B5 - A Leaky Waterbed

Our waterbed burst this morning.  Just as Tex was getting out of bed, a spot on top of the mattress tore.  It was a significant tear and not one that could be repaired.  Water immediately came forth and started soaking the sheets (along with the vast majority of all of our towels as we tried to contain the leak to just the surface of the mattress).

Tex is currently looking online to find local waterbed sources, so we can buy a new mattress.

We have just finished draining the mattress and have put up all of the tools and equipment that we've been using these past 4 hours.

Yeehaw!
:)

There is an absolute multitude of blessings that I am thankful for regarding today's wet adventure.  The following are just a few of them.
Get ready; here we go:

(1) The mattress decided to burst this morning, at the end of our sleep; versus last night, at the beginning of our sleep. 

(2) The mattress went to its watery grave while we were at home; we didn't have to come home to a big, wet mess.

(3) Tex takes these kinds of things in such stride. He simply does what needs to be done at any given time and then goes on about his life . . . C'est la vie.
Man, I love that man!

(4) Tex was able to call work and tell them that he didn't know when he'd be in to work today (or even if he'd make it to work).  He simply told his boss what had happened and that was that; no hoops to jump through or anything.

(5) He has plenty of comp time to use to offset this surprise day off.

(6) The co-worker that usually rides with Tex called this morning, just minutes after the Titanic made its appearance, and told Tex that he (the co-worker) needed to drive himself to work today.  This completely solved a potential problem of what to do about that and made it a moot, non-matter.

(7) We now need to buy a new waterbed mattress.  Thankfully, we are able to do so at this time.  God's Provisions is always a huge praise!

(8) Tex had most of the tools on hand to do this unexpected project.  The only thing he needed to buy was a water pump accessory to go on the end of his drill, so that we could drain the waterbed without having to rent or buy a water pump.

There are so many other blessings surrounding our now dearly-departed waterbed mattress, but I'll stop here. 

*~*~*~*~*
I'd love to hear about your similar experiences - where something not so good was covered in an array of blessings!

Thanks for reading; y'all be blessed,
Sharmie

B4 - My Imperfection and God's Perfect Timing

I woke up yesterday morning thinking I knew what my thankfulness (Blessings) post was going to be.

Instead of posting my blog post right away, I decided, instead, to make a reply post in an online group that I have recently created that focuses on living healthy.  There's an over-abundance of mainstream mis-information "out there" that people are mistakenly believing.  One of those myths came up in the group yesterday, and I felt I needed to address that then (and not later).

After that, the rest of the morning didn't go quite as planned.  The underlying reason for choosing what I was going to write about, here, in Swirlings presented itself in an onslaught of unexpected tears (mine).  Yep, yesterday's post was going to be a continuance of my 30 Days of Thankfulness; and yes, the reason for that particular thankfulness is, indeed a heavy-hearted one.  This is a point that I want to make sure does not slip by without mention . . . it IS possible to be thankful for things even when those very things are filled with sorrow.  That, in itself, is even another blessing!

Tex was very caring and patient during this unexpected tear-fest.  I love that man so much!

By the time we started getting ready for church, we definitely had to hustle our bustles.

I decided that I would write my blog post after we came home from church.

But.  That didn't happen, neither. 
Instead, I decided to just relax a bit and visit the ozone for a while, before Tex and I left for our afternoons plans.

I still thought I would get the post written before day's end yesterday.  I figured I could write it after we got home in the evening.

Nope.  Obviously, nope, or else there would have been a post made yesterday, here in Swirlings.  Right? 
Of course, right.

By the time we got home, I was pretty tired.  I think I was in bed by 9:00pm.  Daylight Savings Time ended yesterday morning; and so, maybe I was tired because my body was thinking it was 10:00pm.  Yep, I'll go with that.

*~*~*~*~*
The above directly points to my imperfection; specifically that I did not get my Day 4 Thankfulness posted by the end of Day 4.

