Those of you who don't know me very well... I am very introverted
and don't talk much. I also don't do well around conflict, though I
understand that it can't always be avoided. Yesterday, however, I
got angry while my oldest and her husband were fighting (yet again)
and I actually yelled at my son-in-law. It has been years since I
was angry enough to yell. It was terrible and I apologized. Yeah, we introverts have our
moments too. 
During this past week, my oldest and I have been organizing her house... you know, in between the feedings and the diaper changes and the appointments and the headaches...
Early this morning, we added the finishing touches and took pictures real quick before anyone had a chance to get things out! 
Of course, the super clean only lasted a few hours, but we have proof that it happened and doesn't the house look fabulous? 
I apologize to chairs, tables, walls, dishes (as I drop them on the floor or knock them over)... the list goes on
At least it has become quite easy for "Sorry" to escape my lips!
Here's something about myself and my loving husband that most people don't know... and, it's a story of how one life can affect another...
When my children were teenagers, I was rather desperate for them to find something that they enjoyed doing together. As it turned out, one thing was playing computer games. Their Dad and I were not thrilled about that, but they enjoyed it and I tried to restrict it to being some what education and, later, a way to socialize (we home schooled and really did not have much in the way of friends 
).
Bob was befriended on one of these games. My oldest, especially, annoyed him tremendously, but he defended her in game and taught her how to interact better with the other players. She, in turn, also challenged him to become a better person. (I did my best to monitor conversations a bit to be sure nothing terrible was happening)
After YEARS of being friends online, they decided to meet in person (public meeting with supervision to be safer). Later, he was invited to her wedding and to temporarily move in while looking for a job.
As it turned out, my ex and I decided to get divorced a few months before the wedding and I met Bob, which, eventually, led to our own wedding! 
Bob says that if he had chosen to ignore that annoying teenager that his life would not be as wonderful as it is now. So, yes, we absolutely believe that one person's act of kindness can change the course of a life. 
That said, we do believe that befriending people online and meeting them in person is dangerous and should NOT be encouraged and parents absolutely need to monitor their children's online activity to be sure they are safe.
I am back home! Well... to tell the truth, I have been home for a
few days now... it's just taken me a bit of time to put things back
in order.
One thing we did over the weekend was help my Dad
finish putting up a hoop barn. He spent half of the summer cleaning
the area and putting up the frame. We were only able to help with
the finishing touches of putting up the canvas. We are all glad to
have the project done and think it looks great
Mom and I used to collect recipes. We each had an index card file,
plus pages and pages of print outs and papers with notes (and, now,
I have hundred of bookmarked recipes to try ).
Mom had plans on creating her own cookbook. Me, I just wanted a way to organize my favorites so I could actually find what I was looking for!
I
seriously thought about using one of those cookbook apps to organize
everything, but nothing was cross compatible with all of my devices
and I'm not ready to upgrade every thing.
So, I'm creating a Word
document that can saved in a pdf file that I can also use with my
tablet, if I want. If Mom were still around, it would be fun to have
it printed and bound. I'll just stick with a digital copy for now.
I'm just excited to get it all organized! I have 75 recipes entered
so far. 
My grandson does not appreciate hugs and kisses. It can take nearly
an hour for him to warm up to me when we only visit every month or
two. As a person who also is NOT a hugging tree, I understand.
However, other people (often strangers!) get so offended when he
struggles, screams, and, some times, hits them when they swoop in
and grab him. Yet, their actions would be deemed quite rude if he
were older. Children are just little humans. I don't understand why
they are treated like toys.
Bob thought a pre-cooked ham would be easier for me to heat and
glaze than trying another turkey (shudder)... other than forgetting
to put gloves on and needing to wash my hands four times to get the
stench off and burning myself when the glaze spit at me, it IS going
a lot easier. If this
goes well, maybe Bob will let me try a small steak again... the last
one ended up too hard to cut - let alone chew! But, the dog enjoyed
gnawing on for awhile.. I may have to accept that meat is not my
forte.
I wouldn't get angry, but I would have to fix it! 
Hope you all
have a wonderful Thanksgiving with a heaping dose of gratitude!
oooo! On the way from family time (I even got to see my sister! 
), I got to see Saturn, Jupiter and Mars!
Once I started seeing stars in the sky, Bob set up a program from http://stellarium.org/ on my computer. Now, I have to control the urge to poke him when I'm wide awake at 3am and say "Hey! Hey! you awake? let's go look at the stars!"
I tried a tip that I read about to keep the cat out of my new house plant... I sprayed
water infused with orange oil on the soil... the cat nibbled the
leaves... I sprayed the water with orange oil on the leaves... the
cat ate the leaves... I sprayed the leaves with a hot wax spray
designed to keep critters away from plants... the cat thought it was
delicious. The plant is now dead. No problem. 