New acquisition

Well, I have been meaning to “share” with you all regarding my new dining room but just haven’t had the opportunity. So I will now take a few minutes to pass on some lovely photos. I am so excited about it because it is the first time we have ever had a “real” dining room suite in our 25 years of marriage. Previously, we used a little wood & glass table and chairs that we bought from a friend for $100 back in 1985. It served us well and we sure got our money’s worth out of it! (And we haven't had that for over a year because we sold it at a garage sale, thinking we would get something in its place rather quickly, so the room has been basically empty for a long time now except for a card table!) Of course, there was NO other furniture to go with it, but we did eventually get a sofa table that I used in there and a couple of cheap pressed board cabinets that I used to hold all my cookbooks and extra serving dishes. Not at all attractive but functional. So, now that I have ‘real furniture’ in there, I get a kick out of just passing by and stopping and looking in there! We have eaten one meal on it and that was the day it arrived; Mother and Daddy just happened to be here so we ate our supper in there. I don't have any "before" pictures on this computer but maybe will find some from home to put on here later. The first picture is looking in the dining room from the entry way, near the front door. The walls were a mauve color and now they are blue - a real transformation! (Although they look greenish in the photo below, they are really very blue!

I think it must be the lighting or just my camera that made them look that strange color!) I have been collecting the blue & white dishes and other pieces for many years now and finally have somewhere to display them nicely! And one of my favorite pieces is the bookcase that holds my cookbook collection! At last count, which was a few years ago, I had over 250 cookbooks (not counting cooking magazines and pamphlets), so a place to keep them all was a necessity! I have said that I am going to stop buying cookbooks, and for the most part, I have. But on rare occasions, I 'll come across one I just can't resist and it ends up in the collection! The strange (but good) thing is that I actually READ all these books! Crazy, huh?? I take them to bed with me at night to read, much as some people keep a novel on their nightstand, I keep cookbooks! Now, if I could just find the time to actually COOK a meal, from one of my many wonderful cookbooks, and have some company over for dinner, that would be a wonderful thing! What I miss most (now that I work all the time) is spending time in my kitchen!!!!


The photo here showing the table is from the entry way also. The hutch in the background is missing its "top" - that piece hasn't come in yet. They were having to make it specially for us, as this was a discontinued line and they told us they still had all the pieces available, then found out they didn't have that top piece! But because they had promised it to us, they said they would make one for us, which is good because that was my favorite thing in the whole set! Well, that and the china cabinet (display case). Well, those two things and the bookcase .... sounds like all of it is my "favorite" thing, huh? :) Now I'll have to find a photo of the bookcase (or two) to stick on here.



Below is the hutch (minus the top part). In the middle display area are the "Jewel T" dishes that were mother's. (They are actually made by "Hall" but we call them "Jewel T" because she bought them from the "Jewel T" man, who came house-to-house back in the '60s selling to folks in our neighborhood.) You can find these types of dishes in almost EVERY antique store you go to, they are huge collector's items! I am fortunate to have them! And love them!


Well, that is about it and all I have time to post anyway! I hope you enjoy seeing my new dining room!!! Y'all come see me and I promise I'll cook you a meal and we can eat on the new table! :)

Don't faint!

Yes, pick yourselves up off the floor - I'm actually adding something to my dusty blog. I know, it's been two months since I've uttered a peep on here, but you all know how it is so I'm sure I don't even have to explain! Besides, like dear niece once said 'what I lack in frequency, I make up for in length.' Let the words begin!

