'Merica

Some people like to call this 4th Of July week.  I prefer to call it 'Merica Week.  This week, we celebrate all that is good about America.  This week, fly flags, wear our red, white, and blue, and we walk around randomly shouting

'Merica!!

It's 'Merica Week.  Let's get this party started.

Dear CoWorker

You may think I'm fat.
You may think I'm ugly.
You may think I'm stupid.
You may think I'm unimportant.

I don't really care what you think, because my sense of self worth does not depend on your opinion of me. 

No, I get my sense of self worth because the One who created the universe and everything in it thought I was worth dying for. 

That makes me pretty special. 

And that makes your opinion invalid. 

Thank you.

That is all.

New Flowers

 

I wandered through the garden center at Wal-mart today, and managed to find some plants on clearance.  Naturally, I snapped them up. 

I actually found a couple of flats of marigolds that weren't dead, so I got them.  And I got two Vincas and a couple of zinnias.  The huge zinnia on the left with all the orange flowers, I put into the pot that used to hold my petunias. 

I also bought one more packet of wildflower seeds.  Maybe since I grubbed up the weeds and turned the soil a bit, these might actually grow.  If they don't, well, they just don't.  I'm not buying anything else. 

I have to be at work and an unearthly hour in the morning, so I'm going to turn in early tonight.  Well, that's the plan, at least. 

Might not work out that way, but that is the plan. 

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

And on Thor's Day.  How lovely.

1.  What do you think you would have liked most from my menu?

The chocolate cake.  And the baked sweet potatoes.   (To my non-chatters, Patrice had a birthday party for her daughter.  She posted the menu on her blog.  The link is in the right sidebar:  Everyday Rurality.)

2.  Have you ever had an interesting experience with serving dinner guests? 

No.  I've never had dinner guests, so I have no experiences at all with serving them.   Now, my Aunt Martha probably could have told you some stories.  She loved to entertain. 

3.  What's your favorite beverage, this summer? 

 It would seem milk is my beverage of choice right now.  I'm drinking about a gallon and a half per week.  And Poweraid or Gatorade.  As much as I sweat at work, drinking sports drinks keeps me from feeling so sick all the time. 

4.   Do you ever have bouquets of fresh flowers in your home? 

 Yes, I do.  I love fresh flowers.  Unfortunately, the flower bed isn't doing so well this year, but I have bought a couple of bouquets from the store.  I don't do that too often, because they're kind of high.  Well, not that high, but I'm trying to pinch every penny so I can get some of these debts of mine paid off. 

5.  Tell me something interesting. Please. 

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you will know that I'm an avid knitter.  However, a couple of other things I'd like to get into are spinning my own yarn and weaving.  I do have some drop spindles, but my dream is to someday have a wheel.  They are quite expensive, though.

Several of my friends lately have gotten into weaving.  I'd like to give that a try, too.  I'm thinking of a small loom like this Ashford Sample-It, or a Schacht Cricket.    Both are good for beginners and relatively affordable.  I could make tons of scarves with them.  More importantly, I could use up a lot of stash, which means I can put an end to my moratorium on buying yarn!  Woo hoo!  I've just about talked myself in to buying one. 

As soon as I get this debt paid down...

No Chat Today

I came in all excited and eager for this week's Chat, but when I went over to Everyday Rurality to get the questions, there weren't any.  In fact, there was no post at all.  I hope nothing is wrong.  I seem to remember her mentioning taking a break a while back.  I hope that's all it is. 

So, instead of our loverly little chats, you get a whole lot of miscellaneous gobbldygook. 

We were talking about dreams the other day on Facebook.  One of my friends had a pretty strange one, but yes, she knew I would be able to top it, and I was.  In my lifetime, I've had some corkers.  I've had people tell me I should turn some of my dreams into novels.  I told a dream to a former supervisor once, and he said I should sell it to Stephen King.  If you're interested, look in the right sidebar -----> under the label Dreams.  I've got quite the litany. 

The reason I went there is, I've noticed that since Jesse has started sleeping in the bedroom with me, I hardly have the really strange/frightening dreams any more.  Something about the security of having a warm, fuzzy body next to me, I guess.  Still, I kind of miss having those adventures at night.  Much more exciting than my day job. 

