Dovetails

Last night I dreamed of dovetails - the wooden kind - OLD - There are so many here in this 50+ year old cabin. First, though I must say that these are only a few existing here with me.  Waaaay back when my parents were furnishing their "summer retreat" there was a used furniture store in town with all sorts of wonderful finds. Dressers and chests were needed in the two small bedrooms, and some place to store odds and ends and kitchen linens was called for.

The first purchase was the small bedroom dresser including attached mirror. I was with Mom when she chose it and remember clearly that it cost $10.00. The next purchase was  a dresser for the larger bedroom. This one came with a detached, but beveled mirror and cost $15.00.   A tall chest was needed for the larger bedroom. Another $10.00. I don't remember how much the dining what-not chest cost but it is used EVERY day.

Now these certainly were not antiques because they all were a bit rickety and had been varnished and re-stained by someone else in their pasts, but they were somewhat sturdy and "attractive" in Mom's eye. They were very utilitarian - that was her mindset and is mine today.

One in the larger bedroom is really falling apart and we only use it to store stuff that is rarely used, such as picture frames and odds and ends.

Back to the dovetails. I think I have been watching too much "Antiques Roadshow" because there is no other logical explanation as to why I would have such a dream. I'm attached to these old things. REALLY.

There are old chairs too, but now I think I've eliminated the dovetail dream from my crazy mixed up mind. Besides, I don't feel like looking for more. I don't feel like taking more pictures today.  These are IT.

 Dining Room 5 Drawer Chest

 Large Bedroom 3 Drawer Dresser (someone (Pop?) fixed once long ago)

 Large Bedroom  7 Drawer Chest

  Large Bedroom  7 Drawer Chest

 Large Bedroom  7 Drawer Chest

Small Bedroom  3 Drawer Chest

1938 and 1945 and 1954

I really must get my old photos scanned. Maybe this winter.....

I have many and, perhaps one day, my kids might like to see them.

Age 2 1938

 Age 9 1947

 Age 46 1982

Bad Bad ME!

But it was sooooooo good!

I knew I had a can of the stuff in my cupboard. I wanted something sweet. I wanted something satisfying to bring back memories of long ago when I indulged in this habit - often.

I knew it was decadent and indulging. I am worth it!

Tonight I got out the "churchkey" from the utility drawer and poked two holes in the top. One was large, one was just a prick on the opposite side. I sucked the wonderful stuff from the larger hole. It is way less messy to suck directly from the can top than any other way. I know this from past experience. UMMMMMMMMM!

I couldn't finish it all in one sitting so I found a plastic dog food can cover for cans and hid it in the back of the refrigerator for the next time. That will be tomorrow night when all are in bed and it is quiet. It's my secret (I think).

The stuff is so good at room temperature that I will have to let it sit out somewhere a bit for my last annihilation of the stuff. 

Maybe there will be a next time. 

Another version of my camera blog...

Last Legs

Yes, my camera is on its last legs. I love that camera and will keep taping it together until it will be impossible to use.

I have said many times before that I don't like change. I'm also afraid that it will take me too long to learn how to use a new one; (fear of the unknown).

In addition, most of all...   I have NO money to buy a new one! Will "make do." Always have, always will.

By the way, I think I'm pretty clever figuring out a way to take a few pictures of it! My brain just kicked in - it does that once in a while!

Another version of blog

Another List...

 List making is just something I do and have always done. 

 It sometimes can be revealing, especially if honesty is applied. 

 It is interesting when we compare them.  

Another friend made her list and I made comments (IN RED).

Things I love: (and when I say I love it, I mean I couldn’t live without it)

1. My family (I would be nothing without them)

2. Music (all kinds) (except rap....I don’t consider it music, anyway)

3. Laughing

4. Hugs

5. Good movies (funny clean ones or ones that make you cry or good action movies....without all the blatant gore or a really good suspenseful horror movie (and no gore)

6. Forgiveness

7. Kisses

Things I like: ( I almost love these things, but COULD live without them if I had to)

1. Carbonated drinks...practically any sugar-free kind

I always stir out carbonation

2. Cheeseburgers

No cheese on my burger

3. Macaroni and cheese (the kind my grandmother made from scratch where she baked it and put cheese on top and browned the cheese...yummy!)

