Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I really like St. Patrick's Day -- I never decorate or bake green cookies or drink green beer but it is an opportunity for me to remember my Irish roots and look at cute little pictures like the one above.

I am a member of the Conn family. Here is a young photo of my 2nd great grandfather -- Henry Patrick Conn with one of his young sons -- Elisha, I believe.




Here is an older version of 2nd great grandfather, Henry Patrick -- the young boy on the right is my grandfather, Aaron Patrick Boyett, Sr.  The little girl is Aaron Patrick's sister -- pretty little thing, isn't she?

I never knew much about this family, never heard much about them until I started doing family history and discovered these lovely photos.  I have met cousins through the Ancestry.com DNA project and it is all very interesting.

Our St. Patrick's Day started early -- about 4 a.m. -- with a raging hail storm.  It hailed for quite sometime  and when it was over I went back to bed, settled in, got back to sleep and wouldn't you know, it started all over again.  Our cars sit out because -- well, I can't talk about it -- so I am sure they are pretty messed up.  I would be surprised if they weren't because some of this hail was golf ball sized. It was big enough to set the car alarm off -- and lots of wind as well.  We will be inspecting the roof later as well. 

Yesterday was fun though, even though my allergies were escalating and my throat was killing me.  We went to the Cowgirl Hall of Fame Museum and it was great fun.  I had never been there and I enjoyed it immensely.

I did discover that my daughter, even though she enjoys country music is not one bit cowgirl.  This was no surprise.  But I did enjoy seeing all the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans displays and there was a special exhibit of the movie "Lonesome Dove" -- I am going to pull the DVD out and watch it again.  Nothing like a little Robert Duvall.  I really wish they would have let us take photos because there was a lot to share -- I especially liked the Annie Oakley exhibit.  As is common with these sorts of exhibits, I was aware of how small she was.

I might add that the gift shop was great but very pricey.  So, I came home with nothing. 

I  guess I will be having more Benadryl for my morning snack even though I feel like I am a bit better than I was yesterday.  As I said on FB -- if the rain didn't wash the pollen away I am sure the hail beat it into submission.

In honor of the day I thought I would show you a couple of things that are a daily part of my life that sort of represent my attachment to all things Celtic --

My first quilt attempt twenty years ago.  Machine pieced, hand quilted -- green Irish Chain.

On my 40th wedding anniversary we were in Austin at a store called Things Celtic.  I wanted a new claddagh ring -- I have a James Avery one but I wanted a band so my husband bought me this one for our anniversary.  Mine is silver. I wish I had the gold one.  Or maybe one with diamonds! I love Claddagh rings.

Have a wonderful St. Paddy's Day! For me, I am going to go out and look for that pot of gold -- surely there is a rainbow out there somewhere after all this rain.

Help!

Today was the day -- ok, today is still the day -- be positive, Melissa! Today the closet was the target of my merciless decluttering attempt.  I have failed miserably.  I might have to blame it on the time change -- I have been a little "off" today.  But, I can't even get started!

I guess I should Marie Kondo it but I don't want to drag everything out and dump it on the floor so I will have to have an abbreviated event.  I have a nice size closet in my laundry room that I used to hang the ironing until I could get around to it! Ha! I can tell you how well that worked for me -- the ironing never got done and I recently moved the clothes that I hadn't worn in about 5 years into my closet.  Now I can't get anything else in the closet and I need to be brutally honest with myself -- am I ever going to wear those clothes that have been hanging out in the ironing closet for years?  Probably not.  But I can't make myself put them in a bag for give away.  Somebody come and help me -- please.

I have managed to get laundry done -- completely -- this morning and the kitchen has been scrubbed down.  I just need to get to the closet.  Blah.  Maybe after lunch.

For the last several days I have been having skin issues.  I have had rosacea in the past and am having a little flare up now.  I think I mixed too many products and just got my skin irritates.  So, I was in Beauty Brands looking for rosewater as Central Market didn't have any and a lady came up and asked me what I was looking for, I explained and she directed me to this product.

The lady told me that I can use it as a regular moisturizer every day and that it will help the inflammation as well.  She was right.  I have used it for a couple of days and it has calmed down the flare up and it is truly moisturizing.  I used it before bed last night and I woke up with it still working.  So, I think this might be my new moisturizer. 

While I was there talking to a young salesgirl I noticed she had really lovely skin.  Of course, she was not much more than twelve -- I told her that and she laughed. So, she was a jobber for a line of products called True Isaac Mizrahi.  She led me over to the display and we chatted about how us fair skinned gals have problems getting makeup matched.  She told me she could match me and by golly, she did!

