42 & a New 'Do

Strange breeze on my neck.
Reaching for that which is not there.
"It was time." they said.
Silent tears and clenched fists.
"But look, hon" he said as he spun me around.
Audible gasp. (Is that a desperate house wife looking back?)
It is 42. I see it, embrace it and smile.
Everything is ok.

Yeah, it was time. That translates to "Can't you so something with that mop?". I have favored shoulder length or longer hair since age 13. I fully did NOT intend on lightening my load to this degree. And even though I clearly stated to at least leave me a ponytail, he seemed to know better. I guess that's what I pay him for, albeit it only once a year or more.

Combine this new do with the contacts (first timer) replacing glasses and I feel like a new person!

The birthday party was a blast. I ended up dyeing 6 sheets in all.




My husband reaaaaaaaally loves me because he went out of his way to find the exact Leatherman tool to replace one I lost recently. I love it!!

So far 42 doesn't stink too bad.

Once I get started....

I just can't stop.

Since last weekend the chance of rain for this Sat has increased everyday so we decided to commit to being indoors.
I must explain that our house is close to 100 yrs old, and was constructed as a school. We actively live in the front half (2 large bedrooms and music studio that is our bedroom). The back half of the house which was the auditorium, lunchroom, lecture hall has been used for years for storage by our landlord's family. Over the years I have consolidated the crap to give us ingress and egress through the back of the house. I took this a little further and decided to clean half of it for our gathering.
I then decided that I needed to cover the walls that show some peeling plaster, some boarded up windows, some bare plaster backing.
With help from a friend, and one busted toe & one sliced finger later we seemed to be successful at clearing the floor and covering the walls.
Let it rain!

Just call me the Okra Queen

Let me preface this by saying I haven't had a vegetable garden in 10 years. Well, I tried the first year we were here in this house, but had very little luck in the location i chose. This year, i borrowed a dear friends tiller and thought I would till a small plot for tomatoes. He also has a garden every year, but incessantly battles deer and rabbits.
I chose to plant tomatoes, okra, bell peppers, zuchinni, green beans,cucumbers, crook neck and butternut squash. While he battled deer i was blasted with butternut, bowled over by green beans and have now been overwhelmed by okra. I lost the cucumbers to a heat wave while we were confined to the hospital and my tomatoes were destroyed by the large green tomato worm.
I was, however, treated to a "volunteer" tomato plant that is just now starting to produce. Honestly, how do you get a volunteer tomato where you have NEVER had a garden in that location?? I figure it came from eating hamburgers adorned with tomatoes during many of the times we have grilled and eaten in that general area.
Back to the okra! It is quite prolific, over head high and with the frequent rain showers I have had to cut EVERY DAY, a meals worth at a time. The Mountaineer White Half Runners ( green beans) are doing the same.

We have eaten enough for the year and given away more, so the next weeks haul will go to the freezer dusted with cornmeal and ready to fry (the heart smart way, of course, in several tablespoons of olive oil) with just a little left whole for stews.

While I praise the okra, beautiful bloom, blah blah blah, I cannot NOT mention the horror of picking it. I should have included a pic of how one must dress to accomplish this task. I usually go at it right after work while still in jeans and I have a longsleeved shirt by the back door (my okra shirt) to protect the arms. Too much contact with the leaves of the plants can cause extreme itching that only a cool shower can calm. Even more of a challenge, I contend with ants swarming the unopened blooms that don't seem to be hurting the plants or production. I picked an hour ago and am still finding ants.

I understand okra originated in Africa and came to America via slave trade but is enjoyed by many cultures mostly in stews. The frying part, well that's mostly a southern thang, i reckon.


I would be glad to share!

I'm tired.......

Not that i belong to the oldest profession, unless you consider being a dedicated wife the oldest profession. Wifely duties sometimes require us to "prostitute" ourselves to get what we need. This could be as simple as as the batting of eyelashes or pushing out the chest (some of us more than others) if it will get what ever need. Doesn't work well with nurses but try it next time when the old man behind the pharmacy counter is giving you flack..........
Let's face it, I am tired......