I make the BEST. Several layers with extra sharp cheese

4. French Fries (homemade)

YES! I like skins left on

5. Ice cream....practically any kind

Ice cream doesn't thrill me

6. Big Sexy Hair hairspray (it is expensive, but just a little holds your hair however you place it without it making your hair feel dirty)

What is hair spray?

7. Sunsets

Sunrises

8. Birds, butterflies, dogs, cats, horses, cows

ALL critters

9. My Canon camera (it’s amazing)

My poor old Fujifilm camera held together with duck tape and scotch tape. Wish I could take a photo of it to show you!

10. Picasa ( I love cropping my pictures on there and I love the way they organize your pictures by face for you....cool!)

Shutterfly - They make great prints, cups, wall pictures and books for me

11. My computer

YES YES YES!

12. My blog

I like to write blogs and other memory stories. Always have written.

13. My blogging friends

My beach friends and 2 others who blog

14. Understanding

To be understood

15. Patience

Persistence

16. My Saucony walking shoes....best things I ever did for my feet and legs.

Bare feet - I don't know anything about Saucony shoes!

17. A good concert....and I have been to hundreds of them in my life....George Strait, Reba McIntyre,Heart, Neil Diamond, Madonna,Billy Joel,  John Denver, Alan Jackson, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift top all the ones I have been to....I would pay to go see them again in a second....been to see Madonna twice and George Strait four times.)

Only went to live shows as a teen, no concerts

18.Six Flags Over Texas.....as I have gotten older, I love the scenery around the park as much as the rides....but I still love a good ride!

NO rides except Ferriswheel and carousel and I love carousel music

19. Enchiladas

Never had one

20. Chocolate meringue pie

Never had one but like lemon meringue homemade pie

21. Firm, soft pillow

Soft soft feather pillow

22. Soft tshirts

The older the better - cotton

24. Bracelet watches

I don't wear a watch but have 4, one I won from Reader's Digest Magazine

25. All In The Family

YES!

26. I Love Lucy

YES!

27. Barbie and Ken

NO!

28. Clarinets ( I played one in band for 6 years)

I played mellophone and French horn in school bands and orchestras (grammar and high)

29. Pianos (I had one for about three years and missed it terribly when it was taken away)

Disliked and feared teacher who used to rap my knuckles with ruler

30. Clouds

Rainbows

32. Flowers...petunias are my favorite because of their aroma in the evening....smells like Adams Clove gum, which my Mamaw always had for me when I went to her house.

Love all flowers. Grandpa gave me Wrigley's Spearment

33. Train whistles in the distance

Really like train whistles and train sounds, especially steam

34. The smell of damp leaves

NO!

35. Mud between your toes

Sand and wet grass on my feet

36. Walking in the street barefoot when it’s raining gently

Popping tar bubbles on street in hot weather

37. Thunderstorms at night (if there is no chance of a tornado)

Thunderstorms anytime

38. Surprise visits from my cousin

No surprise visits

39. Surprise visits from my kids

No surprise visits

40. Good poetry

Rhyming poems

41. Biographies

No

42. Learning how to do something new that I didn’t think I could do

Teaching myself without following instructions

43. Painting the inside of the house

NOI!

45. Cross stitching

Can do, boring

46. Floating on my back in the swimming pool when there is no one else there

Floating on noodle in pool never mind who is there

47. M&M’s (peanut, of course)

Marzipan

48. Snickers (frozen are best...let it sit just inside your teeth for a few seconds and let your saliva melt it just enough to bite it.)

Milk chocolate covered cherries - must be juicy and sticky

49. Holding hands

NO

50. Cooperation from co-workers

Worked alone most of the time

51. Reading a good bedtime story to my kids.....when it’s good enough for them to ask me to read it again.

Read to husband often so he will "get it"

52. Having my kid tell me they love me when they don’t want anything and I didn’t tell them I loved them first.

Having my kids ask me how to do something and I know how

53. Having my parents call me on my birthday and sing Happy Birthday to me and ask me if they were first at wishing me happy birthday.