It matches my skin perfectly, is mineral based and contains no parabens.  I used it for the first time yesterday and it was wonderful.  It didn't sink into fine lines which I have many and it lasted all day.  I will be going back for more of their products.   Both of these products are things I would never have taken a second look at if I hadn't had direction.  I usually stay with what I know but, unfortunately, I think my new Bare Escentuals BB primer with sunscreen is what has gotten my skin all flared up.  I am allergic to some types of sunscreen and I think that is what happened.  So much for my $35 purchase.  I will probably return.  Bother.

So, I guess I will go back to the closet.  Oh, wait, it is almost lunchtime! Yay! Maybe I will have more strength for the closet after sustenance.  Hee hee!

Your Childhood Fear

Sometimes I need a nudge to write as not every day is blog worthy.  I ran across a site -- The Daily Post (dailypost.wordpress.com) -- which gives some suggestions for blog posts.  All of the suggestions are nostalgia based.  I think I will give it a go.

The topic I chose out of the five suggested is "Your Childhood Fear". 


I had a good childhood.  I was born in that time right after World War II when American was coming back from those dark days.  I grew up in post war tract housing just like almost everybody from my generation.  My house was a small (tiny by today's standards) white, asbestos shingle house with a blue roof and blue window shutters.  It was a plain little house but it was my little house. 

I remember that house so well and our lives that transpired within.  One of our rituals was bath time.  Our bathroom was typical of the time.  The walls were tiled with four by four inch ceramic tile -- ours was light blue with dark blue trim and the floors were light blue hexagon tile.  There was a tub, a sink, a potty, a medicine cabinet, a linen closet, dirty clothes hamper and a gas wall heater.  Those bathrooms were fairly large and very utilitarian.  I was glad mine matched the outside of the house -- I liked the blue theme going on.

My mother saw to my bath and in the winter she would light the heater to get the room toasty warm -- all that tile could be chilly -- and before I emerged from the tub she would hold my pajamas up in front of the heater to warm them.  I just loved the feel of those warm pajamas.

I must have been very small because I was still in diapers and plastic pants when the great fear began.  I brought it on myself trying to emulate my mother's routine.  One day, in the winter, the heater was on and I decided the thing to do was to "warm" my plastic diaper cover in front of the heater.  The cover had snaps down both sides so it opened up flat and I very deftly placed the cover on the heater draped from top to bottom and went about my business.

My mother smelled something burning.  Could it have been melting plastic?  Why, yes it could.  She rushed into the bathroom and pulled the diaper cover from the heat and yelled at me (and rightfully so) that I could have burned the house down! She was frightened and I guess I was too except I don't really remember the incident, I just remember being told about it. 

What I do remember, however, is having a recurring nightmare for years about my house burning down.  In the dream my mom, dad and I -- and the cat -- would be standing at the curb looking back at the house which was going up in flames.  I was terrified.  One day in school we had to draw a family picture and this is the scene I drew.

The dream finally stopped when I was 19.  Why, you ask?  Because our house caught fire one January night.  We aren't sure why -- my father suspected foul play but the fire department stated the cause was a gas leak at the hot water heater.  The next day I found myself standing at the curb looking back at the house that had burned down.  And I was no longer afraid.

Oh What A Week! -- Or Two!

In my previous post I explained that I would be away for a while because I was going to help my daughter out.  That was a bit cryptic and I didn't mean it to be, I just don't like to post online personal things that could be identifying factors.

The fact of the matter is my son-in-law was in Boston for a business trip.  My daughter doesn't mind staying alone but the mornings are a bit - uh - hectic to say the least.  She teaches school.  Bean goes to school.  They have to get ready and leave all at the same time.  It is pretty much a logistical nightmare without son-in-law so I spent the night to help with the mornings.  It worked well, they have a comfy bed for me and, since Bean retires reasonably early, I had ample reading time.  The only downside was the drive back and forth.  Lots of driving.  Tired.

So, Thursday night of that week, son-in-law Chip returned home on a later flight.  I had already returned home and climbed in my bed with my book. The phone rang about 11 -- it was my daughter in a panic.  Chip had returned home SICK! REALLY SICK! I thought maybe there was an exaggeration going on but 104 temp in an adult is not an exaggeration.  He was medicated and put to bed with the plan to tote him to the doctor the next day.  The next day came and I picked Bean up from school and brought her home with me.  She hadn't really seen her father yet or been around him so I just removed her from the situation. Chip had a raging case of the flu.


This was an impromptu decision so I really wasn't prepared.  There was grocery shopping to be done, art supplies to be replenished, beds to be made -- so much for "resting up".

So, Bean spent the weekend through Monday with us.  Yes, she missed school on Monday but we just live too far away for us to get her up and to school on time.  She wasn't happy about that but nothing could be done.

