Old Peeps Need A Project

I've tried to be really good about tackling one project or part of a project, every single day since moving into our magical mystery tour of our new forever home, after ten years of debts and doubt.

It's been a complete blast.

It's all about "That was then, but this is now."

I've never been happier.

We're now living in a house almost as old as I am... which  weathered the journey better than me.

From all accounts we have heard (on our block and  further away)  since moving in, this property (now ours) was loved, cultivated, pruned, upgraded, and been the stomping grounds for more than one killer party.

Number one we have a tree hut for views of the sunset over the lake.

Number two we have an awesome fire pit out back, underneath massive live oaks with vines streaming down from them big enough for Tarzan to swing from...with tons of cut up wood waiting out back by the utility shed.

Bonus points for winter nights...luckily few and far between.

I love our bedroom with the wood floor and its five windows, but was just so dark with the wooden built ins as well.

BAM!





Life is at its best when every day is a challenge but ends with you smiling at your accomplishments.

I'm one of the lucky ones.

I got nothing but time on my hands.

Some peeps don't.

Never worry about something small in your life. If something small happens, you're one of the lucky ones.

My prayers are fast and furious for my warrior friends.

#CallMeAnyTime

COTTON

Life

 

I don't like this picture of me, but my daughter does.

In other words, it's most probably a good picture of me... and I definitely hate looking at how old I really am.

After finally finding, purchasing and moving into the house we've been looking for since leaving our homestate of Georgia...

We feel home again.

It's older, like us...but built like us.

From hearty stock, built well, luckily loved and has countless stories to tell about the past.

Every day now I have a project to tackle.

 It may take just five minutes out of my day, or may take most of my afternoon or evening.

What a blessing  either way.

Lately I tackled painting our old tables. One is in the breakfast nook, and the other is in the kitchen. The breakfast nook table is close to forty years old, handed down from my sis when her own boys (now in their thirties) were young.

The kitchen table is from my eclectic, wonderful and sorely missed mother in law who passed about a year or so ago.

It is at least about a hundred years old.

It's a butterfly table with ball and claw feet. Her herd of dogs (Almost twenty over the years I knew her) chewed on the feet but once painted black, you don't even notice.

Yeah, I used a cheap brush to paint them both with.

I didn't have a roller. But I had a brush, some paint, and a day off, so I did it.

You can see brush strokes and marks on both tables, but I kinda like it that way.

They are  the strokes and paths of my life, and every single one of them tells a part or story of my journey to now. 

Every single bristle on that cheap brush is a part of the tale, and one of the reasons why I am who I am.

I'm a woman with more faults, lines, old lady skin, hot flashes and wrinkles than virtues, but at least I own it it. 

At least I wake up every day grateful and go to bed even more so.

My slap dab painting is a mess, I'll  admit...but gets the point across.

It's simply there to remind me of the tracks of my tears, and remind me to keep on keeping on.

Take a good look at yourself...and be the difference.

COTTON

Project Central

We got lucky and bought the perfect house to remedy this old wives tale.

I work days out in the yards and spend nights working on the inside.

Case in point.

Our kitchen a couple of weeks ago.

Then the following things happened...

I spent very little money, around a hundred dollars, but was more than worth every single penny. Our wonderful new neighbor across the street built the benches for us as a housewarming present, only charging me twenty five dollars for the lumber. I spent about forty dollars on black and red paint from Sherwin Williams, bought two cheap brushes for a couple of bucks from Walmart...and

BAM!!

Every night I make a list for the next couple of days, or leave notes on my phone when I think of something else I want to do around the house or yards. I think my biggest expense was forty dollars spent for a new comforter set at TJ Maxx (half price) for our king size bed.

The blanket folded up at the end of the bed is our old comforter (worn down to blanket status) and all the accent pillows are leftovers from our  house in Georgia.

As Bob Dylan  eloquently put it many years and years ago... on my favorite album of his, Blood on the Tracks...

My life has been a simple twist of fate.

Back about a decade ago, for me,  it was "Throw in the towel and curl up in despair because things have gone wrong,  after a pretty great twenty year run of perfection... or come out swinging like a girl."

I chose to swing.

Even crazier...if it can get any crazier, the above is a pic of my nephew's wife, whacking the crap out of a softball. She can do this on a daily basis and then some. She could whoop a wrasler.

 He married well.

My other nephew did just as well with his choice for a mate.

The old adage is so true...

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

She can do anything, and does it well.

She cuts hair like a professional, makes jewelry better than well known designers and knows every secret to a healthy existence.

It's been a crazy ride, but one I'd do again in a heartbeat if I had to.