Now.  Let's talk about God's Perfect Timing, shall we?!
:)

His Timing IS Perfect.  In fact, it always is.

The sorrow that was weighing so heavily on my heart yesterday . . . that sorrow is still there (in part), along with a heavy dose of concern.  But, in the midst of everything, there is Our Lord, and I trust that He is Sovereign.  Over everything. 

I truly believe that it was far better for me to talk with my husband about the matter (even while doing so through many tears), versus making a blog post.  I also believe that this was part of God's Perfect Timing for me, yesterday; even though by doing so, I then did not have time to make a blog post first thing yesterday morning.

Later in the day yesterday, His Perfect Timing manifested itself once again, in the form of a phone call and specifically what was said in that phone call.  It was a confirmation of one of my concerns, and it all ties in with what I am so obscurely writing about.  Being obscure is ok, though ; it's not the specifics that is the point of this blog, it's the blessings that are behind the specifics that are important right now.

There are two such blessings: 
(1) Realizing that my imperfection is, indeed ok.  I've never had a problem with the actual knowing that I am imperfect; I just cannot honestly say that I've always been ok with such personal imperfection.  There ya go.

(2) Knowing that, even in the midst of sadness and concern, God is still God and that He is still Lord over everything.  I know this; I always know this.  In fact, I often remind people of this very fact.  Yesterday, He blessed me in unexpected ways that were very needed and timely reminders.

How has He done this in your life?

*~*~*~*~*
Thanks for reading!
Y'all be blessed,
Sharmie

B3 - Home Sweet House

I grew up in a house; somewhat out in the country, but not completely.
Our neighborhood consisted of 1 long street and 1 short street, both streets formed somewhat of a curvy T.  The house wasn't small; but neither was it large.  It was just a nice, comfortable house; and with the house, came a big yard.

When I decided to leave home and live on my own, I moved into an apartment.  Several of them, in fact.  I moved around a lot for a few years.  Actually, I would move back home for a while, move out, move back home again, move out, rinse, lather, repeat.  It took me a few years to get a grasp on things, doncha know.

Zooming closer to somewhat current time, when I lived in Jackson, I resided in apartments, one-room studios and even motel rooms.  There ya go. 

Interestingly, the longest I lived in a motel was slightly over a year . . . a wing of rooms had been renovated into small studios (to even include cute and functional kitchenettes).  This wing was reserved for anyone who worked in the county.  That should show you how hard housing can be to come by sometimes in Jackson. 

The next longest stint of motel living ran for about 9 months and was specifically attached to a job.  In fact, it was my first job in Jackson.  It was also my first home there, as well.  I had spent the summer working in Grand Teton National Park; and once the summer job ended, I mosied my way down to Jackson in hopes of finding a place to live and starting my life as Southern Belle Hippie Mountain Woman.

But, alas . . . after 2 weeks of searching, I still had not found anywhere to live.  I was pretty dejected and started making plans to leave Jackson.  I went to check out of the motel that I had been staying at for those 2 weeks; and the owner, himself, was at the front counter.  Long story short, he found out my plight and offered me one of his older motel rooms at an employee rate if I would take a night audit job at the motel.  Deal and done.  The job and the accommodations were offered only through the winter; but at least it kept me in Jackson and got me going.  However, a kitchenette was not part of the ammenities.  That's when I learned about crock pots and two-eye electric burners.  Yep, yep.


*~*~*~*~*
Bringing all of this to today, Tex and I live in a house.  Not quite as bit as the house I grew up in, but still quite comfortable and nothing to sneeze at.  In fact, we are able to have an office for Tex, a studio for me and a guest room for, well, guests!  Sometimes that room is home to an out-of-town friend; sometimes it is where our grandkidlettes sleep when they come to visit.  It fills my heart with tremendous joy when that room is being occupied.  Tex and I both truly cherish all of our house guests.

