Not Your Average Granny

For some time now I have been thinking and rethinking the direction of this blog (and my life's direction). I have vacillated back and forth between concentrating on one thing or keeping it as it is. The fact is, I am many things. Many, many things. Like the song, Nothing in Between, by Meredith Brooks: I'm a little bit of everything, all rolled into one, I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint, I do not feel ashamed, I'm your hell, I'm your dream, I'm nothing in between. So, that's the consensus, this blog will stay the same. I knit, crochet, sew, read, make my own products, and ramble on. But, in my rambles, there is also some insight. It might take me some time to see any insight. But, that's how I roll. Like it or not. I do not conform for anyone. Not even for the chance of money or popularity. I am my own person. The direction of my life will go the way I want it to. All my bad posts wil...

I am alive and those around me are still here. lol. I just destressed for a day and then was back in action the next morning.

This is my weekend off . I have enjoyed it; but, feel that nothing much was accomplished. I had my 2 oldest granddaughters (ages 3 & 4) spend the night with me on Friday. They beg to spend the night every time they see me. They love me for some reason. I quickly found out that having them 1 at a time is much better. Not only for me but for them also. That way they have my undivided attention and they have their own special time with me. Not only is this easier on Grandma; but, them too. As they fought, argued, and the 3 year old was jealous. So, 1 at a time it is! Nothing much went on Saturday. I went to the local consignment shop because they were having a winter sale. But, didn't see much to get. I bought a cute tote and a bag of rubber stamps for myself. The 4 year old got a beautiful but cheap party dress that she will use for dress up (every day mind you), and a pair of sneakers. When I dropped her off home afterwards, she thanked me so much for them. lol. She is my sweet...

Yesterday, I had an appointment in Ogdensburg, NY which is around 30 miles north of where I live. We go there at least once a month for shopping. They have a Walmart and there is less traffic than 30 miles south of us in Watertown. So, that is how I happened to be alone on this trip and I took advantage of it and stopped to take a look at the St. Lawrence River. This is the day after Hurricane Sandy went through. I am on the US side. On the other side of the river is Canada. The St. Lawrence River runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

8:30 am: woke up. took a pee. got a drink of water. put ham in crockpot. fed cat. cleaned up. ate yogurt and checked social media sites. 9:00 am: went back to bed, read, napped, and dreamed (can't tell you what i dreamed - haha). 11:00 am: got up. showered. ate cereal. prepared clothes for laundry. filled up pill box. consumed meds. checked social media again. prepared this dumb list. oh wait this was at noon. 1:30 pm: got dressed and actually DID something: 6 loads of laundry (spread throughout the day). crocheted. watched some of a lifetime movie.  checked social media sites. figured out best time to call my dad during my busy day. 4:00 p.m: looked up recipes. decided to make another day. checked my avocado. no good no more. seen that there is 4 overripe bananas that i must do something with. will have to wait another day to do something with them. prepared potatoes and mixed veggies for supper. made smoothie for morning. called my dad which lasted less ...

Jamming to some tunes. Now playing:  This is how I like to unwind. Alone singing with my favs.

For the last two months I have had Tuesday's off from work.  That is my laundry day and I try to make a home cooked meal and see the grand kids. Today, I am happy to say that I did my dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and toilets in the morning before the grand kids came over at 1 p.m. Then while watching the kids, I did my laundry and started supper at 4:30 p.m. By 7 p.m. supper and dishes were done up and I had a nice visit with the hubby. Kendra kept sneaking off outside to play and Kaydence was getting upset because she wanted to go outside also. I handed Aubree off to my son while I took her outside. She didn't want to stay out there long because the wind was too strong and cold still. They played good together for the most part. Only a few tiffs and swear words. I now have 6 new kid apps on my phone that Kendra picked out. Thank goodness they were free. We are busy making plans for a garden and chickens this spring. I plan on getting an area cleaned and painted for my sewi...

I had a day off from work today and drove Trish & the kids to Canton so that she could pick something up. Then we stopped in at Nathalie's for a couple of hours. And then Trish & the kids came to my house and Nathalie & her kids followed a couple of hours later. So all day was spent with my kids and grandkids. We sang and danced and played the day away. It's fun to watch all the kids and their attitudes, laughs, and smiles. I am in love with all my grandchildren!

Today was my day off from work. I slept in, surfed the net, watched several episodes of The United States of Tara. Finally, I ventured downstairs and did the dishes and eventually 4 loads of laundry. And knitted 8 rows on my dishcloth. I did not take a shower and forgot to take my meds. I'll just pop the sanity one here in a bit and 1 more in the morning so that I can put up with people at work tomorrow. I had dinner done before 6 p.m. Dinner consisted of browned cubed chicken breasts (youngest son cubed it) in a general tso sauce. I have never bought this sauce and it wasn't bad but sure wasn't worth freaking $4 a bottle. I wanted to make a blogger friends sesame chicken recipe but the ingredients were too expensive. I will have to buy the different sauces one at a time because I definitely want to try it. I had a few calls and texts but thank god nobody demanded I go do something for them. So, now I'm just killing time on the internet before I take my husb...

