A Touch Of Fall And...A Couple Prints Finally Get Framed!

Last night the temperatures got down to the upper 30's-low 40's. Today it's overcast,and the wind is brisk,so it's a good sweatshirt day. The leaves are just starting to change. Fall is in the air,and I love it!

We went down to Manchester today to the VA Hospital for Rick's appointment with his meds Dr. Everything is on track,and he is doing pretty well. He even had a couple of days that he didn't have to take Valium during the day.He can take it up to three times a day if needed for anxiety,or not,depending on how he is feeling,so not having to take it is good. He is on 2,000mg of Depakote a day,and no longer taking any Seroquil. That seems to be working well,so we will not have to see the Dr until December now.

When we got home,I noticed an unusual scent in the house. Something was cooking on the stove. It smelled sort  of like steamed clams,but the scent was a bit more strong.( I had to open a couple of windows to air out the house). It wasn't horrible,it was just potent. Lo and behold,Brother B was parboiling a couple of squirrels he got last night!

We have two apples on our Jonathan Apple Tree. We expected only a few apples this year since we did a major pruning job on the the tree this past Spring. At least they are good sized ones! Apple season came early this year from what I hear. I guess I will have to hit Butternut Farm over in Farmington soon for some apple picking,if there are any left! I am bummed that neither my Jack O Lantern or Sugar Pie pumpkins took this year. I don't know what happened. I planted seedlings that I started and have had great luck the last few years.Looks like I will have to hit the Farm for those as well. I did have a mystery plant that wound up being gourds. I had thrown some into the compost pile last year,and when we filled the beds this year,a vine grew. I got three gourds from it before hoards of squash bugs descended. I have never seen anything like it! There were hundreds! According to folks in our Garden Group,everyone had issues with them this year.

Yesterday I took a trip to our local Ben Franklin store (fabrics,crafts,etc)to get some frames for two prints. The first one I absolutely love-though you wouldn't guess it because it's been rolled up in the store bag since I bought it 5 (yes,that's right FIVE) years ago. I'm the Queen of Procrastination,remember?  :)

I think most folks,at least here in the US,are familiar with this iconic photo taken when folks learned that the  Japanese surrendered and WWII was over.People poured into the streets,dancing,singing,hugging,and laughing. They didn't know each other from Adam,but they didn't care,they were so ecstatic. A sailor grabbed a nurse and gave her a big old kiss. The photographer just happened to at the right place at the right time.  I love the photo for what it represents-the end of a war and the happiness that peace brings. I have this in our bedroom:

The second print was,of course,my Wilder print. I picked four mats,then a frame,then I stood there with the print comparing the mats to see which one I liked the best. After about 15 minutes of deliberating,I picked a mat,brought everything home and finally hung it in it's place of honor-on the wall to my left,next to the computer desk.

 

It felt really good to finally get these on the wall where we can enjoy them. I still have a few more photos to put out,but these were the two main ones I wanted to get done.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

 

How I Began Eliminating Mental Clutter

We all have mental clutter,don't we? Whether it's what we read,see,hear,or think,our brain is constantly going. What it tells us can affect our bodies. At least,it does with mine.

I have been very open about my depression and anxiety issues. I usually wake up with a knot of dread in my stomach.Sometimes it's hard to enjoy things,because what's going on in my brain keeps that knot going. It gets to the point where even if there are no negative thoughts careening around in my gray matter,the knot is still there,because it's used to being there. Part of my decluttering goal is to rid that knot without having to up my medication ( Effexor) or go see someone one on one. 

My first step was trying to eliminate the things that cause my anxiety.Granted,I cannot get rid of everything in life that causes me anxiety.I would have to live by myself in a plastic bubble with no contact with anyone or anything for the rest of my life. It would work,but it isn't feasible,and it isn't what I want.However, I did make some simple steps,and to be honest,they have already helped.

1) I Eliminated Facebook. When I first joined FB,it was fun. I enjoyed contacting old friends I had not seen or spoken to in years. Lately,however,it has turned into a bully fest. People post horrid things on other's pages if they don't agree with them,especially on political and social issues (my blogging friend and fellow Bonnethead Laura from My Simple Happy Life had a good post about this very thing).I've had to block people from my page because they were just so rude and nasty. Why would someone who claims to be my "friend"say such horrid things to me or to other "friends"? I don't get it. When I started to dread going on FB,I know it was enough. When I would  get angry at some of the ridiculous assertions and bold faced lies that they would use as facts  it would get gnaw at me for the whole day- and,well,I knew I couldn't do that anymore. So I bowed out. I don't miss it one bit and now I find more focus on this here little blog and reading the blogs I enjoy.FB tends to suck up time that I could spend doing things that are actually beneficial.

2) I Got Rid of Unwanted Emails. I eliminated mass emails from organizations. I don't mind a few,but when I started getting 20 a day,which I never read anyway,it was enough. I also had to ask folks to stop sending me emails belittling my views. I respect theirs,even if I don't agree,but I don't send them emails against what they believe. I expect the same courtesy from them. Again,it was to the point where I would dread opening my email box. Usually I would just delete them without reading them,but the fact that they were there would make me filled with anxiety-because,in my mind,if you belittle what I believe,you are belittling ME.