And, let's not forget the kitchen (my second studio)!  Throughout the year, we are able to have friends over for dinner or perhaps a party . . . oh be still my heart; another opportunity to cook for and feed and entertain people - one of my passions, doncha know.

Taking this virtual tour outside, our yard is significantly smaller than the 6 acres from my childhood; but nonetheless, we do have both a front and a back yard.  The back yard is fenced-in, so the puppy girls can run and romp to their heart's delight.

I can grumble about the yard when it needs to be mowed (Texas heat and humidity, anyone?) . . . but I truly do enjoy living in a house and having a yard.


*~*~*~*~*
That's my blessing / thankfulness for today; 3 days into 30 Days of Thankfulness.  I am truly thankful that I live in a house . . . and not just any house; but the house specifically known as Tex and Sharmie's.
:)


*~*~*~*~*
What are you thankful for today?  I'd love to know.  Please feel free to leave your comments below.


*~*~*~*~*
Thanks for reading!
Y'all be blessed,
Sharmie

p.s. - The photo above is of one of our rose bushes in the front of our house (and was taken earlier this year).  It's the closest I could find of a picture showing even part of the outside of our house showing (and with today being a busy day, taking a current photo does not really fit in with the scheme of things, doncha know).

B2 - Princess Phones

Y'all remember these?   :)

They're called Princess Phones. 

 

They've been around since the late '50s, but I seem to remember their being most popular in the '70s.  They came in an array of colors, which was pretty avant gard back then . . . at least, in my own personal perception of what was hip and cool.  That last part might be a paradox; the jury's still out on that.  They were simply the fun phone!

 

Today, I am sincerely grateful for Princess Phones.

As of yesterday, Tex and I had heard from everyone we knew who had been in Hurricane Sandy's path . . . all, except for one person.  We were especially concerned about him because he lives in an area that carried mandatory evacuation and that also saw a lot of damage as Sandy vented her storm.

Yesterday, I decided to try to contact our friend.  I first called his cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail.  So, I said a silent prayer and called his home number.  And what do you know?!  He was home!

He has no electricty nor internet, and my first phone call (to his cell) went straight to voice mail because all of the cell towers in his area are currently not operational.  But, he did have residential phone service.  And!  If it were not for his Princess phone that he still has, he wouldn't have had any phone service at all because his other landline phones - the newer and more modern ones - all require electricity to operate.  A Princess phone just simply plugs into the phone outlet in the wall . . . and Voila! 

We had a good conversation.  He assured me that he and his family were ok.  He and Tex even talked to each other by quoting Monty Python lines.  There ya go.  Do with that what you will.

SO!  Thank you, Father, for our friend's safety and for Your Covering in his life.  Thank you for "outdated" technology that will work when modern technology failes.  Thank you for Princess phones!


*~*~*~*~*
What about y'all?
What is something that you are thankful for today, this 2nd day of 30 days of Thankfulness?

Happy November, y'all! -and- B1

There is lots going on in November!

Election Day is November 6th - this coming Tuesday.
Please make sure you get out and vote between now and the 6th (that is, if your precinct offers early voting; otherwise, please make sure you cast your ballot this coming Tuesday). 

To that end, I also came across a website earlier this morning . . . The 9/12 Project.

Click here to be linked directly to their page titled, "Our Principles and Values".

If we do not begin to stand together and unite as a nation, this nation is going to implode upon iteself.


*~*~*~*~*
Looking to later in the month, Thanksgiving (U.S). in on the 22nd.

In observance, I will be participating in the 30 Days of Thankfulness . . . posting a daily and different blessing  in my life for which I am truly thankful.

Years ago, in the beginning of "My Decade of Healing", I began a Blessings List, jotting down the blessings in my life.  At first, it was a bit slow-going; but within a few days, I was on fire with that list!  As I realized and wrote those blessings on my list, I became aware of even more blessings in my life.  It was quite a snowball that I had going - what started off as a list on a small piece of paper grew into a large notebook.

