Doing the Jiggy Dance!!!

I'm pretty excited.... but let me tell you the day started out BAD!!!

I get a federal death benefit from the Post Office.... not a hell of a lot, but enough to survive.

Today I got a letter from them, that I could not understand.... the gist of the letter was because of my hubbies military service, my annuity was going to be REDUCED!!!

The reason they gave was that it was because of my being eligible for Social Security!!! WTF!!!!!

I'M NOT 62, I CAN'T GET SOCIAL SECURITY!!!!

So I tried to call the post office, but the line was busy, busy, busy.... now I'm starting to panic, cause if they reduce my annuity, I CAN NOT EAT!

I would have to get rid of my phone and maybe the TV also, to have enough to eat!!!

So after trying to get through to the stupid post office, I decided to call social security, and see what they have to say.

And GUESS WHAT!!! I CAN go on social security..... WIDOWS CAN CLAIM AT 60!!!!!

I had no freaking clue!!!!!!!

Not only that, but she made an appointment for me TOMORROW, to find out how much I'm getting every month!!!

And that means I should get my first check next month.... that's like in 1 day!!!!!

It probably won't be that much, with the reduction in my annuity, but enough to make up for the reduction, and a little extra. I'm A HAPPY CAMPER!!!

UPDATE! I had my phone interview with social security, and I'm MORE then happy!!! I have enough each month to cover the deduction from my annuity, and TONS more to play with each month!!!!! Not as much as I could have gotten, since my hubby worked for 21 years with the post office, and the post office doesn't take out for social security... why? Who the F knows.... but he had worked other jobs before that, so I'm happy!!!!

Nothing to do!

Still too cold and windy outside to work much.... so I did little projects in the house this weekend. Talked to my tomato plants for a while... but I don't think they were paying attention, just dozing in the sunny window. But they are doing great!

Put up some plates on the shelf behind the sofa.

Used some self sticking tiles to repair my window sill.... it had been damaged by rain and looked ratty, so I cut, peeled and sticked... looks nice and neat now............... and while I was at it........

I used the same tiles to redo the area in front of my toilet. It was white linoleum, with tiny blue flowers, and I was sick of looking at it, and cleaning it!!! So now it's a nice dark brown, that I think goes pretty good with the sandy beach colored rug.

Oh and I prevented myself from cutting all my hair off, by giving it a nice trim, and using a curling iron on it..... I had never used one before, and it was kinda fun!

That's how I passed my cold weekend, besides laundry, cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming, watching WAY to much TV, and of course.... eating Jelly Beans!!!

SHORE LEAVE

I never know if I get more excited about "Shore Leave Convention", because of the convention itself, or because it's in JULY!!!

Warm weather, Star Trek, cool hotel, all my buddies, indoor outdoor pool, giant hot tub!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh.

They have actually added another guest, not shown on this flyer, it's the woman who played Ashley on Sanctuary. So I'm cool!

John DeLance I've met a million times.... but I haven't met any of the others.

It's not like I'm going to get autographs... I don't do that.

But I will see the stars, in the hallways, at the bar, or just passing by the autograph tables.... and I'm cool with just seeing them.... since I gave up getting autographs like 20 yrs. ago!

Checked my section of the closet I call my "Shore Leave closet". I have 3 pretty tee shirts (Barb got them for me for Yule!) and a nice pair of Capri pants, and that's about it. I've lost so much weight that nothing I had before is wearable, but REALLY.... should I complain about that???

I don't think so, plus shopping is fun! LOL

Ostra/Easter Treats Magic

Give an extra punch of Magic this season, to all your friends and family

Get your bags of candy together.... and a white or orange candle

put the candies in a pile on the table, and light the candle next to them

Hold your hands, palm down, over the candies... concentrate your energy with good feeling and wishes for luck, and say:

Charmed are these candy treats

good fortune to all I merry meet!

Then give out your Candy's to family and friends

Can someone PLEASE stop me????

I am totally OCD!!!! My front yard has bothered me for YEARS!!! As you can see from the picture taken last summer....(can you see the snappy black arrow????) I have the arbor, and then NOTHING!!! I didn't carry the plant bed over to the stairs..... because... well, it's the freaking GRAVEL!!!!

