Clarification of January 12's Post

I spoke to my Mom this morning after hearing her feelings were hurt by my post.  That, of course, was not my intention and I wanted to apologise to her for any misunderstanding.

As anyone who has read my blog regularly knows, my Mom has lived with me since I moved in here in August 2000.  She has always been very vital and I've mentioned to you her weekly bowling league and the day trips etc that we have taken.  My sister has accused me of making her sound like an invalid that I've been waiting on hand and foot.  No such thing and regular readers know better than to think that.

Regular readers are also aware of my health struggles of the last three years.  I've tried to be candid about my bipolar disorder and my arthritis without making this a whiny "I'm so sick" feel sorry for me blog.  Of course, living with someone who has a mental illness is challenging.  I wasn't trying to imply that living with Mom was horrible.  For the most part, it was wonderful but it has been harder these last three years.  Some of it was her fault, most of it was mine.  After all, I was quite sick.  I have two conditions that can't be cured and that I must cope with, day in and day out.  The discrimination you face when you have a mental illness is terrible; worse when it comes from your own family.

 Regardless, the time had come.  She is better off staying with Cheryl now that she is older and needs someone around more.  I have a busy life with my social circle and am not home all the time.  It's good for my mental health to go out for lunch, play Rummicube with the girls and go to knitting nights.  I like spending weekends with my boyfriend and working on projects at home during the week.  I am looking forward to a new and wonderful life 

I am writing this post to clarify the situation as I've been told by my sister that people are worried about me (don't worry, be happy, I'm fine) and upset by the way they think I've portrayed Mom.  So I am very sorry if you got the wrong idea and rest assured that all is fine with Mom and I.  We are planning a lunch and an Art Gallery visit in the near future.  If I'm allowed to take pictures in the gallery, I'll do a little tour for you on the blog.

Julie

Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

I was telling you I had big plans for my house this year and the organization bug has bitten me.  I'm not sure if it's the time of year...January and resolutions and clean slates or if it is the magazines, the blogs and Pinterest that are subliminally pushing me in this direction but I feel the need to clean and organize.

I decided the kitchen is getting it first.  While it needs a good cleaning, what it really needs is everything taken out of cupboards and drawers and reorganized.  Shelf paper needs to measured and cut.  Paint touch ups need to happen.  Everything needs to sparkle and shine.

And I started....out with old and in with the new.  I was making a lamb tagine this week (I will share the recipe when I get a minute to post it on my food blog) and wanted to make sure my spices were fresh and pungent.  So I started throwing out old spices and went to the bulk food store to replace them.  I happen to be there when they were giving out a $5 gift card with minimum purchase.  Serendipity!

Daffodil from Home Depot to add a little spring to the house.

Then yesterday I dropped into Home Depot to buy furnace filters and wandered into the flooring department.  Oh my, with three specials on, I couldn't resist and decided that I needed to pick out carpet for the bedrooms and hall upstairs. Now that my Mom has moved, I'll be fixing up the master and coming upstairs to live.

I was idly thinking about replacing the carpet anyways.  It was two shades of green and had some stains that wouldn't come out.  It was also here when I moved in fourteen years ago so I have no idea how old it is.  If I had to guess, I'd say 25 or 30 years.  It's time and then I got Luke and he proceeded to piddle all over it (my fault...not his).

My red amaryllis is going to bloom again.  The tablecloth is one of my auction finds.  Very cheap and a perfect fit!

So the kitchen has to wait and I have to shovel out the master which has become a repository for craft supplies and auction purchases.  Then I need to move onto the guest room - closet and dresser.  The next few days will be busy.  But it will be great to have new carpet and get those two rooms all finished.

Julie

Lukas and Thoughts for 2015

Lukas graduated from puppy class yesterday.  Well, I say "graduated" but that is putting it kindly.  Lukas hasn't mastered loose leash walking (he still likes to drag me around and I need to get that under control before he gets much bigger) or stay (he has the attention span of a gnat) or leave it (unless I have my foot firmly on the treat and there is no possible way of him digging it out).

He does a great shake a paw or rollover if there is a treat at the end of it!  Here's our graduation picture.

I've been pretty "blog less" in 2014.  It has been a pivotal year for me and lots of things changed.  One of the things was that I stopped taking the time to read your blogs and write mine.   These first couple of weeks of 2015 have been a period of reflection for me and one of my decisions is to spend a couple of hours a day on blogs again.  I've missed you and I've missed taking a few moments every day for reflection too.

My mantra for 2014 was "if it's fun, count me in".  I've probably had the most fun of my life this past year.  I spent a lot of time with my friends...knitting night, rummy cube, girls' lunches, road trips.  It was a blast!

I spent a lot more time with my best friend, Deb; mainly because she was off work sick and around all day.  Being out at her farm so much, reawakened my desire to live in the country.  I seriously considered it and did some house hunting.  I found my dream house but of course, I can't afford it.  In the end, I've decided to do some redecoration at my own little house and really make it mine.

Deb and her husband, Lantz have a horse farm and being brave and taking horseback riding lessons was a big highlight of 2014.  I was always a little afraid of horses but then I met "Playboy". He's a horse that Lantz rescued and he is very skittish.  It took five weeks to get close enough to groom him and I felt a great sense of accomplishment.  I hope to get back at it soon but unfortunately last autumn, I was knocked down with horrible pain in my back and hip.  I'm still struggling with it but have a MRI scheduled for Saturday so hopefully we'll find out what's wrong and be able to fix it.

The year wasn't all sunshine and roses.  You may remember that I've had my Mother living with me since I moved into my house 14 years ago.  I also suffer from bipolar disorder so living together was sometimes difficult.  I asked my sisters for some help and to spend some time with Mom so I could have a break.  Cheryl and Mom were planning on a couple of trips during the summer.  Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out and I only had one day and night all alone.  Mom is 89 now and getting a little frail.  I was feeling a little trapped and like I didn't have a normal life.  I wanted to do crafts and projects but Mom couldn't stand anything she considered a mess.  It put us at loggerheads a lot and to escape the stress, I started spending more time at the farm.  Just spending quiet time in Playboy's stall seemed to lower my heart rate and stress level.  I could literally feel myself relax as I drove out to the country.  Deb and Lantz and their friends and family are wonderful, loving and fun.  You can sit down and put your feet up.  The coffee is always on and door is always open.

Anyways, I won't get into details but in September, Mom went to live with Cheryl.  It was done by my sisters when I wasn't home and the entire process was extremely hurtful.  I can't ever remember crying so much.  It was one of the most stressful periods of my life and I'm still trying to recover from it.  Nothing will ever be the same but I hold onto the thought that the end result, me having my house to myself, is the best thing.  I guess the only thing you can count on in life is change

Really owning my little house for the first time since I bought it will mean a lot of changes around here.  My watchword this year will be domesticity.  There are big changes ahead.

Two highlights stand out in 2014.  The first is Lukas, my new baby boy and the first time I've had a dog.

The second is my adventures in Internet dating which culminated in meeting my lovely boyfriend, Joe through Match.com.  This is another thing I won't go into details about....mostly to  protect the identity of the guilty ones, lol.  You really do have to be on guard for scammers and players but all's well that ends well.  I wouldn't change a thing because they all led to a wonderful guy.

Stay tuned while I embark on a new adventure to feather a cosy nest, organize my existence, try out new recipes and find my bliss.

Julie