The weekend was chock full of activities.  Saturday involved a Girl Scout outing -- a movie with her troop.  We were able to go to the new movie theater in Keller -- we saw "Zootopia" -- and it was lovely.  The food was great, the theater was new and nice and the movie was -- meh -- a little too much adult humor for me but I guess they have to have something for all the adults in the audience.

Sunday found us attending a birthday party at the Grapevine Aquarium --

The aquarium was nice but honestly, it made me dizzy.  There were many acrylic floors over water with moving fish and it just sent me reeling.  It was lovely and I am sure it would be quite interesting if I weren't in charge of a youngster and it wasn't so crowded.  However, the kids loved it and there were all sorts of activities so a good time was had by all.

Monday was the finale of our little impromptu "break" and it was spent doing laundry and gathering things strewn all over -- and did I mention there were scones?

I did take some photos around the garden -- this season of anti-winter we have been having has resulted in an early spring and here are some photos to prove it.  Now if the rain would just quit I would be happy -- oh, and if we could abolish daylight savings time -- that would help.

I also took some time to set up my little home gym.  And I do mean little! I don't have room for anything large so I have accommodated myself in a little corner of my bedroom

Tony Little Gazelle -- sorry the pic is sideways -- use your imagination

a pedaler 

a chair that provides upper body exercise

coupled with the pedaler it makes a nice little recumbant bike

Ab rocket -- yes, I have had this for a while -- it is good but getting on the floor is a challenge

Now the goal for the coming week is to clean out my closet.  I would say 90% of what I have in there I haven't worn in at least 5 years and it is going -- away.  Soon.  I bought two new blouses and a new polo shirt which is good and I am going to order some new slacks.  Trying to streamline things -- however, it won't happen until I get started.

I am reading a book titled "Embers" by Antoinette Stockenberg.  It is pretty good so far -- about 1/3 of the way through -- but I hope it doesn't turn stupid.   I have read supernatural books that started out really good and then just turned silly as the story progressed.  I hope this isn't that way. I will let you know.

So, that is my two week hiatus.  Not very relaxing but definitely full of activities that were new to me.  My weekends are usually very quiet but last weekend was a nice change.  Maybe I will eventually recover.  But, oops, here comes DST weekend -- so much for that!

St. David's Day

Happy St. David's Day!

Brief Break

Hi! It is February 29th! Leap Year! Leap Day! If I had been born two years later I would only be 16 1/2 years old! Golly that sounds great, doesn't it.  Well, I bet I would still be cripping around like the 66 year old I actually am.  It doesn't matter, it is a beautiful day and I feel fantastic and all is well in my world!

My posts, however, are going to be non-existent, sporadic or very short for the next few days.  I am helping my daughter this week and time (and energy) will be at a premium so I might not be able to get back here right away. 

At any rate, it is temporary and I will be back with all sorts of interesting (yeah right) things to say and photos to share!

So, see you later alligator!

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat (booksanabeat.com).  It is a way to showcase what you have "found" this week.  Here is my "find".  I seem to enjoy reading "series" books and am currently involved in -- well, more than one -- and I have them on rotation. 

My next title in the Elm Creek Series by Jennifer Chiaverini.  I completely enjoy this series and the next in my queue is "The Quilter's Homecoming".  I haven't started it yet but soon.

I also stumbled across "Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon".  It is several down in my list but I snatched it up when I saw it because I know I will get to it eventually.  The next one in my list is "Agatha Raisin and Love from Hell" and I think I am going to check it out from the library via Overdrive.  At any rate, I have quite a bit of reading lined up!

Throwback Thursday

In the words of Sophia Petrillo -- Picture this, San Antonio, Christmas 1979.

Here you have my handsome son, age 4, and my beautiful daughter, age 3.5 months.  That is my mother with them.  It was Christmas Eve and we were at my mother's house for Christmas Eve festivities because that was our tradition. 

Seems like it was yesterday.

Wordless Wednesday

This 'n That and Monkey and Dog

This weekend -- beginning on Thursday -- has been busy and yet not busy.  It was a good mix of the two.

 Bean didn't have school on Friday so we were scheduled to babysit.  However, I had another plan.  I decided we would pick her up from school as usual, take her to her doctor's appointment and then bring her home for the night rather than us getting up at dawn and driving to her house.  She loves to come here because I make her chocolate chip pancakes. 

my assistant reading me the recipe and that is Scout, her Daisy troop Bear that goes on adventures with the girls.

enjoying the fruits of our labor and yes, that is the Christmas village you see in the background -- I can't talk about it

Yum on the griddle

Then, after breakfast was consumed and the kitchen put in order we went to one of the most magical places I know of.  It is an independent bookstore called Monkey and Dog.  It is owned and operated by Shelley Lowe, a friend from church and it is housed in the corner of a catering business called Feastivities owned by Charissa Christopher, also a church friend.