Sometimes, we, as individuals, can allow whatever is going on in the moment to rob of our our awareness of the very many blessings that Our Lord has poured into our life . . . and continues to pour into our life.

Sometimes we can also allow other people's negative attitudes to infilitrate our heart; and that's never a good thing.

I'd like to encourage each of y'all to guard against both of these.  Don't let anything  . . . not circumstances not other people, not even yourself . . . rob you of your joy and of your ability to count your blessings; for in doing so, you will also allow these things to rob you of your inner strength and peace.

One of my favorite life verses is taken from Nehemiah 8:10 . . . "The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength!"

If I allow circumstances or people to sap my joy, my strenth, my peace . . . all of which I fully believe comes from Jesus (His Joy, His Strenth, His Peace) . . . then I have also decided to focus on those things and not on Him. 

But!  When I put my faith and trust in Him and focus on Him, then I am able to see things more clearly . . . and I am able to tap into that very Joy, Strength and Peace. 

Being aware of and thankful for one's Blessings in their life is a great way to do this.

It's a continual circle:  Blessings Awareness ---> Joy, Strength, Peace ---> Blessings Awareness ---> Joy, Strength, Peace ---> Blessings Awareness ---> ad infinitum.

I encourage you to join me in these 30 Days of Thankfulness!
Please use this blog to come back each day during the month of November and post what you are thankful for on that particular day.  Let's encourage each other . . . and ourselves!  Let's realize the very many blessings that we each have in our own lives!

*~*~*~*~*
In addition to Election Day and Thanksgiving, the entire month is National Adoption Month, and National Adoption Day is November 17th.

FYI, National Adoption Day is always the Saturday before Thanksgiving; and, of course, Thanksgiving is always on the 4th Thursday in November.

My original blogging plan for today was to write a dedicated blog post about National Adoption Month;  but, instead, I decided to write this specific blog post overviewing all the significant aspects of November. 

Besides, there's 30 days in this month . . . that should be plenty of time to cover each item in more detail, right? 

Of course, right.


*~*~*~*~*
One last thing before I list my blessing for today . . . if you are one of my Facebook friends, I ask you to please consider leaving your comments about this and any Swirlings blog post here, at Swirlings (rather than to comment on a Swirlings blog post over at Facebook).  Thank you; I will appreciate it very much.

But.  Please do feel free to "like" any of my links to Swirlings over "there".
Yep, that was a shameless plug. 
There ya go.
:)


*~*~*~*~*
B1
(Blessing; Day 1)

Y'all!!  Really.
I appreciate everyone who reads my blog.  The internet is truly the Information Highway . . . and sometimes that information can zoom at us a lightening and overwhelming speed. 

I'm truly grateful whenever someone decides to take a moment out of their webbing around the world to read what I have written.  I appreciate y'all's time very much.

*~*~*~*~*
And as always, thanks for reading
Y'all be blessed!

~Sharmie

Produce Day!

Earlier this year, my niece, Stephanie, started a small produce co-op.
Tex and I have really enjoyed our produce packages . . . each week, we get a few fruits and a few veggies.  The varieties have been great . . . and that has helped to prevent us from getting into food ruts.  The price for these weekly colorful & vibrant bundles have been absolutely outstanding, and that's been a huge plus.

A couple of times recently, I've had the pleasure of accompanying Stephanie on produce day. 

I thought I'd use today's blog post to elaborate a bit on those excursions.

After arriving at our particular vendor's loading dock, we walk around and view the samples they have on display for that particular day.  From the samples, we choose which specific items to buy for that week and then we place our order.  While this may seem like a relatively easy task, it does come with one "minor" complication; we always need to keep in mind who of the co-op won't eat what.  I say, "we", but really it's my niece who keeps this all straight; I just stand around a smile a lot.

I like to smile.

There ya go.