Just TOO MUCH gravel to remove. Till now!!! I can't stand it being off center anymore, and today I'm removing the gravel to extend the planting bed too the stairs.

I've already planted one fig tree.... smack dab in the center of the space, and I've removed most of the gravel from the rest.

Next to the stairs will be a dwarf PJM Rhododendron... pink. And the rest I'll fill in with flowers and bulbs!!!

It's going to take me YEARS to finish off this space, even with the gravel removed, but you gotta do what you gotta do! And having the planting beds off center was driving me around the bend!!!!

Little Goth Fairy

Now on to the RED plates

ModPodge Experiment

My girlfriend Barb gave me some really cool old plates she had. Very bold, black, and red ones.... and my crafting mind went into overdrive!!!

I decided to experiment with ModPodge!!!!

And this is what came of it!

Now the good thing with ModPodge, if I don't like how it turned out, some hot soapy water... a good soak, and the experiment is over!!!

If I do like it, a nice spray coating of varnish, and it's good to go.

I really like how these turned out. What do you think?

It's no wonder they were called, "The Good Old Days".

From cradle to grave... everyone was STONED !!!
I want some of those good old days!!!!! Please, make mine taste like cherry!!!!








It's no wonder they were called, "The Good Old Days".

Figgie Tuesday

I have two huge fig bush's that I kept in containers the last 2 years.... but they were getting too big and need to be planted!

Today I unwrapped the burlap to check if they made it through the winter, and by scratching a branch, I found they were still alive. The winter before this one, I kept them inside, but this year I just wrapped them and left them to winter over.

Looks like it worked.

So today I put ONE of them in the ground. Why just one??? Cause it took me 3 hours to just do one!!!

My house lot is graveled, not just any gravel, but heavy white marble like gravel... and over 8 inch's of it!!!!

So I had to scoop away all the gravel, then cut the landscape fabric, then start digging (that part is easy since it's all sand here) but there were roots and shit, so it took me a while to get a good size hole.

Then I had to manhandle the plant out of the pot.....and either I'm getting old (please, no snickers here!) or that damn plant didn't want to leave it's nice pot!!!!

Managed to get it out, remove most of the dirt from around the roots, plant it, fill in the rest with soil.... then scoop up all the soil and put it back in the pot.... then wash off the rest of the dirt from the driveway!!!

Cold, fingers frozen, back aching, hands cramping... BUT I GOT IT DONE!!!!

The other damn plant can wait a week, maybe by then I'll get some feelings back in my arms!!!!

HA!

I feel like this.... the last few days!

Yepper, that's what I feel like, and probably look like too.

First, "the boy" is home for spring break. After that ride to go get him, I decided to make him his fav food... TACO'S!!!

Being the lazy butt ass I am, I figured I would buy the prepackaged shredded cheese to use on them. BOY, WAS THAT A MISTAKE!!!!

Now I can't eat the TACO part of the taco. Can't eat corn... no matter how cute they form it into shells..... but I could eat the meat.

So I made myself Taco's without the shell, and of course heaped a ton of that tasty shredded cheese on my meat! Hot, yummmmmmy!

On till a few hours later my neck /outside and inside/ started swelling!!! Popping benadrylls... and having no clue why I'm so sick.... same thing next day, except add the "runs" to the swelling!!!

I actually started "TALKING" to my wall paper in the bathroom..... I was seeing it for so long and so often...... and in between I was laying on the sofa, moaning and bitching, and feeling like shit!!

THEN... I decided to try to ferret out what was causing the allergic reaction....couldn't find a damn thing that I could have eaten that would make me sick

Until I checked out the "shredded Cheddar Cheese" package!!!!

CORN STARCH!!!!! AND POTATO STARCH!!!!! WTF!!!!!!


I guess they use it to keep the cheese from sticking.... and also to try to MURDER ME!!!!!

Now, I'm slowly recovering, though I still feel like shit... and it may take a few more days for that crap to leave my system!!!