This afternoon, I spent a little time working in the flower beds-- weeding, deadheading and such.  I noticed that one of my little bluebonnets has a bloom.

A tiny little bloom, and at totally the wrong time of year, but hey, it's a BLUEBONNET!  Another one has a bud.  You have no idea how excited this makes me.  

I finally decided that nothing in my wildflower bed is going to bloom (except the black eyed Susans that are already blooming), so I started grubbing out all the grass and weeds.  I'm going to find some random stuff and just stick in there.  I may have to go up to Batesville after work Saturday to see what their Wal-mart or Lowe's has.  Ours doesn't have much left, unless they get some new stuff in before Friday.

I had to order some more of my Digestive Advantage from Amazon, along with some of my other supplements in my never ending quest to find a suitable replacement for the Estroven that no longer works...and since I can't just order one or two things, I threw this shirt into the basket.

I'd been eyeing it for a while now, and it just seemed right.  The bad news is, it's a cotton polyester blend, which makes it way too hot to wear to work, where it is way too hot anyway.  No biggie.  I tend to ruin my work clothes anyway, and I sure don't want to be ruining this one.  Not yet, anyway.

Weird thing is, I'd ordered five items, and Amazon sent them in three boxes.  I was like, Serious-Lee? 

Ha ha, you would have had to watch the musical 1776 to get that one. 

But seriously?  Three boxes?  And they all arrived on the same day, no less.  Brought by the same UPS man.  Who was a different UPS man from my regular UPS man.

I've had a book hangover today.  Can you tell?  What's a book hangover?  That feeling you  have when you stayed up way too late reading the night before.  Yeah.  That.  I've got it. 

OK, I'll stop now. 

You're welcome. 

Progress

I thought I was going to be all cool and all last night, and go to bed early and get a good night's sleep.  Circumstance had other plans.  Somewhere in the night, the electricity went out. 

Yeah,  I slept through the storm that caused the electricity to go out, but not the electricity going out.  No electricity means no air conditioner.  No air conditioner means it got mighty warm in my bedroom. 

I kept thinking I should get up and open the window, but then I'd talk myself out of it.  With my luck, the minute I got the window open and got back into bed, the electricity would come back on.  Then I'd have to get back up and close the window.  That's what I kept telling myself, at least.  So, I didn't get up.  I just laid there and sweat.  Sweated.  Whatever. 

The electricity did eventually come back on, and I was able to sleep soundly for the rest of the night.  I woke up this morning thinking how thankful I am for power company workers who go out in the middle of the night, in all kinds of weather, to get our electricity back for us. 

But enough about the weather.  Let's get on to some crafty updates.

My little Christmas tree ornament thing is progressing apace. 

I'm really liking the way it's turning out.  I'd intended to give it as a gift, but it may not make it that far.

I cast on a second hat out of this King Cole Splash yarn.  

I'm making this one a little bigger, using a 120 stitch cast on and size 7 needles.  It should fit an older child or even a teenager.  And just to see how it would knit up, I cast on a hat with the yarn Beverly gave me.

It's definitely bright.  Here is a backed out photo, so you can see what the whole thing looks like.  

Finally, if you heard that anguished howl coming from this area, let me assure you I did not mean to shut Jesse up in the recliner.  Honest, I didn't. I didn't know he was under there.  Really. 

Poor baby. 

The Lake

James and I had planned on going fishing this afternoon, after I got home from work.  But alas, he met me at the door and said the trolling motor was broke.  So, no fishing.

But we did go out to the lake and just rode around a bit. 

It was a nice little ride, though we got rained on a bit.  He even let me drive the boat for a while. 

It had been way too long since I'd been out on the water.  We drove around for about an hour and a half, and though I was tired and ready to come home and lay down, I didn't want to leave.  I didn't want to get off the water.

All I could think about was I never should have gotten out of the Navy.

I really needed that trip, because, frankly, I'd gotten just way too excited about my new potato peeler. 

Don't envy me my exciting life.

Eye Candy Friday

You know, I've had a moratorium on buying yarn this year.  I said I wasn't going to buy any for the whole year.  And I haven't.  Not a single skein, hank or ball.  So, where did this yarn come from? 