Regarding who gets what, sometimes it's a "majority rules" kinda thing.  This week, for example . . . Tex and I don't eat corn; but we seem to be the only ones of the co-op that are so outrageously rebellious.  Earlier this week, a co-op member requested corn; and so corn was part of the produce package.  Easy solution:  I simply didn't take corn home; I left it for someone else to take.  Stephanie does a good job of keeping people's preferences and non-preferences in mind; so the rare time that a "no" item is part of a week's produce selection, it's really not at all a big deal.

After placing the order, we then go wait at the car.  Soon, a man pushing a hand-truck filled with boxes arrives at the car; and the three of us begin loading such illustrious boxes into the car.  A couple more full hand-trucks arrive, brimming with boxes;  and we load those boxes into the car, as well . . . which usually gets pretty interesting, considering the boxes are big and my niece's car, well . . . isn't.

Then, it's back to my niece's house, where we unload all of the boxes out of her car and into the designated sorting area in the garage . . . of which, such area needs to be large enough to accommodate not only all of the various boxes of produce, but also all of the individual co-op members' crates, as well.


Here's a photo of some of the produce from a few weeks ago:

By, the way . . . have y'all ever tried to lift a 50-pound bag of carrots?  Have y'all ever seen a 50-pound bag of carrots?

Now, the fun part!
:)

Let the sorting begin!
Some items - pineapples, for instance - are easy to sort.  Pineapples are readily countable.  We know how many co-op members there are and how many pineapples have been purchased.  Easy math, and we know how many pineapples to put in each members' food crate.

Potatoes, on the other hand, are a completely different story.  Potatoes are sold by weight; not by count.  Yesterday while we were sorting, Stephanie told me she was going to let me distribute the potatoes.  Wasn't that so nice of her, y'all?!  She thought so.
:)

So, there I was, standing over a huge box of potatoes; and all of them staring up at me with their goofy little eyes.  OK . . . if I take a whole lot of potatoes and divide that by the number of co-op members, I come up with . . . lessee . . . don't tell me; I  can do this . . . uhm, let's start with 6 potatoes each (and make sure that everyone gets a good mix of big potatoes and smaller ones).

Oh, fiddle.  After all that higher math, and sorting, there were still quite a few spuds in the box.  So.  I did the process all over again.

Some things are just a guessing game.  Sorting produce that is sold by weight and not by count (and that comes in very large boxes) is one such fine example.

All told, from the time we leave the house till the time we get back and get everything sorted into the members' individual crates, this portion of Produce Day takes about 3 hours; probably half of that involes loading or unloading boxes and then lots of bending during the sorting process. 
Hey!  Free exercise!

Here's a photo from a few weeks ago, highlighting just a few of the produce crates that we filled:

During the produce days when Stephanie is on her own, without anyone to help her (which is more often than not), she is the lone one doing all the loading, unloading and sorting; so I imagine that the 3 hours extends into even more time.

So, Stephanie, I just want to thank you for all the hard work you put in each week to provide the co-op with fresh fruits  & veggies.  You do an awesome job, and I appreciate both your time and your efforts!

 

 

And now, I think I'll go make some veggie juice . .

Salute, y'all!

 

 

Thanks for reading; y'all be blessed!

Sharmie

*~*~*~*~*
By the way, the only other aspect of produce day involves everyone coming by to retrieve and pay for their produce . . . but I'm not involved in any aspect of that; that honor rightfully belongs completely to my niece.

There ya go.

Trick or Treat! Maybe not . . .

I know it's probably not anywhere near the consensus . . . but I just am not a big fan of Halloween.

Incidentally (as I'm sure many of y'all know), Halloween has a mixture of both pagan and Christian history.  The word, itself, is a contraction of "All Hallows' Eve" (which means the evening before All Hallows' Day . . . All Saints Day).  The roots of Halloween are found in Pagan rituals.  An interesting combination, indeed.

So.  What is it about Halloween that I do not like?