3) I Stay Away From 24 Hour News Channels.Very little news,a lot of BS. When I was growing up,we had the local news at noon,at six,national news at 6:30,and local again at 11:00 PM. You got all the information you needed-because back then,people were actually journalists They weren't shills for political parties to try and spread misinformation for political gain. Now they are just paid  parrots for whatever political party runs their news organization.Living in NH,we get bombarded with political crap 24 hours a day seven days I week. I can watch a half hour show and see the same damn political commercial 5 times.  We really need a new Walter Cronkite!!!!

4) I Only Read Blogs That Are Uplifting To Me. If you want to discuss gardening,self improvement,self sufficiency, Laura Ingalls Widler,etc,then I am your girl.Otherwise,I am not going to read it.No offense.

By doing these 4 simple things,I now start my mornings on a more happy note.Before, I would get off the computer filled with anxiety and anger,which would color my whole day. Now, my mornings are happy and anxiety free,which makes for a better day.My spirit feels lighter!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Taking It Easy

Today is  going to be a down day for me,I think. Yesterday my eyes started burning,and the rims were sore. I awoke with this yet again,but now I have a scratchy throat,my sinuses ache,and I feel wiped out.Could be allergies,or something else that's going around,though to me it feels and sounds like allergies.I do take allergy meds on a daily basis. Up until yesterday,I felt great,upbeat,and full of energy. My,what a difference a day makes.

Yesterday I did get out some photos out,though the ones I was going to hang on the wall I wound up not doing. I just couldn't decide where to put them. I did hang one photo in our bedroom over the bed. Rick took it when we lived in Dalton,MA waay back in 2001 when I was the manager of the Jockey Outlet in Lee. There was a trail up to the reservoir,and the view was pretty,especially in the Fall:

Unfortunately,the photo I took doesn't really do it justice.I tried to block as much of the glare from the window across from our bed as possible. The colors are much more vibrant than they appear here.

 I  took a photo of  the print I bought at the Wilder Farm in Burke,NY so all my fellow Laura fans could see it. I still need to get down to the store to buy a nice frame with matting for it so I can hang it. It's called "Coming Home" and the artist is Sandra A. Young. I feel in love with it as soon as I saw it and had to have it. It brings back great memories of our trip,and how it felt to actually walk the same yard and be in the same home as Almanzo. Isn't it gorgeous? Like Rick's photo above,the colors are a bit muted in the photo,but you can still see how wonderful it is! It conjures up cozy winter feelings,even in the midst of summer.

While I did that yesterday,as well as puttering around the house cleaning,Rick began the oh-so-ever-fun task of decluttering the garage.When I went outside to take a photo,he had pulled some stuff out of it already and had 7 bags of trash.We are not talking stuff we no longer want,we are talking trash.

We had the garage filled right up to the door. As I mentioned in an earlier post,part of the problem is things are not being put back into their proper place,or trash not being disposed of (chicken feed bags that are emptied into our feed bin seem to never find their way to the trash,they are just thrown off to the side for instance). This is Rick's project. He does not want help.I did ask him what his game plan is and we are on the same page: take everything out of the garage,get rid of trash,and put like items together (tools,garden,camping,etc)He checks to see what is still good,or what is broken,and keeps the good items. He then takes what we are going to keep and organizes it in the garage. A tool bench will be made.Part of the problem of not keeping this area organized is when we try to find certain tools,we can't find them,and then wind up buying a replacement. Then,of course,we find the original. It's a waste of time and of money. That is coming to a halt this year. I will have to try and keep Rick on task as far as putting things back because he forgets.I think having him put that reminder into his IPod will help. He now schedules his days with the IPod that the VA gave him for such things and it has been very helpful. This is to help him become more independent so he doesn't have to rely on me to remind him of everything.I always feel like a nag when I have to remind him of this,or question if he did that. It makes for an odd dynamic-almost like a mother and child,which is not a good thing.

Today he is going to continue on the garage. It was very humid yesterday and he worked hard for a good three hours. He is not fast but he is steady. One thing you learn when you have a spouse with a brain injury is that you cannot rush them. They have to do things in their own time so they don't get overwhelmed.,which can be very easy.Sometimes it can be something very small that will set them into tailspin. I have learned that setting time frames for projects is not necessarily a good thing. It can be sometimes,but sometimes it just puts too much pressure on Rick,which then shows up in his demeanor,and he feels even more scattered than he already does,which I don't want. It's a fine balance,which I am still struggling to find.

We did get a nice surprise treat yesterday. Our neighbor across the dirt road stopped by with a homemade apple pie. She buys eggs from me as soon as my sign goes up,and we give her and her family fish on occasion. Last week she came over and asked if she could buy some! She was going camping and thought her parents would love the fish. We said we are more than happy to just give her the fish,no problem! Yesterday she was baking for her church's bake sale/pig roast which is today and made us a pie to thank us for the fish since we wouldn't allow her to pay for it.. How nice to have  good neighbors!.The pie,by the way, was delicious :)

Today I am going read,work on some Christmas gifts,and just relax.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!