Well, I was over at Beverly's house and she had it on her table.  "Oooh, I like that!"  I exclaimed.  "Then you can have it," she said.  So that's where it came from.  It will make some nice, bright kids hats for charity.  So, I still haven't bought any yarn this year.

I did, however, buy this cute little hat, which I am going to totally deconstruct and figure out how to knit it myself. 

It shouldn't be too hard.  I wonder if I can figure out a matching scarf pattern, too. Guess what everyone will be getting for Christmas -- in about 5 years?

A couple of weeks ago, I had some bananas that were on the verge of going bad.  I looked online and found a really easy, really delicious banana muffin recipe.  I so wanted to make it again, so I bought another muffin pan.

The one I had only made 12 mini muffins.  This one makes 24.  Between the 2, I should cut my baking time by 2/3.  Right?  Yeah, I think that's right. 

Math never was my strong suit. 

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

First of all, I must offer you my sincere apologies.  I got so excited about showing you my new flowers yesterday that I completely forgot that it was the day we have our chats.  Never fear, chat is here, a day late, but on we go.

1.  Do you like lemon-aid? Any special flavors?

 Yes, I do.  I like regular lemonade best.  And by regular lemonade, I mean real lemonade.  Not lemonade flavored drink mix.  That will do, but it's just not as good.  I think the only other flavor I've tried is strawberry lemonade, and it was pretty good. 

2.  I'm trying not to use paper goods for this party. How many place settings of silverware(eating utensils) could you come up with? I wish I could borrow some!!!!!!!! 

Probably 7 or 8.  Since it's just me, I don't keep up with such things.

3.  Have you ever been to a party in a barn? 

 Not that I can recall. 

4.   Do you wear nail polish? 

 I do on my toes during the summertime.  I don't worry about my fingers, because I haven't got any fingernails worth polishing.

5.  Please finish this sentence. I wish I could__________________. 

Take a nice long nap.  But alas, it would be counterproductive, because I'd be awake half the night.  Sigh...I also wish I could remember all the Italian I learned when I was stationed in Italy, but when you have no one to speak it with, you tend to forget. 

Well, thanks for stopping by.  Apologies again for it being late.  I'll do better next week. 

I Gave Up

What with all the rain we've had these last few weeks, this week has been so hot and dry that I actually had to water my flower bed.  Yeah, but it was good because it gave me a chance to put some Miracle Grow on them.  It perked things right up.

But all the heavy rains did take a toll.  My poor petunias are dead.
 

 And my poor Gerbera Daisies were fading almost as fast.  I finally made the executive decision to replace them with something more suited to this area.   I also decided to pull up the non-flowering junk out of my wildflower bed and put some random zinnias and marigolds in there to fill up the empty spaces.  If you remember, I hadn't planted the wildflower side.  I wanted to see if anything re-seeded from last year.  All I got were two Black Eyed Susans, and a bunch of weeds and grass. 

After work, I went to Wal-mart to see what they had left in their garden center.   I picked up two Lantanas.  They both looked like this one:

I'd actually had one of the Lantanas I'd planted a couple of months ago die, so I wanted to replace it.  I put the other Lantana and four more Zinnia Swizzles where my Gerbera Daisies were. 

The plant in the middle left is the only Gerbera Daisy that looks like it has any life left in it, so I left it.  When I pulled up the others, I knew I'd made the right decision.  The root systems were completely gone.  Rotted away in the wet soil.  If I get any next year, I'll keep them in planters so I can bring them inside during the rainy season if I need to.

I really like these Swizzle Zinnias.  Aren't they pretty? 

Actually, I've never met a zinnia I didn't like.

Well, I'd planned on getting more Profusion Zinnias and Dwarf African Marigolds, but it was a sad, sad day for them.

I can't understand why a store would let it's inventory just die like that.  Needless to say, I didn't come home with any.  I'm considering running up to Batesville Saturday after work to see if their Wal-mart or Lowe's has any. Depends on how tired I am. 

Now for some good news.  If you are an Amazon Prime member, they've made thousands of songs free for subscribers!  I've been downloading the heck out of some Trans Siberian Orchestra.  Now I'll have something to listen to while I work on my Christmas cross stitch. 

