A New Discovery & A Stellar Recommendation

Remember when I bought a new Roman Shade for our den/office door from Lowe's? It looks so cute that Mr. Snoots decided that we needed to buy Roman Shades for the den/office windows. OMG! I was in shock for several days at the mere suggestion. I mean, really....... after 25 years? Are you sure this isn't a rash decision? Would you like to think about it a bit more? Before he'd had a chance to change his mind, I'd already gone on line and ordered custom made Roman Shades with free shipping from a marvelous site called SelectBlinds.com. After entering the measurements for my blinds at numerous sites on the internet, I jumped at the chance Select Blinds offered. Still, there is always that *skeptical* question that lingers inside each & every one of us that has a brain. Will it be good or will it be regrettable?

I first tried Jacque Penney, where the price was well over $900.00. Next I tried Sears where it was over $1,000.00. Home Depot made me want to swallow my tongue at seeing their price. Huh? Seriously? I can't imagine what they might cost through a decorator (you know, with the decorator's cost added in). After perusing several other websites, I was done. I measured my window once again to be certain I was being accurate (because sometimes I have a brain fart and don't get it right). Fine. I might have measured an anal retentive 4 times, just to be sure. Call me crazy.

So, I placed the order and held my breath. Now another marvelous thing about these people is that they give you a few days of Grace, in which to change your mind about color or measurements or whatever. Who does that? No one I've ever heard of, trust me. However, I was solid in my decision. So, they arrived last Thursday and we mounted them on Saturday. We actually took a while to get them done because we thought they would be like every other blind we've ever hung. Difficult. Not so. They were the easiest ever. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

Hello. I'm good here. Not only were we given free shipping, but they also cost a grand total of $490.00. Ka-Ching! These people are not paying me for this free advertising, although I feel as if they should be. This is one helluva plug for them. I will NEVER purchase Roman Shades anywhere else. Honestly. I heart these people!

The custom Roman Shades are beautiful, well made, of high quality, and they arrived in a timely manner. Win. Win. Win.

The best part of all? They were both fully lined and each measures 58" in width and 72" in length. You can even do the math and I challenge you to find a better deal on Roman Blinds as far as installation goes. They were easier to install than the ones we bought from J. C. Penney's, particularly, the ones we installed in the first guest room.

I will forever be a fan of Select Blinds DOT COM. Stellar company. Woot!

Mourning The Death of Whitney Houston....

Wow. I suppose I'm still really in shock over the loss of such a talented and oddly tragic entertainer, the fabulous Whitney Houston. I had not looked at the TV all day so I wasn't aware of her death. However, my daughter, who was practically raised on the song 'Greatest Love Of All', called to tell me. 

I think I was particularly obsessed with her music during the summer of 1992, the same year that "The Bodyguard" was released. SD was 7 that year and she loved listening to Whitney as much as I, especially during summers spent at the lake house. It was always my *thing* to make a summer favorites cassette tape before leaving for the lake (though I usually had several). Back in those days (for you young ones) we had to record cassette tapes from vinyl albums. (which my daughter is now in possession of the 100's we'd owned). Anyway, those songs became what I called our summer anthems and Whitney's songs were up there at the top of my list, long before Celine Dion hit the scene. They were essential to spending long days out on the lake dragging all the kiddles around on our numerous lake toys (behind the boat) while Mr. Snoots was back here in West Texas slaving away during the week.

It was during the days when MTV was king as far as music videos went (they actually only played music videos back then), although VH1 was gaining in popularity. It was a magical time and she was the Queen of them all in my humble opinion. The beginning of her road to the end started with Bobby Brown who will always be a scum bag in my eyes, although I don't mean to diminish the fact that Whitney gave birth to her only child with BB. Still, Whitney changed once Bobby Brown came on the scene, and it was not for the better. His prison time & drug use, as well as Whitney's obvious drug use were well documented and just so very sad to witness. Her music began to change then too, and I began to lose interest.

However, I will always love her for the songs she produced that filled me with joy when I listened to them. She was really something special. In fact, her mother Cissy Houston, was (and still is) a well respected jazz/R&B singer (with very strong gospel roots) who worked with the likes of Herbie Mann, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick (her niece), Jimi Hendrix, The Drifters, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Lou Rawls, and the list goes on. So Whitney cut her teeth around some truly amazing talent.



Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday afternoon in a room at the Beverly Hills Hilton, alone. Cause of death will not be known until after an autopsy has been performed and mostly likely an additional 2-3 weeks while the toxicology tests are being done.

Rest In Peace Whitney......

Don't We All Get Depressed Now & Then?

Or is it just me? This week I've been suffering under a depression like I've never experienced before. On Monday morning I awoke crying and then I just couldn't stop. I cried for two days. Non stop. My eyes might possibly never recover. I just stayed in bed and cried. For two whole days. I've never done that before in my life. Mr. Snoots did his feeble best to help but was unsuccessful. He even tried to force me from my bed with physical force, which I fought by just curling into a fetal position on my couch in the den, while I sobbed uncontrollably.

I was consumed by this dark cloud of hopelessness and I honestly couldn't foresee anything good coming in my future. I just felt like giving up on everything. Man, it's really easy to let that darkness take over. After all the horrible things I've been through in my life, I was suddenly throwing in the towel for... well... nothing. So what if I don't have any friends here? Is that a reason to give up? Perhaps. But not after everything I've already been through in my life, right?