I always called them

54. Best friend

My best friend died and want no other to take her place

55. Scented candles

NO!

56. Body wash

Plain old soap bar is fine

57. Hot soaking  baths when my legs are hurting....the heat seems to ease the pain.

No bathtub hot shower does it

58. Spring

YES!

59. Fall

No, it means winter is coming

60. Making flower arrangements

I don't like picked or bought flowers 

#61 is missing

62. Rearranging the furniture

       I Like things to stay exactly the same EXACTLY

63. Cars that don’t break down

Dependable cars at all times

64. Soft to the touch throws in the winter

Lots of heavy quilts and socks to bed

65. Kisses from my dogs when they know I’m sad

Kiss dog and he kisses back when I go to bed

66. Good teachers....the ones that take an interest in the students and make a difference in their lives and are not just there for the pay check

AMEN!!

Things that I don’t like:

1. Intolerance

Racism

2. Speeding

OK

3. Gore

DITTO

4. Reality tv shows (they pretend it’s real)

DITTO

5. Drinking water

I never drink plain water

6. Cake

Only if has lots of tasty icing

7. Rap

DITTO! Can't stand it

8. A bad haircut

Never notice

9. Saggy pants on guys

Plumber pants

10. Beards

LIKE

11. Having to wear glasses

NO problem I have 4 pair - reading, computer, distance, prescription sunglasses - I would feel naked without them

12. Crowds (concerts are the exception to this rule....they make the concert more fun)

NO CROWDS or GROUPS for me - ever

13. Waitresses that ignore your empty glass (they won’t get a tip)

I don't let them ignore me 

14. People who run yield signs....and never even touch their brakes

Lawbreakers!

15. Tailgaters (not the ones who have tailgate parties, but the ones that stay on your bumper trying to get you to move out of their way when there is a fast lane open)

I just tap my brakes to scare them

16. Going to the doctor

Once a year is enough

17. Being sick

Being waited on when sick

18. Spinach, cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli, squash

WHAT! Those are all the best vegetables!

I abhor the word, "veggies"

19. Breaking glass

Breaking anything

20. Dusting

No problem, sometimes I wash stuff in sink to dust them

21. Ants

Carpenter ants - no! Others..mmmmmm

22. Roaches

Palmetto bugs? We spray in SC

23. Having cramps during a period

Never had cramps then

24. Headaches

Don't have headaches

25. Leg cramps

Don't have leg cramps

26. Stickers in the yard

Pickers? Brambles? NO

27. Tattle tales

DITTO

Things I hate: (I would wipe these off the face of the earth if I could)

ALL of the below! Plus rape

1. Cruelty

2. Killing

3. Hatred

4. Lying

5. Cheating

6. Whiskers growing on my face (and I have sympathy for any woman who does)

7. Alcohol (too many people’s lives are destroyed by alcohol....you wouldn’t believe the number....I see it all the time where I work)

8. Drugs ( too many people’s lives are destroyed by drugs....you probably would believe the number....I see it all the time where I work)

9. Cancer

10. Car wrecks that take lives

11. Devastation

12. Injustice

13. Chaos

14. Death of a child, no matter the reason

15. Droughts

16. Fires that destroy

17. Child abuse

18. Trouble makers

19. People who judge someone else without walking in their shoes first

20. Smoking (cigarettes took my dad away) not so much

21. Greed, especially when it hurts others

22. Biting the inside of your mouth and the sore that results 

If it doesn't feel good, don't do it!

23. Spousal abuse

24. Hangnails

25. Paper cuts

Foggy and Misty Morning

This view is seen only one time of the year. The lake in front of our cabin cools down and the steam rises up and over everything. You cannot see your hand in front of your face - well almost! When I go outside to snap pictures, I have to let myself and my camera dry out before replacing the lens cap. 

Over the past few years I have taken several photos of this and it still surprises me, when, one morning it happens! Then, for several days thereafter, it continues, but the first day is always the mistiest!