As soon as I figure out how to make playlists. 

It's Too Early!!!

Yeah, I know someone is going to start hollering that it's too early to start Christmas crafts. I say, fie on them. 

Fie on all y'inz!.  Fie n'at! 

I bought these kits right after Christmas,

and finally started the first one.  This is as far as I've gotten. 

It's the Christmas tree, shown on the right in the top photo.

I'm having a little difficulty, because I can't see it.  I can see fine if I take off my glasses, but then I can't see the TV.  That means I can't work on it while I'm watching TV, which makes for some slow going.

If I can ever get my eye appointment made, but my phone issues run deep. 

Friday Funnies

Yeah, yeah, I know it's not Friday, but this is the post I would have written Friday if my brain had not deserted me for a far and distant place.  So you get it today, along with today's post.  Just remember, when I say "today", I mean Friday.

OK?  OK.  Let's roll...

Former Group Leader Rod had a brazer out today.  Any time Former Group Leader Rod has a brazer out, he asks for me specifically.  One time he told Group Leader Fernando -- who just happens to be Former Group Leader Rod's baby brother-- that I had volunteered.  I got into so much trouble for that.  I told Rod he owed me.  He just laughed.  Fernando, not so much. 

So, I spent today on Line 1.  Just like old times, it felt like going home in a way.

Right after lunch, management discovered that we were completely out of some vitally important something or other, so they sent everyone home.   Well, not everyone.  Just the assembly lines.  Rod asked me and his other brazer to stay a while and get some parts built up for the next shift.

Sometime later, I had to go over to tubing to get a part.  On the way over there, I ran into Fernando running up and down the aisle in a wild eyed panic.

"You've got to come braze this part for me!  I have to have this part!  The time vortex will collapse and the universe will implode if I don't get this part out today!!!"

OK, so maybe he didn't exactly say that...It was more like, "Are you busy?  Can you come braze this for me?", but that doesn't sound nearly as good in a blog post. 

Nevertheless, I went over and brazed the one part for him.  Since I was there and all.  When I got finished, I called to him to let him know it was ready.

Now, before we got any further, I must remind you that I've been told in the past that Fernando and I   act just like an old married couple.  Not that I would know, never having been an old married anything.  But I've been told that.  Just keep that in mind as you keep reading.

When I got finished brazing the one, single part he absolutely had to have right that very second, I turned around to let him know it was ready.  I called to him,

"HEY DOOFUS!!!"

I kid you not, five people turned around.  Five people.  I thought that was unspeakably hilarious. I hope you found it mildly amusing, too. 

That was Friday's post.  Fast forward to today...Monday...

I got to work at 7:00, the usual time.  Fernando runs up to me, slams his hand down on my table, and says, "By golly, when I tell you to come in at 6:00, you'd better be here at 6:00!"

"You didn't tell me to come in at 6:00,"  I said.

"Yes I did," says he.

"No, you didn't," says I.

We were having an argument, is what it was.

"When you came down there (to the end of the line) and asked me, I told you to come in at 6:00."

"I didn't come down there and ask you."

"You didn't?"  he said, looking genuinely confused.

"Just how much time did you spend in the gas chamber when you were in the Army???"  

You see?  You see what I have to go through every day?  Is it any wonder I'm one step away from a padded room?  To restore my sanity, I came home, watched some Doctor Who, and cast on another hat:

Yes, the picture is sideways.  No, I'm not going to fix it. 

It's the same yarn as the last hat, but I cast on 120 stitches this time, to make a child/youth sized hat. 

Now, since he did tell me to come in at 6:00 AM tomorrow, it's time for me to go to bed.  Then get up and do it all over again...

Don't envy me my exciting life. 

Rainy Season

I think it may finally be over.

Rainy season.

I think it may finally be over, and not a moment too soon. My poor flower bed is drowned.  One of my petunias is dead, and the other looks to be in pretty bad shape.

My celosias are struggling, and one has completely died.  I've got a couple more that don't look like they're going to make it. 

My dwarf African marigolds are struggling, too, and two of them look as if they're on their last legs.  So, in a couple of weeks, if it stays dry for a while, I'm going to start replacing the things that have died.  I went into the garden center at Wal-mart yesterday to see if they still had plants.  I hadn't intended to buy anything yet, but these two jumped into my cart.

