Finally!

Tulips at Missouri Botanical Garden

As I have mentioned time and again for about a month, I have been in the duldrums of winter and feeling pretty blah about most things.  Hardly on the computer, no reading, no journaling, etc.  I think (am pretty sure) that it has lifted!  The weather has changed, warm days will become more frequent, things are blooming to include my spirit.

Did a little bit of yardwork over the weekend, couldn't really do a whole lot as my yard is a sponge (literally) and when you walk on it, water just squishes out from under your feet.  But I did what I could.  Planted a few azaleas for color near my bench swing in the backyard as well as a few Karl Foerster grasses (the ornamental type that get about 6' tall).  Sprayed the far back fenceline of my yard as I am trying to kill the poison ivy, honeysuckle (not the good kind) and other assorted weedy plants.  If I can get these yucky plants under control, I hope to change that area into more perennial type native plants that will provide flowers for butterflies and bees and hideaways for bunnies and squirrels.

Spring is just a time of renewal all around.  I am welcoming it with open arms!

March 6-12 Weekly Recap: Gratitude!

What a week!  To be completely honest, my desire to get up and do anything other than go to work was limited.  I found myself daily just exhausted in the evening so much that I really felt ~blah~.  With that being said it's a new week!  However, there are always things to be grateful for and here we go, March 6-12, 2010:

First and foremost, I had three family members with medical issues this week and all three have fared well and are in the midst of recovering!  My brother Gregory has been battling Crohn's disease for seven or so years and underwent yet another surgery.  This one put him back to the use of an ostomy bag and hopefully in a few months they (the doctors) will be able to fix him up and reconnect what he has left and get him to a state of "normality" so he can live pain free.  My sister Jennifer had a scare as well that landed her in the ER and then a two day stay at the hospital.  Although I can't recall the name of what they discovered (something I had never heard of before) she was released on a super strong antibiotic for a week or so which should clear up her issue and that'll take care of that.  Then my dad (John) went in for eye surgery.  Although I haven't spoken to my mom or dad since his surgery on Thursday (I know!  Very bad of me but I was in my ~blahs~) I have heard through the grapevine that he is recovering well and hopefully his vision will be greatly improved!  Now if we can get him to get his hearing and dental taken care of !  Of course, it had been probably 30+ years since my father had been to a doctor so the chance of him going back is really about 1 in a million.  So my collective Gratefulness for all of this = that my family members are all well and that there are good doctors out there who help make peoples lives (from a medical standpoint) better!

Being as that really is the most important thing to me (family), that is all I want to mention this week.  When you have family, you have what is really the most priceless thing in the world.

From funk to funkadelic

For the past couple of weeks, I have felt like I have been knee deep in  muck.  Just slowly dragging myself forward but not really able to pick up the pace.  My only thoughts on this self-imposed rut is the lack o' sunshine shining down on me.  Cloudy skies, rainy and drizzly weather, cold temps have me wanting to do not much more than come home from work and crawl in bed. 

Saving grace?  Spring forward time!  Daylight savings is this weekend!  Hallelujah!  Being an early bird it doesn't matter to me if it is still dark in the morning for a while longer or not. 



Adam Levine of Maroon 5
(He just looks yummy here)

 One nice reminder of summer being on the way was delivered to my email inbox today and I got immediately excited!  Celebrate St. Louis, our 4th of July fair down at the Arch grounds music lineup was announced!  July 2nd is Steve Miller, July 3rd is Montgomery Gentry and July 4th is Maroon 5!  Whoo Hoo!  I love love love watching live music and St. Louis has some big events during the summer all at virtually no cost!   A bit later this spring Celebrate St. Louis will be announcing their Live On The Levee music artists.  For the entire month of July on Friday and Saturday nights (also at no cost) there will be opening acts which are generally local and regional artists, then a featured band.  Then there is the Whitaker Music Festival hosted by the Missouri Botanical Garden on Wednesday nights (I believe 8 in a row) featuring all sorts of musical types. 

I will plan all my summer outings around these nights of music!  Generally I fly solo to most of them and that does not bother me a bit.  I can sit where I want, take photos and some video, whatever!  Not sure if anything brings me more joy in an instant besides music?  So one thing this blog will be used for once the summer music scene starts up for me is my post-concert reviews/highlights and photos!

Sofa Scrutiny

Have you ever been in the market for an item, be it small or large and know exactly in your mind what you want but can't find it?  That is me!