And to top it all off, I feel like an idiot for not checking the ingredients... but cheese... why would I check for ingredients in cheese????

One or the other, one or the other!

Stuff you DON'T know about Coffee

1. It protects your heart: Moderate coffee drinkers (1 to 3 cups/day) have lower rates of stroke than noncoffee drinkers, an effect linked to coffee’s antioxidants. Coffee has more antioxidants per serving than blueberries, making it the biggest source of antioxidants in American diets. All those antioxidants may help suppress the damaging effect of inflammation on arteries. Immediately after drinking it, coffee raises your blood pressure and heart rate, but over the long term, it actually may lower blood pressure as coffee’s antioxidants activate nitric acid, widening blood vessels.


2. It diverts diabetes: Those antioxidants (chlorogenic acid and quinides, specifically) play another role: boosting your cells’ sensitivity to insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar. In fact, people who drink 4 or more cups of coffee each day may have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to some studies. Other studies have shown that caffeine can blunt the insulin-sensitivity boost, so if you do drink several cups a day, try mixing in decaf occasionally.


3. Your liver loves it: OK, so the research here is limited, but it looks like the more coffee people drink, the lower their incidence of cirrhosis and other liver diseases. One analysis of nine studies found that every 2-cup increase in daily coffee intake reduced liver cancer risk by 43 percent. Again, it’s those antioxidants—chlorogenic and caffeic acids—and caffeine that might prevent liver inflammation and inhibit cancer cells.


4. It boosts your brain power: Drinking between 1 and 5 cups a day (admittedly a big range) may help reduce risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as Parkinson’s disease, studies suggest. Those antioxidants may ward off brain cell damage and help the neurotransmitters involved in cognitive function to work better.


5. It helps your headaches: And not just the withdrawal headaches caused by skipping your daily dose of caffeine! Studies show that 200 milligrams of caffeine—about the amount in 16 ounces of brewed coffee—provides relief from headaches, including migraines. Exactly how caffeine relieves headaches isn’t clear. But scientists do know that caffeine boosts the activity of brain cells, causing surrounding blood vessels to constrict. One theory is that this constriction helps to relieve the pressure that causes the pain, says Robert Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology and director of the Headache Clinic at the University of Vermont Medical School.

Now, that’s not to say that coffee doesn’t have any pitfalls—it does. Some people are super-sensitive to caffeine and get jittery or anxious after drinking coffee; habitual coffee drinkers usually develop a tolerance to caffeine that eliminates this problem (but they then need the caffeine to be alert and ward off withdrawal headaches). Coffee can also disturb sleep, especially as people age. Cutting some of the caffeine and drinking it earlier in the day can curb this effect. Lastly, unfiltered coffee (like that made with a French press) can raise LDL cholesterol, so use a filter for heart health.

But if you like coffee and you can tolerate it well, enjoy it...without the guilt.

It's my birthday, and from now on gonna lie about my age!!!

Freaking SPAM

I just had to go through a months worth of posts and DELETE this stupid bitch from England and her scarf shop SPAM!!!!

I also went on her site, and reported it to the company's customer service!!!!!!!

KEEP YOUR FREAKING SPAM HANDS OFF MY BLOG!!!! If you want to advertise, do it the right way.... ask permission.... then piss off!!!!

bad weather homebound

This is me, being incredibly board because the weather is not warming up FAST enough!!!

Took the wonderful skull I won from "Frog on the Pumpkin" and decided to see what he would have looked like alive!!!!!!




Meet Mort!

EUREKA!!!!!

FOUND SOMETHING for my cauldron!!!! With shallow roots, and PERENNIAL.... not ANNUAL!!!!

STRAWBERRY'S!!!!






Walmart had bags of roots...... 10 roots for $3 bucks!!!!

And the cauldron is perfect for them!!!!! Full to half shade, just enough soil for their roots, and they get bigger, and spread each year!!!!

I know 30 roots isn't much, after all the cauldron is 5' across, but in a few years it will be filled with strawberry's!!!!

Now, I have blueberry's, gooseberry's, and strawberry's, my garden is getting YUMMMMMMMY!