That is a zinnia sizzle on the left, and a lantana on the right.  I'm going to put the lantana in place of the celoisa that has died.  I'd planned on putting the zinnia here, to replace this Gerbera Daisy that appears to be on its last legs.

It's only got one lonely little leaf left, but I hate to pull it up while there is even the slightest chance that it may come back.  That is my conundrum.  Do I wait and see if it revives once the rain stops and the hot, dry season sets in?  Or do I go ahead and put it out of its misery?  Hmmm, I'll give it a week or two, and if it doesn't pick up, I'll replace it with something else.

On the other hand, my Cardinal Creepers are thriving.

I couple of them have reached the top of the trellis, and I'm having to train them to grow sideways.  No flowers yet, but I expect they'll start blooming in a week or two.  I hope.

My bluebonnets are also doing well.  They're getting bigger and bigger. 

As for my wildflower bed, these are the only things blooming in there. 

They re-seeded from last year, and as far as I'm concerned, they can take over the whole bed.  By the end of the summer, I'm going to rip out everything that isn't blooming and just buy stuff to plant in the empty spots.  I don't know if the long winter, or late rainy season has kept stuff from growing in this bed, but none of the seeds I planted seem to be showing any signs of life.  That's just the way it is sometimes. 

We're at the mercy of the weather. 

My Day

Supervisor Ronnie (to me):  Brazer meeting at 3:00.

Me:  Today?  Oh yeah, it is Thursday


And that in a nutshell sums up how my day has gone.  The only redeeming factor of the day is that Series 7 of Doctor Who is finally up on Netflix.

I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

Those of you who actually read my blog more than once a week may have noticed that I didn't post yesterday.  There is a good reason for that. And what was that reason, you may ask?

Well, I'll tell you.  I didn't have anything to say. 

I sat down at my computer and tried to blog, but I had nothing.  There was a time when I would have posted something -- anything-- just to have a post up, but I've gotten past that now.  It's better to skip a day or two than to post filler. 

Anyway, that's where I was, and now let's Chat.

1.  Do you have a vegetable garden this year? Have you in previous years? 

 No, I've never had a vegetable garden.  My brother Russell was our big gardener in the family.  He used to go to Mammaw's house and put in a huge garden every year.  I've never been that interested in them.  I prefer flower beds. 

2.  What is your computer sitting on right now? Desk, dining room table, lap... 

 The end table beside my recliner. 

3.  Do you go shorter with your hair in the summer? 

 Not usually.  It's too easy to just put it up into a braid or bun than to have to worry about styling short hair. 

4.  Are you an early to bed person, or a night owl? 

 Well, since I usually (in the summer) get up in an hour that begins with the numeral 4, I'd say I'm pretty much an early to bed person.  Even when it's the slow season at work and we aren't getting so much overtime, I'm still usually in bed by 10:00 PM. 

5.  Tell me something funny. I'll tell you something funny too. :) 

I can't really think of anything funny right now.  Work has been hectic and exhausting, and it's rained so much that I don't really want to do anything after work.  Not that I'm a get out and go kind of person anyway.  There was one thing, though...

Yesterday I was asking Group Leader Fernando if we needed to come in to work early again this morning.  I said, "I was perusing our schedule for tomorrow and noticed that we have a lot of [really hard stuff].  I think it would behoove the brazers to come in early."  He kept laughing, and I couldn't figure out why.  Then I remembered that people who work in factories generally don't use words like behoove, peruse, and Hadron Super collider in casual conversation.  

Oh, wait.  This here is pretty funny:



I giggle every time I see it.

Ark Building

It has rained so much, I'm taking bids on Gopher wood, to start building my ark.  Friday, I barely made it home from work before the bottom dropped out.  In just about two hours, my back yard went from dry, to my own private pond.

Remember back in the day when I called it Lake Riverdale? 

Yeah, you would have to be a long time blog reader to remember that. 

And it rained Saturday, and it rained Sunday, and it started raining at 3:00 AM this morning.  Ask me how I know...Needless to say, I've been up since then, and I'm just a bit tuckered. 