For the past 10 years I have had a red sofa and a blue loveseat, both the same style and make, same everything just different colors.  They used to have those overstuffed pillows for the back, but those are long gone!  I have learned over the years that the furniture that comes with those pillows are not a great idea.  Sure they look comfy and pretty in the showroom, but wait till you get home and are constantly straightening out those pillow or after some years those once full pillows have become flat - lost their lustre and look ridiculous.  If you are like me you tried adding more pillows but that ends in the same way.  Pillows just simply flatten out over time.  So now there are no pillows at all, just the less than comfy back (that was meant to support pillows).  Also somewhere about 2004, I removed all legs from the furniture as two little doggies of mine found it a good idea to pull down the bottom fabric and tunnel into the couch.  Thus we flipped the furniture, took off the legs and just sat it straight on the floor.  It sits a bit low now and somewhere along the way the legs of the furniture have gone MIA.

Which brings me to my endeavors to search out the perfect new sofa and loveseat.  I wrote on my Facebook status today what I was not looking for and the list was pretty long and even so it wasn't my entire list of "not wants".  NO: floral, plaid, patterns of any sort.  NO: tan, brown, country blue, forest green, goldtone.  Also left off no black or white.  Because of pets with fingernails...NO leather or faux leather.  NO: skirting around the bottom, wood inlays on the arms, loose pillows that make up the back.  Whew!  I am sure there are more mundane things that I do not like either.  But what do I want?  That is easy! 

Clean lines, simple style, metal legs in either silver or nickel coloring.  Colors?  Honestly I prefer a teal or burnt orange!  After searching three of the larger furniture showrooms in St. Louis today and leaving without finding my ideal, I came home and did a search on couch styles.  Low and behold I find that what I like is called Mid-Century Modern.  I found a photo of a couch that is exactly what I want.  I downloaded it into my photo editing program and "colored" the once cream colored couch in the photo to a shade similar to what I would like.

So this is the couch I am searching for!  If you see it, let me know.  I am looking to "adopt" this couch and show it a good home.  He will live in a smoke-free environment, be vacuumed of pet hair once every other week, will be warmed by the westward setting sun through a picture window every afternoon and will likely be my Saturday afternoon napping partner on occasion. 

Happy Sunday friends!

Feb 27-Mar 5 Weekly Recap: Gratitude!

Here I am on another Saturday evening, counting my blessings this past week.  Let's jump right in, here we go: February 27 through March 5, 2011:

I love Sunday mornings at 5:30am!  Yep, I get up super early each day of the week and Sunday's hold one special 30-minute treat that I really enjoy!  At 5:30, P. Allen Smith's show is on and I sit with my cup of coffee each week and enjoy this man's soothing country voice while learning a little about caring for my yards, perhaps a craft or recipe or just whatever it is he is talking about that week.  I am just thankful for P. Allen Smith!  Love him!

Stray Rescue of St. Louis, a non-profit animal shelter that rescues animals off the streets of St. Louis and gives them a chance at finding a loving home, is led by Randy Grim.  We, the general public, should be grateful for this man and others like him.  They do such great work!  Kudos to Randy and his efforts, I appreciate all he does on behalf of all those who don't have a voice of their own....rroof!

Once again I am thankful for being able to pay my bills online free through my bank account.  At this rate I may never have to buy checks again!   Stamps may be a thing for greeting cards only!  Well I am still mailing my mortgage the old fashion way for now...why I am not sure, this is the only bill I am still paying by check and it is my most important one.  I am sure that will change in the next month or so as well.

Although our weather has been up and down the past couple weeks, this past week we had a couple nice warm days!  To be able to roll down those car windows was awesome!  Wind in my hair, music playing, the smell of the early birds lighting up the grills.....I love it!  In fact, I have heard several Bob Marley songs on the radio this week and usually I will bust out my "Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers" CD to get into my Springtime mood.  Something about singing along to a little reggae that just feels like good times!

Every now and again someone will pay you such a sweet compliment that you can almost not believe it is directed to you, well that happened this week as well.  An email from a friend was just chock full o' niceties and the only thing I can say to that is "Thank You".  When I said it was probably the nicest thing said (or written) to me, that was in all honesty and I am still glowing from your words.

Some people walk around with their eyes straight ahead and only see what's right in front of them, I tend to look around a bit and often am looking down when I am in the company of rocks.  I am a rock hound, if I see a rock that is sparkly or an interesting shape or color, I pocket it and bring it home.  Some rocks are in a pot by my bird bath (a.k.a. the rock pot), some I put in potted plants to keep the plant company :), others I simply toss in the area by my back door.  This week I found one little gem with yellowy sparkles and it now resides at my address! 

Those were just a few of my grateful "take for granted's" this week.  Keep your eyes open, special things are always before you waiting to be recognized.  Have a great next week!!!