This Perfectly Imperfect Life

Blogger's acting up again today! Brenda: I love working in the garden too! I'm so ready for Spring this year, the first time in a long time. I love watching for the greens to begin popping out and the yellow of the forsythia! A beautiful time of year for a birthday! Shelby: He's such a sweetie! Kitties certainly have a way about them, let me tell ya! Beautiful pics! Such an incredible area to live in. This is how I want to feel about where I live. (It's not at the moment but I'm more than willing to find out where I'll feel like this!) Kat: Each change in life brings with it joy and heart ache, I'm sorry both happen for you twice in such a short period of time!

Low and behold, my bloggiversary is coming up on Saturday, Feb 28th! I nearly forgot to be honest. While this isn't my first blog, it is the blog which has lasted the longest and the one I'm enjoying the most! Thanks to everyone who's come along for the ride with me!

My Father's Hands Large or small? Soft or rough? I don't know. They held bottle after bottle. Held a gun to my mother's head, playing russian roulette. Smashed her body, time and again. Held her back. Kept her down. Could have killed her, but that would have been too easy. Killed her spirit. Neither will kill mine.

These pics (above & below) are better than the ones from last night but they still don't show the richness of the colors in this yarn!

Somehow I made it through a quick trip to Kohl's for a new coffee maker and to the food store this morning. This afternoon I was looking out of the patio doors at all the grey, non-color and said for the first time in a long time I'm ready for Spring. I so wanted to see green. This is quite unlike me even though the coming of Spring signals the near start of another gardening season and gardening is one of my greatest joys. I'm never ready for Winter to be overwith (or for daylight savings time to begin again). Of course, this could be my weary soul subtly crying "Uncle!" from this hellacious cold & bronchitis. It could be the lack of sleep. It could also be the cold/cough/pain meds & antibiotics! Regardless, to satisfy my need for earthy tones, I picked up some yarn I bought in Dec. or Jan. on deep clearance at a somewhat nearby yarn shop and began knitting (yes another!) scarf. The pics aren't the best. (I'll try taking new ones today). The yar...

This pic is what happens when you're up before sun rise! I barely slept last night. I started coming down with a cold yesterday and was full blown as of last night. I fell asleep around 9pm, was up at 10:15p. Fell asleep again and was up 2 hours later and didn't fall alseep again until about 2am. I was up every hour after that and finally gave up trying to sleep and sat at the table while Hubby had his breakfast & got ready for work. He made me a cup of tea and once he went to work I made some Quaker instant Grits since I need something in my tummy but nothing too much. BUT, the good news I realized last night? This may be my first cold/bronchitis since 2007! I know I had sinus infections, strep/tonsilitis and a gall bladder attack in 2008 but I don't recall a cold or bronchitis which must mean the iv treatments are working for the most part! I used to get colds and/or bronchitis 4 times a year or more.

I could walk away with Vic from 99% of what is in this place and the basement right now and not look back, books and all. Things can be replaced, if wanted. Peace of mind and soul is priceless.

This is the sun setting on our last night on Texas, taken from Nephew's this evening. It's been a busy few days. Everything from the wedding thru the reception seemed to go well. Both Nephew and his Bride seem very happy. We didn't get to see much what with all we had to do on Fri and yesterday. Today I ended up with a migrane. It wasn't a bad one, but enough to put a damper on a good part of today. We've had some AWESOME food and for that alone we'd come back here to visit, lol! I'm sad & don't want to go back to NJ because it has been so nice & relaxing just being away from and not worrying about that damn apartment complex. That's why I think I could make my home with Hubby just about any where because we are so relieved to be rid of that place when we're away! I (probably we) so desperately want to pack up and move. But we have to wait - wait for the money owed to Hubby from state disability and his worker's comp settle...