Monkey and Dog is just delightful -- it is a bookstore solely dedicated to children's  books and there is a huge variety of books to be explored --- some even from my childhood days.  We spent a large chunk of the morning there and Bean didn't want to leave -- I can't say I blame her -- I was enjoying the cozy lounge chair and all the books that I would have loved to have taken home with me.

The cozy lounge chair with Gramps trying to stay out of the photo! Gotcha Gramps!

Just look at that assortment of books!

So charming!

Fantastic find!

More for the collection of Magic Tree House books

And for my personal library -- I have started reading it and it is just magical

So, after we finally pried B away from the bookstore we headed to Zeeba's to get her bangs trimmed.  Thanks, sweet Falan for being so accommodating!

B loves to sweep the floor because Falan has this really cool machine that you sweep the cut hair up to it and turn it on and it sucks the hair right in! B loves it and Falan doesn't mind letting her take care of that little business for her!

Then it was home for a nap -- yes, there is a real bed for her to sleep in but nothing quite like improvisation, is there?  Who knows, next trip over she might just sleep here.

And then a quick go at this game.

 It is fun but you really need to be in good light because the cards are so dark.  I have been looking for pick up sticks but there are none to be found so I will have to order them online.  Ugh.

That was all we had time for since Mom and Dad were picking her up after dinner.  They were going on a short road trip yesterday and today so she had to get home to get ready.  After all that activity, I needed to rest a bit but it was such good fun!

This morning I had a look around my house to see what needed tidying up and I realized that I hadn't been outdoors in a few days to see what this lovely spring-like weather is doing to the garden.  So, I decided to share a few snaps with you of the garden and some other things around here.

I have no clue what this is -- a weed I think -- but it has lovely purple flowers on it.

The Redbud tree coming out -- pretty pink blossoms -- more photos when they open up

A lap quilt I made lest you think all I do is read and blog

a really cute bottle I purchased for my homemade deodorant --yes I don't use commercial deodorant

my new obsession -- flavored water -- isn't it pretty?  Cucumbers, lemons, strawberries and mint

Hubs and his latest project -- a second tv antenna for the tv in the bedroom

And this is something I am looking to buy --

It is on sale and it folds up.  I have a Tony Little Gazelle but Hubs uses it and it just about kills my knee so I thought I would buy this and we could exercise together in front of the tv with the new antenna! Sounds like a plan, don't you think?

Starting Over Sunday

Wow, it is Sunday again! The time is really flying by and, since we have opted out of winter this year, it seems like we are just racing toward summer! I can handle summer.  Just not mosquitoes.  But, the mosquitoes haven't gone away anyway so I am not going to let that to deter me from enjoying this really, really early spring.

So, this last week I made an effort to try some new things, tweak some old things and see what worked and what didn't.  So, here is what I learned...

After 43 years of marriage I have finally conquered the laundry.  My new approach has been working well -- washing each and every day and smaller loads.  I am finding that if I do smaller loads I can get them done and put away and it is much preferable to staring into the "face" of a pile of laundry  that consists of everything we own.  So, this approach is a keeper.

I have not conquered emptying the dishwasher at night but I have managed to get it emptied in the morning and just fill it during the day.  I have also learned that a sink full of hot water at the ready makes it very easy to quickly wash things as you use them.  I know it sounds ridiculous to say these things -- a mature woman who has been keeping house for a LONG time but some things are not easily disciplined.  I had a perfectly good role model in my mother.  She never had a dishwasher but she wasn't one to let things sit around either -- those dishes were washed immediately after use and the light turned off in the kitchen -- there was no revolving door like in our house.  But, anyway, I have pretty much conquered the kitchen "issue".  Next I am going to try to cook without using every dish/pot/pan in the kitchen! That sounds like a challenge, doesn't it?


I am loving my Bona floor system (no, not getting paid to say that) and I have also learned that I don't have to mop the entire house at once even though it is a large, flowing expanse of solid flooring.  I can do it in sections and that is fine.  So, that is a new "tweak" and it is working.

These things have made my life easier.  I am the sort that can't play until the chores are done and that breeds lots of contempt for the chores when you can't get them done in a timely manner.  With my new approach, I feel like I am giving myself permission to read or sew or quilt or whatever and I am still getting stuff done.  It is amazing how quickly these chores really take when you just get up and do them.  Duh.

I guess we are never too old to learn!