It is Friday night so I am MAKING a few minutes to sit at this computer and goof off. I' ve just come from Granddaddy's and he is doing real good, under the circumstances. Tuesday after getting off work just before 6, then running by Walmart to pick up a baby shower gift and grocery items to make snacks for said baby shower (which was the following day immediately after work) I was rushing to get home as it had begun to sleet and spit snow. But I thought I'd better go ahead and stop by G'ds real quick since I was already out and make sure he was doing okay. So I got there and he was down in the dining room, even though it was 6:30 (and the serve dinner at 5 'til about 6 or so) and no one else was there. So I walked over to ask him if he had just finished his dinner and he said no, he hadn't had any dinner, and the lady that worked there said "I saved his plate for him back here if he'd like it" so I took it down to his room to heat it up for him. He didn't appear to be too chipper and was talking in a very quiet, hoarse voice, like he was straining to speak, something just didn't seem quite right. I heated up his food and he said "let me show you something" and said he had 'something' on his chest, so I took a look and was horrified at what I saw! Big, huge, ugly, red blistery spots and streaks and patches just covered the right side of his chest, clear up under his arm and around to the middle of his back!!!! It was astonishing to this "non-doctor's" eyes and I had no idea what it was but I knew it needed immediate attention. Of course, it's 'after hours' - these things always happen after hours, don't ya know! Anyway, I had just heated up his food and at the smell of it, he started gagging and wretching like he was going to upchuck at any moment so I grabbed the nearest trash can and poked my head out the door to find the nearest aide. She came in and I showed her the rash (we tossed the food immediately, as it seemed to be the smell that had upset his stomach and that helped) and she agreed that he needed medical attention. I knew that in his weak condition, he would have trouble standing and walking, if he could at all, and I'm thinking .... 'hhhmmm, getting him into my car, ???? driving while he's throwing up ...??? what if he passes out or chokes??? .... or falls trying to get in or out ..... " Nope, I don't think so, I'm calling EMSA. So Tam got the paperwork ready, called them and within 5 minutes we heard the sirens and they were coming down the hall. Those guys are quick! And so helpful and SO nice. They didn't seem to know what it was either, they were mystified. Guesses were 1) chemical burn 2) food allergy 3) detergent allergy 4) medication allergy and a lot of "I don't knows." Must have been a lot of illness and accidents going on around here because many of the ERs were closed to ambulance traffic so it took us awhile to get the clearance to go. We finally went to Bapt. and they got to him pretty quickly. Dr. knew right away - shingles. BAD case of shingles. Now keep in mind that I had been there at G'ds the day before and the day before that and he hadn't ever mentioned anything bothering him, no rash, no discomfort, no nothing. But the dr. said there's no way it could've gotten THAT bad in 24 hours, that he must've had it for at least 2-3 days. I'm tellin' ya, G'd has a HIGH tolerance for pain. I have heard that a case of shingles is one of the most painful and distressing and miserable things you can have! Well, he gave us some prescriptions and instructions and I took him home (a bit tricky on the getting out of the car, but we managed with no falling - but my GOODNESS GRACIOUS IT WAS ONE OF THE BITTEREST, COLDEST NIGHTS WE'VE HAD, wouldn't ya know!). A little fiasco trying to get the RX filled, which I won't take the time to go into, but trust me when I say I was fit to be tied by the time I got them back over to him, not to mention $200 poorer (which by the way leads me to mention that charging old people such astronomical prices for MEDICATION should be against the law, when we (i.e. gov't) are GIVING food, rent and everything else to lazy bums who won't get up off their asses and GET A JOB, but that's another story for another time!) By this time, it is 11:30 p.m. - I had left the house at 6:30 a.m., had a rough day at work then somewhat of a rough evening and no supper ........ suffice it to say I was a teensy bit on the irritable, stressed and grouchy side by the time I got home. Dear hubby, bless his heart and soul, what a patient human being - and thank GOD for that! Knows just when to leave me alone and stay out of my way or just let me rant away, until I can take a few deep breaths and get a grip! Well after midnight before sleep kicked in so when alarm went off at 5:30, it was like "I don't THINK so." and off she went. Fortunately, I have the kind of job that I can call and say "I'm going to come in around noon today." and no one gets upset or bothered by that. And I can do that why? Because I almost NEVER do that. Maybe twice a year I might have an unexpected something come up which just makes it physically or mentally impossible to push on and it's good to know that when those times come, I don't have to force myself to 'push on' - I can actually stop, take the few hours that I need to regroup and get it together then move on and NOT have to worry about my job. My boss understands that I worked over 500 hours of overtime in the last year ..... not the most anyone has ever worked, I'm sure, but nothing to sneeze at either. So he knows that I do whatever I have to do to get the job done and that I do NOT take advantage of coming and going as I please, although I do have a pretty free hand as far as that goes. Hubby said "you not going to work today?" and I said "yeah, later....." and went back to sleep. He always says "man, that's the kind of job I always wanted but never found!" :) Anyway, G'd is doing pretty well, says he's not hurting too much and has only had one pain pill since we went to the ER. It's hard to put the ointment on the open blisters and not think I'm hurting him but he says I'm not so I just do it and go on. Keep in him your prayers, as some cases of shingles can hang on for quite a long time. Hopefully, this case won't.

Got my annual review yesterday. Pleased with the results. Choices are 1) Outstanding 2) Exceeds expectations 3) Meets Expectations 4) Needs Improvement. I got a #1. Nice to work for a company that notices and appreciates hard work. (On the flip side, it's not so great to work for a company that is so large that there are a few who slip and slide, do as little as possible, cheat and lie, 'pretend' they work, yet manage to stay just 'under the radar' and never get noticed as the worthless leeches that they are. Somehow they seem adept at getting "lost in the shuffle" and no one (no one who matters anyway) notices that they're lazy, worthless, good-for-nothing sponges. How that happens, I do not know, but it does!!) Anyway, besides that, I love my job and the folks I work with, so that really does help. I have heard a few people (who have been there a long time) say "oh, no one ever gets 'outstanding' on their evaluations! My ears perked up but I kept my mouth shut. I've heard that from a couple of people. But have been there long enough to realize that they have this idea because THEY have never gotten an 'outstanding' review. I have also been told by some of the management level folks that an 'outstanding' really is rather hard to come by, though, so I am very grateful knowing that my boss realizes and appreciates and acknowledges what I do. This is my 4th annual review and I have received an "outstanding" every time!!! Am I bragging??? :) Yeah, maybe a little bit. But heck, I really do work hard! And I'm just proud that my boss sees that hard work! Some bosses are the 'impossible to please' kind and no matter HOW hard one works, it's never good enough. That's no way to live, always giving your all and never measuring up, what a waste. If someone can't see and appreciate you for who you are and what you do, it's time to move on!!!! If you must work, find something you enjoy or life can be very miserable indeed! I have had just two jobs that I really, really loved - this one and my restaurant days, both fun jobs and fun people to work with. Have life-long friends from both places, a huge reward in and of itself.

Well, I have taken up a lot of blogspace with this rambling so I'll close her down for tonight. 'Bout time for me to go get ready for bed anyway!