I have come to realize that I need a mental health break.  Most of my adult life has been filled with stress and I know that I need to finally take some time for myself and try to find some serenity. When we are young it feels like life will go on forever, but as we get older we realize how quickly it has passed. With that in mind, I am going to take some time for myself. I need to stop and smell the roses. Suddenly all of the things I thought were so important just don't seem that important any longer.  My Etsy shop has been put on an extended vacation and I am cutting down ..read more

Yesterday morning I stepped outside and was transported back to early southern mornings when I was a child. Suddenly I was ten years old again and could feel my grandparents' home around me. It was eighty degrees and already just a wee bit sultry. The birds were singing and the cicadas were waking up. I felt like nature was serenading me. At the back of my mind, I could hear my grandmother's voice telling me to come inside where there were fresh pastries from the local bakery waiting for me.  Is it possible to carry the memory of that taste so many years later? A few weeks ago Tessa an ..read more

Well, it was just one of those days, just one of those crazy days. It was Monday and it was irritating and frustrating, to say the least. At 7:00 am my phone pinged with a text message. My neurologist's office said my July appointment, which was made 6 months ago, was canceled due to a change in schedule.  If I wanted to reschedule I could call their number, and probably sit on hold for 30 minutes, to make a new appointment.  I remember when they used to call you to apologize for the inconvenience and while you were on the phone they would schedule a new appointment for you.  ..read more

I am cautious about trying not to fall because of my osteoporosis, but a couple of weeks ago I found that although the most common, falls are not the only type of home accident. Two weeks ago I had a crazy accident. I was cleaning and dropped something on the other side of my toilet. Instead of just leaning over to pick it up I sat down on the toilet seat lid and that is when the craziness was. I didn't realize the seat was loose and when I leaned over it slipped, threw me off, and slammed my back ribcage into the toilet paper holder. Needless to say, it was very painful and produced a larg ..read more

I have been frantically searching for 3/4 sleeve tee shirts for over a month.  They seem to be quite hard to find and although I had found some, they were quickly sent back. Too tight, too thin,.....Well, you get the picture. I was getting frustrated and tired from the whole search. Macy's has 3/4 sleeve tee shirts that I love, but they sold out earlier this spring and I missed out on them. Just when I was ready to throw in the towel I decided to give Macy's another look and low and behold they had new 3/4 tees. I purchased three colors black, white, and blue and when they arrived they ..read more

Remember when you would trade in your old car for a new one every two or three years? Remember when they said don't repair your vehicle if it isn't worth it anymore? Remember that new car smell? The only new car smell I will get is one of those things you hang from your rearview mirror. Last week my check engine light came on. I was hoping for the best because the last time that happened it was because my gas cap was loose. No such luck this time. My rear catalytic converter was shot and the pipes that held it were rusted out and disintegrated when they removed them. On top of that, I had ..read more

I am not a big shopper but my seven-year-old, at least, tee shirts were really getting on my last nerve. Seriously, there was a time in my younger life when I loved fashion, loved to shop, and even owned a clothing boutique.  Somehow life got in the way and fashion was relegated to a back seat. Need new clothes, but where in the world would I start? This month has been good for me on Etsy (thank you shoppers) so I had a bit of extra cash to spend. I started by buying a couple of shirts and pants on a significantly discounted site called Temu. In all honesty I was concerned about the qua ..read more

I have been so engrossed with reading lately that I have forgotten other things. Those other things are writing my blog posts. No matter the time of year, I can't think of anything more enjoyable that settling down with a great book, a cup of tea or coffee, and some freshly baked muffins.Good Reads I have been so engrossed in my latest read that I haven't done much else. Fellowship Point is an outstanding novel.  Amazon Alice Elliott Dark is also the author of In The Gloaming. “An ambitious and satisfying tale” (The Washington Post), Fellowship Point reads like a 19th-centur ..read more

Sometimes I find myself having a crisis of faith in myself. I find myself berating myself for things I perceive that I have been doing wrong, and if I allow this negative talk to go on, I find confidence in myself spiraling downward.  The negative speak we hear from others can affect our self-confidence, but when we internalize these words and then turn around and speak to ourselves with the same or even worse words, it can be devastating.  So how should we be speaking to ourselves? I was the hand-me-down child in my family and was spoken to in that manner into my adult life.&nb ..read more

I went to the endocrinologist on Tuesday  for my annual osteoporosis checkup. I will be getting my Reclast infusion scheduled and in November I will have a new DEXA scan done to see if the Reclast is helping.  The goal is hopefully to see that the osteoporosis hasn't progressed or is possibly a little better. My Vitamins Between the pandemic and Katy's illness, I have really slacked off on my part of my osteoporosis care.  I was honest with him about it and we talked about what I need to do going forward. My vitamin D levels have been low in the past and so along wit ..read more