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Friday, June 10, 2011

Link Roundup




Thursday, June 9, 2011

A Moody Pictorial Essay



The last two blogging breaks I took are due to the fact my soul was in anguish. I felt frayed to the core I just could not deal with coming up with stuff to post. I needed to recoup and deal with life first in order to avoid serious depression.

The last two times I visited my mother, she was not up to visiting. She was sick and slept. It appears that she has given up on life. And, after the last time I visited her, my heart broke. We no longer visit, talk and rub off one another. I miss my mother. And, I despair that I will ever have a decent visit with her again.


After the last time I visited Mother, I went up to the lake house afterwards where Daddy is ever present in my memories. Having this along with the heartbreak concerning Mother just overwhelmed me at times.

The phrase “I lost my mother” kept going through my mind and I worried for her because she seemed so sick. She refuses to go see a doctor that may help get to the bottom of her constant sickness. And, I feel so helpless.

I did enjoy being at the lake house. It was exactly what I needed to do. I am ever thankful to my youngest niece for inviting us there to see her and her daughter. They were the driving force of my going back to that place as I always want to see them. I now know that I can and will go back to the lake house again. There is happiness there too with family.


We relaxed, watched the boys play video games, visited, observed and played with the dogs, ate like a pig, and just had a good time. The lake itself was too rough to take the boat out and none of us went swimming. My youngest nephew was the lone brave soul to take out the jetski early one evening and wore himself out going over the waves. Oh, to be young again.


This little girl is just too cute. She is a very happy and contented baby. She doesn’t mind at all being held by others beside her parents. In fact, she likes to be held by anybody that is standing up.

I am ever hesitant to ask to hold her or to bravely just take a baby away from Mommy or Daddy; but, the others did not hesitate. It is a joy to simply watch her. She is happy and contented no matter what her situation is at the moment. She is precious.

The one time Dan held her just before they left is the one time she was tired and fussy. Dan was the only person standing and I thought she might want to be with him. He offered to hold her. She didn’t want Dan and it was just too amusing. Dan felt bad; but, understood that she just was very tired. Hopefully, the next time Dan should ever want to hold her, she will be in a better frame of mind.


I am anxious to see this littlest girl again. I dislike the long months that go in between the times we do not see the little ones because they grow up so fast! In fact, I feel this way with all of the little ones including Dan’s side of the family. Facebook is no substitute for the real thing; but, it is better than nothing. Those twins on Dan’s side of the family are just too cute!

I am also anxious to see my other littlest niece and nephew again. I am happy that they are returning to Texas soon for it just might give us a chance to see them more often. And, a new little one will be arriving in September. Such a joyous time that will be.


In spite of feeling broken at times and in spite of the tattered dreams, there is beauty in life. Life does go on and the grief from loss does ease.

Do not miss me if I should suddenly go silent. It just means that I am taking a break for myself. Or it could just simply mean that I have gone vacationing or visiting with family. And, one day, it will mean that I am gone from this world enjoying life in Heaven with Dad, Gram and all the others that have gone before me. Hopefully, this will be quite a distance in the future for I still have dreams to pursue.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Wordy Wednesday



Moments After Being Bitten by Ants

Last Thursday (June 2nd), I was outside walking looking for things to photograph. I had knelt on one leg taking pictures and did not realize my foot was in an ant pile. I had made sure that my knee was not going to be in anything before kneeling; but, silly me, I did not think about the foot.

After I was finished taking the pictures I wanted, I felt stinging on my lower right leg. I looked back at my leg and discovered hundreds of ants all over my lower leg and foot. It was all I could do to not panic and set the camera down before brushing them off. I had to take off my sneaker and sock because ants had crawled inside. As soon as I was sure they were all off me along with the sneaker and sock, I immediately went back home. Fortunately, it was not far.

I instant messaged Dan and facebooked about the incident. I also took a picture to send to Dan. He was shocked. My biggest worry was allergy reaction as I have never been bitten by that many ants at once. And, it hurt like the dickens.


Approximately Nine Hours Later

When everything calmed down, I counted a total of nineteen bites. Not all of them are pictured here. There were a total of eighteen on my lower right leg and an odd bite on the upper left leg. The things I do for my “art” and passion. Ha!

I thought I was fine; but, the next morning I woke up in pain. My leg felt tight and swollen and I discovered that the vast majority of the ant bites had turned into pus filled sores. Dan had to take care of them for me. I will have to keep an eye on any future bites from ants from now on because I sure did get an overdose of ant venom this time around.


Two Days After Being Bitten

I’m fine. I still have sores on the back of my legs; but, they are slowly disappearing.

Let this be a warning to you all. Don’t forget about your feet when kneeling to take pictures. I know I have learned my lesson from this experience. At least, I hope I did. Ha!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

DIY Tuesday: Trash to Treasure (Part II)


Trash to Treasure: Before Pictures

I had originally posted pictures of a nightstand knowing my sister-in-law would give me grief for not posting more on the progress we did on the furniture. Sure enough, that afternoon (after I posted), I received a message from her giving me grief because I had not showed more! It made me laugh! I sure love to tease people. She knew that we had done some work on the nightstand and wanted to see pictures.

We are about halfway through the work on this particular piece of furniture. I am real pleased on the progress. The making of the new legs slowed us down because he had to figure out how to make them. Things should progress faster now that the new legs are on the furniture.

Here are a few pictures I took of the work in progress:

April 30th, 2011 (the day we rescued the nightstand):


Stripped Down to the Bare Bones

First Tried Using Jigsaw to Straighten the Ugly Curves

No Reason for this Picture – Just Thought it was a Cool Shot

Attempting to Smooth the Edges with a Plane

Dan Took Over – it was Easier to Use a Plane Rather than a Jigsaw

Another Meaningless Picture – Thought it was a Cool Shot

We also squared the top of the nightstand. I have no pictures of this process. I have no clue to why. Maybe I got tired of taking pictures. ha! Anyway, it was done with a plane too.

On Approximately May 7, 2011:


A New Back Leg/Foot and I’m Not Talking About the Legs Attached To the Human Feet. Ha!

It took Dan some time to come up with a jig that would work for creating the new front feet using the table saw. Both of us really did not want to spend more money than necessary. And, life took priority over this project (and all others).

June 4th, 2011:


Dan’s Rigged Jig (in the background) Helped Create the New Simple Foot

We then had to get a few supplies such as bolts to screw the new feet onto the nightstand. Fortunately for us, we found some at Walmart. So, we did not have to make a run to Home Depot or Lowe’s.

June 5th, 2011

New Gorgeous Feet

Close-up Shot

Side Perspective

This is the current state of the “Trash to Treasure” project. The next step is to create and attach the new sides to the nightstand along with the old backing. Once that is done, we then will prime and paint the nightstand and its drawers and put on the new handles. It is so close to be done!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Pictorial Monday: Classic Car Show


I had snagged a Groupon for the South Texas Classic Car Show back in March. Even with the Groupon, it was a disappointment. We will not be going again. It is just not worth the money even with 50% off the admission price. The Charity Car Show put on by the San Antonio Mustang club is three times better.

In spite of the show being a disappointment, there were a few classic cars that I liked and one that I loved.


Blue! Classic!

I Love Me Some Old Pickups!

And, I Love Me Some Old Wooden Cars!

My Favorite

And The Lovely Behind! Ha!