I can't tell you why...

Hope everyone is having a blessed Easter weekend. Or Passover week, for those who celebrate that holiday.

We've had beautiful, though unseasonably cold, weather here. Tomorrow it's predicted that we'll have a record-setting low temperature Easter. I think the predicted low tonight's 20 degrees??? Yes, that IS a little cold for Tennessee for April 8. I DO remember an April 21 when we got an inch or two of snow, though.

I haven't had to do as much driving as usual - yet. Tomorrow's driving day for me - I'll be hitting Mom's, Granny's, & Dad's. They live within a 5-mile radius of each other, about 25 miles from here. Rachel hasn't been her usual traveling self this weekend. The only driving we've done for her is around the corner, where she spent Thursday night with a friend. We spent most of yesterday hanging around here waiting for Rachel to be picked up by a young man, who didn't come through. I didn't want him coming to pick her up & discovering that she was in an empty house...knowing where that might lead...even though she claims that would never happen. I'm sure she hates the fact that I have a great memory. It's only been 25 years since I was 15, you know.

So since I was here yesterday, I did most of the usual housework. I have other projects I could do, if I wanted. Unlike my typical,"Oh, I'll never get everything done," feeling I have most weekends (when I've got too much to do & not enough time, or I want to be doing something REALLY important or fun or life-changing), I've got a much better attitude today. I can't tell you why my attitude is better. Thus the title for today's blog.

This morning I helped Randy get the last of the floor-changing project trash out of the garage. He took that to the dump, while Derek & I went running around. I planned my trip very well. First we dropped something off in Adams, then went to Guthrie. I wanted to see Robert Penn Warren's house. I've been approaching both my career & my hobby of writing in a very intellectual manner of late. Mr. Warren was from Guthrie & so I am inspired to greatness. Seriously! I wonder if he was related to my aunt Lucille. She was a Warren.

After that, we traveled to Clarksville where we got lunch, dropped off some clothes at the Goodwill, picked up a prescription & got the boy a haircut. Then I came home & napped. So here I am, writing a little, sharing my joy in life, & ready to get up & approach the next task on the list. Later!!!

And I will sing a lullaby...

Not. That's just another lyric from that song in the last post, of which this is a continuation...

So I got to the part where I decided that I was going to stop trying to find more work. Like I said, it's hard to pinpoint the exact moment I got interested in holistic health. It's equally hard to pinpoint the exact moment some recent (& very pleasant!) changes began. I noticed tonight that I am really much more organized now than I used to be. I've organized the garage, the living room, the bathroom & the kitchen - all in the last couple of months. I'm not saying my house is perfect, but I'm not ashamed to have people visit anymore. I wouldn't want anyone to go in the garage right now, but that's because - & this is also one reason I'm not ashamed to have folks over - Randy put the new laminate flooring in last week so the living room looks great. The boxes, wrappers, foam we used as drop cloth, etc. are cluttering up the garage. But only until next week when Randy takes them to the dump. Today he had to work on the yard & ran out of time for a dump trip.

Last year, I finally got rid of my "side business." I wasn't making a lot of money & it wasn't worth the trouble of keeping up all the mess for my taxes. So I finally "closed" it. I closed the checking account. And earlier this month, I closed the P.O. box in Adams. There was a sense of finality when that happened. I can't say I was sorry. I did feel a little twinge, though, remembering the day I moved the stuff to the antique mall, & the thrill I had when I sold things like the school desk & the antique thermometer.

With all the scares about contaminated food (for people AND pets), I have really been trying to eat a little healthier this weekend. I may never be perfect there either, but I really want to try. So I've been working on a little vegetable garden.

I guess, in some ways, I HAVE come back home.

Can I please ask one favor from you before I go to bed? My mom is sick. Now, she's a survivor. She's survived breast cancer (13 years now!), being hit by a car, & being robbed at gunpoint. She's been through divorce, death of an ex-husband (only a few months after their divorce), & a lot of other bad situations. And she always comes out looking none the worse for wear! But right now she is really sick & it appears to be related to her liver. We don't know exactly why. Best case scenario - Tylenol toxicity. Not that Tylenol toxicity's a good thing, but she's already stopped the Tylenol & perhaps the damage can be stopped before it gets any worse. Worst case - not going there. You can read this paragraph & see what THAT could be.

Mom's not a drinker. She probably never even took a social drink until after she turned 40. We know it's not alcohol-related. But we don't know exactly what's wrong - just that something's wrong. So if you would, please pray for my mom, OK? She's trying hard not to worry, & I've been trying not to worry too. I will post more when I know more.

And thank you.

I am everyday people.

This morning I watched the American Masters on Annie Leibovitz. Wow, what an artist. I've always admired her work. Just because my lifestyle is a million miles from someone's doesn't mean I can't appreciate their talent. While some of her work may have been controversial, she's undeniably one of the best photographers of the last century.

I felt a little like an underachiever after watching that. Not a lot...when she was my age, she'd done a lot, but she didn't become a mom until age 50. When I'm 50, I'll have a lot more experiences to talk about too. Who knows what the next ten years will bring. The last ten have certainly been interesting.

Today I took Rachel to the Adams Schoolhouse Cafeteria & the Country Pantry store near Guthrie, KY. (I don't know this blogger, but I do find her blog kind of interesting, mainly because I am really familiar with her part of the world! We passed the Stage Coach Inn on the way too. Also, in addition to the pink elephant, just around the corner on US 79 there's a big cow with glasses. I don't have a photo to post but I'll get one.) It was our first trip to the Bell School since I got out of selling antiques & collectibles nearly a year ago. The food is just as good as always. Rachel didn't feel good after we went to the store so we came home. I wanted to take her shopping for a nice dress for her cruise coming up next month, but she turned down the opportunity to shop, so she must've really been sick. On the way home she asked a lot of questions about the Amish & expressed an interest in knowing more about them. I'm no expert, but I suggested the books by Beverly Lewis.

This evening I cleaned out the refrigerator & Randy stir-fried some chicken & beef with the rice left over from last night. It was really good. Now I have to finish washing the dishes - I had something soaking over there. Later!!!

It's been a pretty ordinary day, but I enjoyed it.