Me and my mom received an unexpected surprise the other day. MATERIAL! Now that may seem boring to some, but; to us, it's wonderful :-) Here is a piece of material to make hankies. My mom is excited about that. Here is the material neatly stored away. We plan on quilting and making aprons. And whatever else strikes us. So I'm sitting here in the waiting room at the dentist office listening to Pat Benatar and a stupid teenage girl talking while she's filling out her paperwork. I must say, I broke out laughing a couple of times. So after my son gets done here, I am heading to Staples to get a pattern enlarged. Then I am off to Joann Fabrics and will look for sewing "tools" to begin an apron. And of course, I will "ooh" and "awh" over things and Matthew will be bored out of his mind. He probably will not go in with me. Hope everyone has a relaxing day. I am enjoying mine. After a night of hell at work, I think I deserve it...

#HomeHer10 was a spin-off of BlogHer10 on Twitter . An at home conference in the day in the life of fellow bloggers who did not attend BlogHer10 in NYC. My sister over at www.theblondeview.blogspot.com explained it to me when I began seeing her tweets and I decided to join in. It was FUN! And I learned that my problems are just like other peoples and humor will get you through it. I also found other bloggers to follow. So what was my day like?: find out on my Twitter page .

I just received a package from my sister filled with "goodies." An apron. Bamboo knitting needles. Bookmark. Magazines. Various cute bags - one is shown here. An unusual teaspoon for loose tea leaves. And later I will take a picture of a cleaver idea for a cake pedestal my sister discovered.

I haven't had too much to say lately. Just the usual work and daily annoyances. I am working on quilt number 4: Just started a book last night. I'm on page 62 and still can't keep the characters straight. I hate that.

It's 1:05 am on an early Thursday morning. I worked until midnight and am up late as usual. It's nice and quite and there is rain falling outside. I have been messing with my blog design all day. Before work, during work, and after work. I know, I am always tiring of the same 'ole, same 'ole. I get very bored easily. It's very annoying. I am bored with work, bored at home, bored with the same damn routine. On a happy note, my son finally remembered where he lives. I think he was gone almost 2 weeks. In that respect, he is like his father. I didn't think he took after him in any way but; I can say that in that way he does. It wasn't unusual to go for weeks before you would hear from him. Thank God, he isn't like that now. Now my son is doing it. Actually, he has been doing it for some time. Oh, and on his adventure, he caught a fish in his bare hands while swimming with friends at the lake. He even stopped long enough to take a picture of it and text it...

My sister texted me last night and gave me a few blogs to look at. Just got done looking at them and a few others. Cool ideas I want to try. Tea cup bird feeder. Making your own cake pedestal using a decorative plate. Tree branch curtain rods. A ton of stuff I can't even remember. But, I found a post on a blog I can't remember on where to buy fabric online. I have them written down. Excited to look at them. Hope to find some fabric. Oh, and I am now inspired to make an apron. Also this weekend I ordered stuff for my iPhone and found an online store that I can get fels naptha. Yes I ordered from them too. I am now excited to get some work done on house. Just waiting for daughter and her two kids to move out. We can't tear kitchen apart with them underfoot.

Well, so far I have had a great day. Was able to sleep in. Hubby came home early this morning. I wasn't expecting to see him until Monday. I made a pot roast and potatoes and carrots in pressure cooker before work. Tasted it and it's succulent! Brought some to work for my supper so I won't have to suffer with hospital food. I also managed to do dishes and take a shower and work on my "farm" on FarmVille. At work now. Hope the rest of day goes well. Which reminds me that yesterday when I was at work my daughter informed me that she got hit in head with a softball during a game. She was in extreme pain and headachey and dizzy. She wasn't gong to ER but I convinced her to. She was checked out and had a CT scan and was alright. Thank God! I called her today and she said she was feeling all right. Whew!!! Also I found a "surprise" in my purse yesterday: 3 dirty baby socks :-) from Kendra. She is so cute.

I downloaded a blogwriter to my iPhone and am testing posts.

Once again I changed my banner. lol. I took this picture Tuesday at my moms. This is the view she has from her outside door of her apartment. I just love it! Oh, and that is the Oswegatchie River in the background.

Finally, a banner I am satisfied with. Why? Because it's my own picture and I finally got it positioned right with a little help (see web address inside banner). This is the Oswegatchie River behind my house. I took this picture last summer (or was it the summer before, hmmm?) Oswegatchie is an Indian word meaning "Black Water." It may see harmless; but in the Winter and Spring; can be very deadly. Many people I have known over the years have drowned in that river. Stay away from it in the Winter and Spring! Our town has a struggling coffee shop that is named Oswegatchie Coffee company. I used to go there but now you can never tell when it's open.

I have to work this afternoon and don't have to watch kids. I need to get dishes done and the soap grated up for my laundry soap but I just want to lay around instead. I am going to have to give myself a kick in the butt. I really need to get a day job because I am too old for the evening shift. Plus, I get a lot more done when I work the day shift. I don't foresee this happening anytime soon though. Nathalie will be home more now that she doesn't have to watch kids at her almost inlaws house. So I will get to see the grandchildren more. I have been watching Katie though and love it. It is work though but she is fun.