I was recently asked this on my Facebook page, so I thought I'd use Swirlings to answer.
Ha!  I'm supposed to be the person who prefers things to be uncomplicated.  But, yes, strangely enough, it makes sense to me to use one platform to answer a question that was asked on another platform.  There ya go.

Besides, FB doesn't particularly care for wordy posts; it gets very confuzzled, freezes and then usually blips the post into some ozone corner of the web of world-wideness . . . and yep, that happened to me this morning.  There ya go.

*~*~*~*~*
First, let's talk about what I do like about Halloween.

Cute kids in sweet, adorable, innocent costumes, with cheery bright and sometimes-painted faces.

Ah, be still my heart!
That's about it, as far as what I like regarding the celebrations surrounding the 31st day October.

*~*~*~*~*
What I don't like entails a bit more.

First, I'm not really into ghoulish things; never have been.  Nor, am I interested in exploring the darker side of humanity.  Yeah, it's there; that's a fact; I just don't like delving into it.  Halloween seems to bring that out in adults a bit more than other days.

The other aspect of Halloween that I find a bit bothersome is actually probably the main reason as to why I'm not wild about celebrating that particular day . . .

. . . Sugar!
Yep.  Sugar.  More precisely, sugar mixed with a plethora of unecessary chemicals.

Halloween is probably the biggest sugar-oriented day of the year (with Easter running a close second).

I am continually astounded by the amount of sugar that is bought, distributed and eaten; all in honor of Halloween.

And . . . it's all junk (in my opinion; and, it's an opinion that I realize many do not share).

If the treats being given to kids were homemade treats that would be an entirely differnt matter; but the vast majority of the treats being thrown into the bags held by small humans wearing cute costumes are definitely not homemade.  And, the kicker is that in today's world, homemade treats are frowned upon because of the freaky few who like to put razor blades and poison into homemade treats.  The candy manufacturers and the stores then cash in on this and flood the market with various colorful bite-sized packages of tempting sugar in its many forms.  For example, the grocery store that Tex and I shop at has had their Halloween "area" up for about 3 weeks now.  It's also a pretty big area; after all, Halloween is big business.

Case-in-point:  Trick-or-treat bags seem to get bigger and bigger as the years go by.  I've seen kids with bags almost bigger than they are!

Which brings me to another point . . . when I was a young girl, trick-or-treating consisted of going around our immediate neighborhood (which consisted of 2 streets).  "Back then", there was a neighborly relationship between the trick-or-treaters and the treat-givers.  On some level, I knew every person whose doorbell I rung or whose door I knocked.  Maybe that's a bit Norman Rockwell-ish, but I miss that in today's society; and I miss it for the kids.

Now, it seems to be all about how much candy a child can get.  In recent years, I have heard (in various forms) of parents driving their children around for hours, visiting streets and homes that are miles from where they live . . . all in the name of kids racking up huge amounts of sugary loot.  I know that the number of kids perusing my street on Halloween night far exceeds the the total number of kids who actually live my entire neighborhood.  I cringe when I think of how much sugar these precious children will be consuming because of Halloween. 

And, it doesn't stop there. 
Sugar is addicting. 
Pretty, colorful packaging can be very enticing. 

The combination of the two is often a very difficult temptation to resist; both for young and not-so-young, alike.  I have a very strong concern that we are raising generations (yes, plural) of children that will quickly become addicted to sugar . . . which, in turn, will lead to higher rates of various diseases and illnesses; obesity, diabetes and heart disease being the top three.  Incidentally, as a bonus FYI, cancers feed off of sugar.

*~*~*~*~*
Bobbing for apples; silly, fun games; cute, sweet costumes; homemade treats . . . this is my idea of Halloween.  Alas, it's also not the most popular ideas regarding this day; this I certainly know.

*~*~*~*~*
Please don't misunderstand . . . if ghoul and/or candy is your thang; then so be it.
I'm no one's lifestyle police nor nutrition police.

But for me, I just think there's much better things out there for us.

Thanks for reading; y'all be most abundantly blessed,
Sharmie