Keep on the Sunny Side

The sunny side is that, since i have been laid off ("temporarily"), I will have plenty of time to take care of ailing hubby. Thursday night he was rushed by ambulance to Luce Heart Center with very high blood pressure and chest pains. After much consideration it has been determined that he will have a defibrillator/pacemaker implanted. Although I can TYPE "implanted", I keep saying installed, as in "We installed pipe and slope mat today."

Yes, I should be sleeping, but I am just about to search out this thing they are going to put in my husband.......



I searched these out and they made me feel much better.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY12Q-foRRc

I loved this movie for Turturro. Seriously.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlHbjEHWLek

Spontaneity Vs. Common Sense

Seeing as I am someone who has issues with putting socks on standing up, and has even been accused of being dyspraxic, you would think I would learn to say NO to the river, but I can't.
Although I did protest and rant about being the bread winner and making good decisions, all the while I was leaping from slippery rock to moss covered rock and even had to scale 6' up and down over head gates to get to the desired location of 'below the dam'. Turns out that I developed confidence on the way TO that was overwhelming on the way back. Upon trying to pull myself up the 6' concrete wall, my right shoulder gave way and I heard a simple pop. I did not make a big deal about it.

We reveled in how brave we were and young we still are and went home to sleep hard.

When I awoke Monday morning, my first thought was "who is stabbing me??". When I gained full conciousness I was overwhelmed with the thought that I might have REALLY done it this time. My right shoulder screamed for relief and no amount of pulling, twisting or movement could give me less pain. I found the boys arm sling and put it on foolishly expecting immediate relief. Not so lucky.
Commenced the ride to work, inadvertently honking the horn every time I operated the gear shift with my left hand, took off the arm sling to avoid all ribbing at the office check in, then continued to the project. I should have put a sign on my forehead to avoid retelling the story all day, and finally found a place to hide out for the rest of the day. I awoke in the same shape this morning and had to make a hard decision: tough it out at work or admit my foolishness and go get x-rays.........
I have now just returned from the doc-in-a-box who advised after x-rays that it is probably a torn rotator cuff.

ARGHHHHHHHH!

He advised that to save money, I wait a week to do the MRI. judging the need on pain levels(which are now diminished thanks to NSAIDS, a butt shot and small doses of narcotics-wheeeeee!).


Is it at all worth it to get a crummy cell phone shot like the one in which i am pictured below?

I'll let you know in a week.



On the up side, work has slowed since northbound and southbound traffic have been shifted the final mainline configuration, with 1 1/2 lanes left to construct on the outside of traffic.
I will be transitioning to my next bridge project which will mean a lot of paper work and file set up. Small miracles, since I would be hard pressed to test a load of concrete right now.

Please send common sense, prayer and happy thoughts my way!

RIP Cory

I believe I have just realized the basis of my fascination with the Hispanic culture.
Corazon "Tita Cory" Aquino died this morning of colon cancer.


Even though the Philippines are technically considered as Asian they have a rich Hispanic culture, being ruled until the 1800's by Spain and I guess, as a child, I believed it was a Hispanic country from hearing the Spanish sounding monikers.

I can remember when we lived without television (6 yrs, the formative ones) I would listen to much news and even local channels on my stereo. I followed from the assassination through the coup and knew that this was major history. A woman could do this??

I can also recall finally seeing her on tv somewhere and being surprised. I had envisioned a large stern looking woman, but she seemed more slight and bright in her yellow dresses.

Already daddy was hard at work toughening me up for this world and making me believe anything was possible but here was proof. Add the Ferraro selection by Mondale and, man, I was certain that soon the chauvinism crap would soon be over.
Then for some stupid reason I joined the cause and strove to change attitudes. It has been a long hard, bruising, exhausting, enlightening and bumpy road.
I had a contractor once ( 'bout my grandaddy's age) threaten to put me in that concrete truck if I did not approve the load.
I have trained individuals only to encounter them 2 yrs later as my boss.
It has been assumed that I could not push a wheelbarrow full of concrete to it's desired destination.
I have been shadowed while inspecting steel 3 stories up since i would surely fall. And so on and so on.......
Of course none of this compares to the suffragettes, I would not even BE in a hard hat if not for them and women like Corazon Aquino.

Rest in peace Cory.