It rained again this evening, and it's supposed to rain tomorrow.  And Wednesday, and Friday, and Saturday....It's raining right now.  I can hear it hitting my roof.   I'm really getting tired of rain. 

The irony of it is, I'm watching the news about the drought in Texas.  I wish I could send them some of our rain.  My flower bed is drowning.  Theirs are desiccating. 

The bright side is, rainy days make for good knitting weather.  And I got some new blankie yarns from my friend Ann. 

I haven't knit any of them into the blankies yet.  It's just too hot to even want to think about knitting a blanket.  So what did I knit?  I finally finished up this hat, which has been languishing for almost a week OTN. 

It's knit with DK weight on size 5 needles.  A 104 stitch cast on, and it's sized to fit a toddler or preschool child.  I've got enough yarn to make one or two more.

In other news, I tossed the rest of that Mendapause stuff.  All it was doing was making me hungry.  Seriously.  I got so hungry one day at work that I got two packages of moon pies out of the machine, ate them, and was still ravenous.  I can't have that.  So, it's back to the drawing board.

The SAM-e and 5-HTP I'm taking seems to be helping stabilize my moods some.  Now, if we can just get a handle on the night sweats, we'll be good to go.

Speaking of-- mood swings, not night sweats-- yesterday morning, this song turned me into a blubbering mess. 




Today, I've listened to it 47 times, and didn't cry once. I'd say that's progress. 

For now, I'm going to progress right on to bed. 

Goodnight.

D-Day

June 6, 1944

Seventy years ago, brave young men from The Greatest Generation stormed the beaches at Normandy in order to free Europe from the clutches of a murderous tyrant. 

I look around at the state my country is in now and can't help but think that they would be ashamed of what we've let it become.

Same Song, I've Lost Track Of Which Verse

As is becoming typical of Thor's Day, total mayhem descended upon the plant today.  I'm not sure what it is, but Thor's Day invites mayhem of...um...mayhemic proportions.  Today was no different.  Total.  Mayhem.

Thus, I'm exhausted.  Thus, today's post will be a bit brief, and probably a bit weird.

A few days ago, in our town's group on Facebook, someone posted asking if there were a knitting group in town.  There isn't.  There used to be, but they stopped meeting a long time ago.  Well, she suggested we start one, and last night was our first meeting.

It ended up being just the two of us, because the other lady that was going to meet with us got held up at work.  Be that as it may, we had a good time and I helped her start a blanket for her grandson. 

There were a couple of other people who expressed interest in learning to knit, but didn't show up.  Because I thought I'd be teaching some people to knit, I wanted to take something mindless that I could put down if they had questions.  Not having any really mindless projects OTN, I did what any good knitter would do.

I cast on yet another hat. 

I got this far last night, even while helping my friend with her blanket.  In the meantime, this hat is still sitting there, languishing, waiting for the crown decreases. 

In other news, my SAMe got here today.  Thing is, I can't order just one tiny bottle of vitamins, so I had to throw this movie in, too. 

I'd rented it over Memorial Day weekend, and remembered how much I loved it, so I threw it in the basket, too.  And a couple of packages of cheesecloth, since I haven't been able to find it in town lately. 

Now, I need another chicken. 

Dumplings await!

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

Yeah, chats are a little late this week. In all honesty, I completely forgot to blog until it was time for bed. Then I didn't want to get back up and do it.  Ah, but wait, you say.  This post says Wednesday.  Yes, because of a clever little thing called retro-dating.  I can write the post any old day and set it to publish on the day I want.  Devious, huh? 

Nevertheless, we've made it, and now won't you join me for our chat?

1.  If you could magically have a full grown tree in any place you choose, what kind would it be? 

 I don't know if I could pick just one type.  I love trees-- all kinds of them.  I do have a couple of oak trees in my front yard that are estimated to be 200+ years old.  I also love pine trees and maples.

2.  Do you like scented or unscented soaps, lotions, etc? 

I prefer scented, as long as it's not too strong.  I like going through the Avon Outlet and getting their shower gels when it is marked down to like $2 a bottle.  I've picked up quite a variety of scents like that.  I think my favorites are plain old vanilla.


