  Have I mentioned how much of a morning person I am not? After the puppet show, we made a trip down to the Vermont Teddy Bear Company.  Did you know you can get a Bernie Bear?  Any branch of the service bear?  A Fifty Shades of Gray Bear?  Whatever, there's a bear for that. I made a super hero costume (the cape and the mask) for a Vermont Teddy Bear that was donated by the company to the library.  This will be a drawing prize at the end of the summer reading program.  The theme for the summer program is super heroes. I would read lots of books for a chance to win it if I was a kid. They actually had a bear in a super hero costume, but it was about six feet tall.  We...

The new furnace is being installed, and a new hot water tank. This is a smaller system so some space has opened up in the basement.  It should be much more efficient as well, which is the important thing. Now to get someone working on installing a new water treatment system so the hot water tank does not clog up again right away. I am looking forward to the convenience of hot water gushing out of my taps.

Are you prone to blushing? I was listening to a  public radio show in my car (so I only got a part of it) about blushing and its social consequences.  I am a blusher so my ears perked up. There is a surgery for that!  It was initially intended to inhibit excessive sweating of hands and head, but it was discovered that it decreased blushing as well. I did some reading up about this when I got home.  Surgery, not surprisingly, is not the preferred method of treatment.  Cognitive behavioral therapy is the first line--to treat underlying maladaptive social misperceptions--such as people will pick on me if I blush .  This idea needs to be replaced with something along the lines of: "I may come across as a person who is shy, but other people will usually be happy to accept this and often will make extra effort to engage with me". HA!HA!HA! I laugh at that!  Obviously a therapy model developed by someone who does not blush ever! You blush, someone...