I have always been fortunate and lucky enough to be loved by my family and friends, especially when we needed it the most. 

I will never forget that, and will always pay it forward.

Karma got us here.

And Karma will get us there.

Until next time...COTTON

You're Killing Me Smalls, on the Left, and Right.

I used to think I was just an okay, kinda clever, not super smart and certainly not very intellectual person.

I'm beginning to change my mind about that entire last sentence.

We have a political three ring Shit Show going on in this country, getting worse and more hateful each and every day, and doing nothing but tear us apart..literally.

It's like we're building a proverbial wall around our own personal views and opinions... and there simply aren't enough fingers to point, to even go around the room once.

Talk about the elephant (or donkey) in a room?!!

(Or all parties?)

My favorite thing is how everyone likes to believe their social media post or share is the only correct,

 true, or viable point of view.

Well...

then I got some swampland in Florida to sell you.

Hate fixes nothing,

but love can move mountains.

#BeenThereDoneThat

I'm (mostly) tired just from being an almost fifty nine year old plate slinging waitress, but (and it's a Big Butt) these past couple of years have  worn me totally slap out, listening to coats, ties and dresses in Washington ... living off our dimes, deciding what's right for everyone, especially the Average Joe or Joanna.

But in the meantime, why don't we show all them what we are made of?

Be kind to one another.

 Put needs above affiliations.

Never assume.

Pay it forward.

Don't wait to be asked.

Never Hate.

(except for Casey Anthony)

Always vote.

It's totally true what they say...

"You catch more flies with honey than vinegar."

  My only New Year's resolution is to give up vinegar.

What's yours?

Till next time...

COTTON

Happy New Year!

Wow.

What an ending to not only another year but another decade.

Ten years ago we were on the verge of  collapse... mentally, emotionally and financially. It was the first and only time I ever worried if my marriage would last.

I've always said money is overrated and still stand by my statement, but when you don't have enough to take care of your own family, it's a pretty hard thing to deal with.

Tim beat himself up pretty badly, and being married to me didn't help much.

There were eventually a lot of finger pointing and  hard feelings.

May I add, I am an excellent finger pointer and my tongue can be razor sharp, with a very quick wit and even quicker come back.

Poor Tim.

He's as quiet and easy going as Ole Jed and the nickname fits him well.

We survived, with a lot of help.

 Seems like the time span of a single year.

If you have a loving family

you have everything you need.

Then this happened last week.

It was a great Christmas, but were missing way too many of our clan. 

Sometimes that happens as all your kids grow up and go their separate ways, with their own new family.

It's a very bitter sweet feeling.

I'm thinking more and more...as the years go by, that we need to pick out some random weekend, at any time of the year, when we can all get together, every single one of us, and enjoy our Christmas together, then. 

I have three kids and they all live in three different states now.

I look at these pictures and wonder how the years passed so quickly?

My life is way over halfway done unless I live to be over one hundred seventeen.

I'm truly the richest woman in the world.

Tim and I have always wanted to live in Florida, and now we do.

Less than an hour from the beach.

Perfect hurricane buffer.

After Tim living and working alone first in Lubbock for almost two years, then Orlando alone for another one...then us all in a rental can for another two years...

We're finally here.

Home.

I'll always be a Georgia Girl...

but I sure love this place.

It's no mansion and almost as old as me, but just feels like the right fit.

It's a place where we can all fit,

and bonus points:

a house where the yards are even more awesome than the inside.

It is going to be a tremendous amount of work to maintain these yards, but will also be a tremendous feeling of satisfaction to watch nature grow and flourish around us.

 I can't wait to do it!

For anyone out there battling their own demon... whether it be financial, personal, emotional, mental or physical.

Never give up.

There is room in this world for all of us...

especially with a little help from your friends.

#NeedOneBeOne

As a dear friend of mine so eloquently posted on his wall for the New Year:

(Old pic of him with my daughter)

"May 2019 bring you everything you are willing to work hard enough for."

#BestAdviceEver

Wake up and continue going forward every day.

It may not be a good day but beats stopping or trying to back up.

It's impossible to go backwards (unless you're Michael J Fox)

 Go forward, even only an inch.

That is progress.

Baby steps.

I'm the lucky one.

The only thing that happened to us, is we both lost our jobs at the same time.

To every person I know, battling cancer or another illness... whether physical, emotional or mental (and sadly know more than a few).

Never give up.

Quitters never win and Winners never quit.

Been there.

Done that.

Luckily miracles happen every day.

(another true fact)

For all my friends battling...

You simply never know, so just wing it until your  miracle happens,

and depend on us until then.

Everyone have a good 2019.

At least we've made it this far.

Til next time...Cotton