3.  What's your favorite way to cook potatoes? 

In soup.  I love potato soup.  I also like mashed potatoes.  The kind you boil the potatoes and mash them yourself, not the flakes.  Believe it or not, I'm not that keen on french fries, but the only kind I really don't like is hash browns.  I've never cared for them.

4.  How often do you wear jeans? 

 Monday through Friday, and Saturdays if we are working.  Jeans are what I wear to work. 

5.   Do you trace your ancestry? (Wow! This question must be for Suzanne.) 

Not really.  My dad was really into tracing our ancestry.  When he passed, my brother kind of took over.  He's got quite a bit of information, and when I want to know something, I just ask him.  I've been considering a membership to Ancestry.com, but I'm not sure if I really want to spend the money.

Thank you for joining me for chat.  Come back in an hour or two for your regular Thor's Day Mayhem.

And yes, it was... 

I Don't Like This

I don't like this menopause stuff.  Truly, I don't.  I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.  Ick.

The Mendapause stuff I've been taking isn't working that well, but it says to give it 5-8 weeks before it really kicks in.  I've only been taking it a week.  The night sweats and hot flashes have gotten a little better, but it isn't doing anything for my mood swings and weepiness. 

The Estroven -- before they changed it-- was really helping out a lot.  I didn't really realize how well it was working until it all got out of my system.  Now, I cry.  All day long.  Over everything.  Over nothing.  Over the most ridiculous stuff.  Over stupid stuff.  Over deep stuff. 

Today, I was contemplating ancient forms of execution, such as Roman Crucifixion and Viking Blood Eagle, and the next thing I know, I'm dissolving into tears because we aren't allowed to torture people to death any more. 

Boy, that makes me sound like a psychopath, doesn't it?

No, I was crying because it's a good thing that we aren't allowed to torture people to death any more --no matter how much they deserve it.  

But I cry about the least little thing here lately.

My friend posts a Facebook status and I cry.  Another friend posts a photo and I cry.  I read Jeremiah 29 : 11, and I cry. 

I dropped my Hershey's Bar on the floor and I cried.  I also picked it up, washed it off, and ate it anyway, and then I cried because that was just so pathetic.

And I cry over puppy pictures, and kitten videos, and soldiers coming home.  And I cry over even the slightest thought of my Dad. 

Hang on a moment, I need to cry a bit. 





OK, I'm back. 

I really was a daddy's girl, you know.  

Anyway, I've been researching some natural mood stabilizers, because I'm really getting tired of all this crying.  There are lots of things out there to that are reputed to help, so I'm going to try some of them.  For starters, I've begun taking my melatonin again.  In addition to promoting sleep, it's also supposed to stimulate production of one of those things our brains are supposed to need.  I've started taking my Vitamin E again, too.  Apparently, it promotes more than just healthy skin.  It also is good for the brain.

I'm also going to try something called SAMe.  I saw it recommended on The Dr. Oz show.  (You know I'm a Whovian, because I almost forgot how to abbreviate Doctor.  True Whovians never write Dr. Who.  It's always Doctor Who.)  I'd tried to take it a couple of years ago, but Dr. Oz recommends 40 mg per day, and so far, I hadn't found it in less than 400mg tablets.  I tried that dosage, but found that after a few days, it made me rage.  I've got enough trouble with my temper without any help, thankyouverymuch.  Next, I tried taking just one pill per week.  I had a couple of really good days, a couple of so-so days, and a couple of really bad days.  I was looking on Amazon and found some SAMe in drop form.  I think I should be able to find the optimum dosage with that. 

There are a couple of other things I want to try before I resort to calling my doctor. 

I just wish Estroven had left well enough alone. 

My Dull Little Life

I wish I had something new and exciting to tell you today, but I'm afraid my life is just a bit dull at the moment.  Work, TV, sleep.  Then I get up and do it all again.  When the most exciting thing that has happened to you is the pot pies you made over the weekend...

and the new Tervis Tumbler you bought,

and that your cardinal creepers are now big enough to start climbing

and that your latest hat is ready for the crown decreases,

and, oh, yeah, that's poison ivy...

--quite a lot of poison ivy, at that--

there just isn't really that much to talk about.

But, hey!  Season 3 of Sherlock is up on Netflix now!  Woo Hoo! 

*Sigh*