A Revival, The Inspector

Repeating myself with an oldie (and hopefully goodie) today, but I am trying to catch up on things that should have been done a few weeks ago.  Other than that,  I am doing OK.

Looking for Perfection

Hubby has worked most of his life in Quality Control. This is perfect for a person with borderline OCD. Was he born this way? Possibly, since he is the oldest and as we have all read in countless articles on the Internet, first borns are the most driven. I was second born and am more in the slower lane, although my family may have something else to say about that. I guess I have my own crazies, but that is another subject.

Hubby looks for mistakes, searches for imperfections and finds satisfaction in any flaw he finds. You say that is a negative trait, no, no, he will tell you. It is necessary and the world and I am better off knowing what is wrong so these things can be corrected and then we will all live a more satisfying life.

The question always arises in our family as what to get as a present for H. Give him a sweater or shirt, he will look for the loose thread. Any item you present to him, he will closely inspect, turning it over a few times and if he has not found any failings, he will smile and everyone will rejoice.

Now that spring has arrived, he has accompanied me on my walk-abouts in the neighborhood. We cannot go past two or three homes without his commenting on the state of someones lawn. Dandelions and flowering weeds are not permissible in his eyes. However, now that most of the offending plants have gone away due to lawnmowers, he is having a more relaxed walk and I, a more pleasant one.

As much as all of this drives me up a wall, I do see some merit in his quest for excellence. Heck, we have lawyers out there raking in millions for mistakes people and companies make. None of us wants to be a victim of errors in judgement or product failure. However, no one and no thing is infallible. Living with inadequacies is a good thing, it helps put things in perspective. Mistakes are made because we are human and we all learn more from these than our accomplishments. It is about realizing not everything is important, letting things go and smiling and laughing at our failings.

I must say though because hubby is hubby, my family has lived a good life. I do like that I can count on him to fix things, to have remedies for problems and because of his peccadilloes, I always have a good story.

Icicles On My Eyelashes

Holy Moley, I must have sleepwalked to Alaska, but with some hot tea, I should be OK.

 

 

The heat is cranked up, the fireplace is on, the space heater in the office is set to high, and I am still cold.  I just might forgo walking outside to the mailbox today  The bills will have to wait. 

 

The temperature is saying 11 degrees F.  I am thinking back now to the days gone by, last winter, as a matter of fact, when the average temperature was 50.  The global warming was so kind to us then.

 

It is less than two months till spring so I will spend today wrapped in two layers of clothes and eating calorie laden foods (I need some comfort) and peruse all the gardening catalogs that I have received in the past few weeks. 

 

In six months, I will complain about the heat.

 

 

 



 

 

 



 

Snap Out of It

Need some bright sun, but I am doing OK.



Do you ever wonder if people who live in all-year-round, warm, sunny areas suffer the winter blues? For us in the colder regions, it may start about two weeks after the holidays, when everything and all its color is put away, and you know that the days ahead will probably be grey and dreary.  Now I don't mind the rain because I know that I will need this for my spring planting.  The snow is beautiful for a day or two and the skiers and children love it.  A winter wonderland adds to the economy and there is fun involved.   What gets me down are the nothing days, the cloudy, cold days, the ones that tell you to go back to bed.  They drain you of energy and leave you empty.  Although they are hard  on the mind, they probably do some good for the body by allowing us to rest.  It is a part of life for many species. Too much rest, though, can get tiring and unless you do something to bring excitement and people into your life,  you can be left on the side of your bed having a pity party with yourself.  I have been through that and once went into the large hole of depression that I did not think I could escape.  It was so deep and so bad that once I was well and whole again, I promised myself I would never go there again.  It was almost 20 years ago and sad times have come, but depression is another animal and if I can help it, that will never be a part of me again.The book has been closed on that episode of my life and I have moved forward to much greener pastures.

Yes, these days in January can get me down but not out.  I fight every day not to give into its gloom. I do not listen to the horrible news of the day and ignore the people who enjoy negativity. Some days will be good, and others not as good, but none will be bad as long as I am still kicking.

I am baking this afternoon.  Sugar always makes me happy.

Cry Me A River

Christmas is packed up and put away and I am doing OK.


I admit it, I love sad chick flicks.  Just thinking about Beaches, Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolias, and the queen of them all, The Notebook,  makes me misty-eyed.  Yeah, there is nothing like a good cry, especially when you are sharing the moment with women who understand your joy of  pain.  My daughters were wonderful to have around when re-watching one of these movies.  We would get out our boxes of tissues and bawl together.  It was a good bonding experience and wiping our noses in sync were tender moments I will treasure forever.

Yesterday, with my dear friend Barbara, I went to see Les Miserables.  Tears started flowing within five minutes and it got better and better every minute after.  Though the movie was l-o-n-g, I loved and wept through it all.  I have to say I have seen numerous adaptations of this story and have enjoyed them all.  The book speaks to my liberal heart and the injustices I see in this world, but the marvelous, poignant music and exceptional acting in this film stole my heart.  It was worth sitting in a theater seat for 2 hours and 38 minutes with my legs cramping up and my butt getting sore.  It was a beautiful movie and I cried my eyes out.  Oh, happy day!