This is my Nana. She passed away on May 16th, 2000 at the age of 89. She was born on Christmas Day, 1910. This is one of the last pics I believe I took with her. I don't remember when this was taken. It hangs just outside our kitchen here, just like it did in our old apartment. I have missed my Nana more in the last four and a half years than in the ones immediately following her death. I'm not sure why. While this pic always stays where it is, there are 2 others, family pics, that I sometimes have to put away for while because I miss her so deeply I sob each time I look at those 2 pics. On facebook, my cousin has been posting lots of pics and 2 recently have my Nana in them. (One has me, Nana, my mom, her & another cousin in it and the other is of the first 3 born in the family with Nana). Seeing them is stirring up my heart again. (And annoying me since she identifies Nana as Grandma - Nana HATED being called Grandma & everyone knew/knows that). My Dad died...

Are they not?

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 I started this on Saturday, 2/7/09 in the afternoon. Why does the movie Under The Tuscan Sun make me cry, practically bawl, my eyes out?! It brings up such… Longing? But for what? I’d never seen the entire movie beginning to end until the Saturday before last. The WE network was running a movie marathon of sorts; You’ve got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, Under The Tuscan Sun. I got home around 4pm from running errands at Kohl’s and Target for our weekend trip to Texas for a nephew’s wedding and for once got everything on my list. (We leave Friday the 13th). You’ve Got Mail was on so I watched it from about ½ way through. Vic got home from hunting shortly after I did and sat on the couch to watch it with me. When Sleepless In Seattle came on, we ordered a pizza and watched it. We ate pizza, laughed while making up our own radio talk show call names, (you know, like Sleepless In Seattle) Cuckoo in CA, Skitzo in Syr...

"...Being stubborn is one of the most important keys to writing. Not giving up. Not succumbing to that voice in your head that says: Who cares? This sucks. This is too personal to write about. This is too hard to write. Why write about this stuff? Etc. etc.. ...keep going. The only way to silence that negative voice in your head is by writing your way right past it, through it, over it." ~Barbara Abercrombie, http://writingtime.net

Last night the moon rose above the hills over looking Sandy Hook Bay just before dark and hadn't fully set yet when Hubby was leaving for work this morning. I don't remember knowing the moon was up all night before. It's brilliant linen white rays shown through the cracks in the blinds and glowed through the curtain in our bedroom. It's now rising again, more ivory in color. I love watching the moon!

Lizzi , http://arizonasteenbocks.blogspot.com/ , Life According to Lizzi Dragonfly , http://slobbsblogg.blogspot.com/ , SlobbsBlog Trosekay , http://silly-fluffnstuff.blogspot.com/ , Silly Fluff N Stuff Brandie , http://bmetzger5481.blogspot.com/ , Live Laugh Love Hannah , http://hannah7299.blogspot.com/ , All is Well in My World Cindy , http://cyndil62.blogspot.com/ , Thoughts and Reflections Sydney , http://diapers-and-deadlines.blogspot.com/ , Diapers and Deadlines, Musings of a Media Mom AND turkey feathers , http://turkeyfeathers.typepad.com/turkey_feathers/ , turkey feathers home craft The Proximity award is for blogs which: "...invest and believe in Proximity; Nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and to be friends. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to 8 bloggers, who must...

Well, Chuck in Staten Island NY is predicting an early Spring While Phil in Pux. PA is predicting 6 more weeks of Winter. (Big, heated long standing rivalry there!) Had there been a groundhog here, (Atlantic Highlands Harry would be a good name I think!), he definately would've seen his shadow since it's been sunny & in the 50's all day! So, that would mean 6 more weeks of Winter! (As my Mom always says, "it's 6 more weeks of Winter either way" ~ Duh). I awoke this a.m. with a skull splitting sinus headache so it's time for another round of antibiotics because I don't want to have this when we fly down to TX on the 13th. (Flying + sinus problems ='s Pain, suffering and BLEAH!) I've also got to rinse out the Neti pot and start washing out my sinuses again. With much consideration, I cancelled my NY Times Weekender subscription (delivery Fri thru Sun). The sections I read are all online at http://www.nytimes.com/ and it will save us about $2...