I hate giving up on the twinkle lights. But something had to give. The ornaments and tree were getting dusty. It had been ages since I really took notice of the tree. I need to wash the big picture window the tree sits in. The carpet needs cleaned in the family room. And I was two days past my cutoff of Valentine’s Day. It was time. 

Photo Found on Facebook

I was around sixteen years old when I received a hairdryer for Christmas. It was in a plastic avocado green case with the bonnet and hose…the whole shebang. It even had a little knob with a pipe cleaner attached to it that I pulled out, dipped in perfume, and put back in. When the air blew through the tube into the bonnet, it picked up the scent from the perfume and just like that…my hair smelled like some Avon stuff I found in the bathroom closet. It was trés chic, to be sure.

Mr. FixIt finished cutting in around the doors, the top, and the bottom of the walls yesterday. We were going to tag team and he took the first shift. We didn’t count on the handy edging gizmo to work so well and he was done in less than thirty minutes. I continued to work on this project. I’ve hit several stumbling blocks, but I think I’m back on track now. The learning curve is fierce. Or…maybe it’s my brain that’s not as spry as it used to be. Who knows? 

I can live through the darkest of winters. Especially when God gifts us a day like yesterday. As a matter of fact, we’ve had a lot of sunny days the last two or three weeks. The sun was shining brightly yesterday and big puffy clouds drifted across a sky the color of a fine piece of Wedgewood. It was so delicious you could almost taste spring. 

Mr. Virgo was from South Philly and proud of it. He loved his mama, his cheese steaks, and his Eagles. They were always “his Eagles”…as if proximity to the family brownstone indicated proprietorship. He told me from the very beginning, “Ahhhh, those birds. They just break my heart every year.” And they did. Every year of his life. Then…in 2018, they won the Super Bowl. Nearly five years after he died. 

When your car breaks down, you call a mechanic. When the drain is clogged, you call a plumber. When you’re sick with a fever, you call a doctor. But who do you call when your heart has been ripped out of your chest and you’re left standing there…holding it in your hands? And you’re still breathing? When it happened to me, believe it or not, the first person I called was Hubby #2. He was a doctor. He was my friend. He’d know what to do.

I know it may sound silly, but I love sleeping in the camper. I think that was imprinted deeply when I found my first camper to be such a sanctuary for my grief as a new widow. Somehow it transported me above the pain just enough to allow me to breathe and take little bites instead of drowning in it. I’ve had a camper ever since. Several, to be exact. And each one comforted me.

My goodness…these old campers were so tiny!

Mr. FixIt painted the ceiling in the hallway yesterday. There wasn’t really enough room for the two of us, and it really wasn’t all that big. So I let him do that while I worked on my project. The special events of the weekend are Big’s District Swim Championships and the Super Bowl. I’m thrilled I can watch Big swim live on the internet. And Mr. Virgo’s Eagles are playing in the Super Bowl so I’m pretty invested in this year’s contest.

The View out Grandma’s Window

Before I say anything else, I want to thank you all for your wonderful, supportive comments yesterday about my dilemma and what I should do with my brother as he ages. Your words meant so much to me it brought tears to my eyes. I know others who have blogs and I swear…I can’t imagine they have readers as kind and supportive as you all! Thank you from the bottom of my heart…you really made me feel better.

Good Morning from The Farm

I had just gone to sleep Monday evening when the phone rang. It startled me and I jumped up to get it. It was Mr. FixIt. He had gone out to look at the moon and heard a strange animal sound…really close. So he stood quietly and recorded it for me to hear. He didn’t know I was asleep or he would have waited till morning. But by then, of course…I was really awake. (You can listen here!)