(click on photos to view larger)

2004

 2010 August Sunrise

2011 August Sunrise

2012 No Sight of Sun

2011 August Sunrise

 2012 Can't see Sun!

2011 Just before Irene took out the Willow

2011 Just before Irene Moved the Log

2012 All Boats and Floats UP-Winter's Coming!

Mouse Invasion

It is that time of the year! We will leave Pennsylvania on Sunday and head to our trailer in a campground in South Carolina. We do this three times a year and the trip is long and gets harder each time. We stay for two months there and then return to Pennsylvania for the winter. We have to prepare the cabin for our vacancy before leaving, and this is what my story is about. I wrote it five years ago but it never was on my blog.

It was November 4 and the couple had just returned from their SC place at the beach to their cabin in the Endless Mountains of PA. After driving the truck for thirteen hours, the husband unloaded several boxes, bags, storage tubs and coolers. He turned on the water and turned up the propane heater.The wife fed the dog and prepared a bite for them to eat before unloading and storing the edible provisions and other items that were brought back. She noticed that the bar soaps, which were left out on the kitchen sink, showed nibbling bite marks and other traces of mice were evident.

Now, you should know that all boxed, bagged and opened foods were brought south when they left in September. The trash cans were totally empty and clean. The toaster was crumb less, the sugar bowl was emptied and washed, and only canned goods remained in the under-counter cupboards. A dozen rodent poison boxes were placed on shelves in the kitchen cupboards, the bathroom linen closet shelves, both bedroom closets and all bureau drawers. A list was even made to remind the couple exactly where the toxic pellet boxes were placed so they could be discarded after they returned. This was due to having a dog who eats everything he finds on the floor. Also a small child might come across them. You see, there have been a couple of mice visits to the old log cabin in previous years when the abode was empty of residents. Every one of the boxes was empty - every one! How many mice were there?

It was soon discovered that multitudes of the critters had visited, and quite recently. There was only one belly up on the hearth rug, though. That evening, the wife decided to clean up the mess and restore order the next day. Only cold foods were put away and medicines were unloaded for immediate use.

And so the cleanup began.The first plan of attack was to pull out all pots, pans, iron kettles, roasters, mixing bowls, plastic storage containers, and other things from the cupboards, vacuum the debris, wash the wooden plank shelves with a bleach and soap mixture and let it all dry. Then everything that was removed was washed and dried before being replaced. This meant crawling around on the floor and stretching into those very deep under-the-counter cupboards. Wow! What a job! There were droppings on top of the refrigerator and on the little shelf above it too.

The next day the linen closets and bedroom closets and bureaus underwent a similar cleaning. The good thing was that droppings were found only on the shelves and floors and not on the contents. If the mice traveled over objects in those areas, they didn’t leave indications on them (at least not obviously).

Now for the windup of the extraordinary mouse invasion. What a grand finale is coming!

The wife finally had time to start up the computer, which is in her bedroom. There were those same little black things all over the keyboard and desktop! She dumped them, cleaned up the workspace and did some computer web research. After finding all information on her search subject matter, she prepared to print it so several copies could be mailed to a few friends down south who don’t have e-mail. The printer wouldn’t print. The printer kept sending error messages to the computer. Investigation of this problem was needed. It had worked fine just hours before the couple left to head south. All wires and plugs and such were then checked. A reboot of both the computer and the printer was done. Several other procedures were performed. Nothing worked.

After opening the lid of the printer and peering inside with a powerful small MagLite, the reason for operational failure was discovered. There was a hoard of little green pellets piled up behind the circuit board and all over the bottom plate. A straw was attached to the vacuum tool with duct tape and they were sucked up - to no avail - the printer still wouldn’t function, but it did hum a bit!

Oh well, at least the spiders weren’t as busy this time. Very few webs were encountered during the cleanup process... and that is unusual.

A small hole around a hot water heater drain pipe was found in the bottom log by the back door. The only other way they could have immigrated might be that they lined up and waited to enter as we were loading up to leave! Yeah!

GMR November 9, 2007