So today, after sleeping until Noon once again, I went back to bed and crying. Then, I said a prayer to God. I asked Him to help me pull myself out of my funk. It was then that our cat Trouble did something she's never done before. She came back to my room, curled up next to me, and purred her little heart out. She never comes to my room and never curls up next to me. That was the most healing purr I've ever heard. I was seriously teetering on the edge of life & death before that. I'm not joking. I've had these feelings of suicide since childhood but have always been able to quell them in the past. Sometimes it's just more than I can do to stay happy and positive when I know things aren't going to change and there's nothing I can do about it. Those pesky feelings of total helplessness and hopelessness really are a bitch.

When you go day after day of no contact with anyone but your spouse (who barely speaks a word) and your cat (who doesn't speak at all) you start to get a little crazy. I. Am. There. Okay, fine. I do talk to my new best friend who runs the paint department (who still doesn't know she's my new best friend) at Home Depot. However, she's a busy lady and seldom has time to do much more than flash a smile and wave a big hello. I try to call people I think are my friends and they don't answer the phone, nor do they return my calls, so I've given up on them. Others I call are so busy that it takes days for them to return my call, letting me know full well how I rank in the scheme of things.

Do you think I'm going insane? It surely does feel like it. I'm in the midst of what is called Human Isolation and it's so painful that I can't even begin to describe how it feels. I don't know what I can do. Or should do. My daughter would simply tell me to get a volunteer job, make new friends and to get over it. She's tough because I raised her that way. I'm afraid it's just not that easy for me this time. Mr. Snooty's brilliant suggestion was for me to get a job. You know. So that we can't take ANY vacations for the next year until I get vacation time, as if I'm even qualified to do ANYTHING (because I'm not). I think I really just want to fade away, with no hoopla. I don't want to be anybody's problem. I just don't want to live such an isolated life any more.

I think I need a CHANGE OF LIFE, just like in the movie Shirley Valentine...

PLEASE Tell Me What's So Great About Egyptian Cotton Sheets....

Seriously, what is the big hoopla over Egyptian Cotton sheets? The higher the thread count, the more wrinkled they come out of the dryer. I will never buy them again. Ever. 



They always look dreadful coming out of the dryer, crinkled up into tiny little balls of wrinkles. Frankly, I have better things to do with my time than iron freaking sheets and better places to spend my money than on sheets of 100% Egyptian cotton, when all they really need is just a tad of polyester or whatever, to insure minimum wrinkles. Here's your sign:

Enough said, right? From now on, I intend to buy sheets that don't come out of the dryer looking like a Popcorn Ball on Crack. Who's with me?

So, could I recommend any sheet sets I've found that I like? You bet I can! I ended up going to Bed, Bath & Beyond and I bought sets of these sheets for every bed in the house. The best part? They are totally affordable AND they claim to destroy all odors like pets, smoke and body accidents, which I'm pretty sure means the dreaded Dutch Oven, right? In the picture above, they are the ones on the right......

It's Amazing What You Find When You Clean The Cobwebs Out....

Hmmmm... Let's see. Mr. Snooty's fabulous set of Bakelite poker chips that were from his paternal grandfather turned up while he was cleaning out the old playhouse last week. For the past 20+ years we have been certain someone we knew had stolen them. Uh-Huh. Please don't judge. We were young and stupid then.

Then Mr. Snooty found my old bowling ball (engraved with my name) from pre-children days, when we bowled together in a league. We were both sure that I'd sold it in a garage sale. See? It's fun getting old! It's almost like Christmas, every day of the year. Only not. Quite.

For years I've looked for the pictures from my 1982 trip to NYC (as a chaperone to the Pickwick Players theater group (pre-children days), associated with our local Community Theater), to no avail. Mr. Snoots, bless his soul,  found them. Frankly, he's been pulling junk out of the *old playhouse* for four days. Yes, the very place Felicia the Fox had her pups (underneath) for many years. Someone else had to do it because I certainly wasn't going to. To me, it would be like invading hallowed ground, right? Nah. I just didn't want to get all dirty and covered in spiders, m'kay?




Back then, my best friend was Ozzie Whitten, who was gay. Every woman needs a good gay guy friend. So. Not. Kidding. I adored Ozzie and our trip to New York City was magical. Sadly, he died from Aids (brain cancer) in 1992, but he had already carved a permanent spot in my heart. We did so many things together and they are all such wonderful memories.

Oooooh!We also found many incriminating photos of our days before children. Enough said about that subject. My lips are sealed from this moment on and the evidence has been destroyed...

So, no outstanding fortunes of any kind were found and now we can move on. Hopefully. One out-building down. Two out-buildings and a rented storage unit to go!

Does anyone recognize this lovely shawl I'm sporting on my 1982 trip to NYC?? It has been a yearly staple in my wardrobe since that time, when I purchased it for $250.00. I'd say it was a good investment and I've always guarded it like a hawk. I dearly love this shawl and often buy my wardrobe around it. Good pieces really do last forever.....

That was the same year I did my first Jr. League placement as an Assistant Director for one of the Pickwick plays, and it was a wonderful and enlightening experience. The two real directors of the Pickwick Players were Michael and Elizabeth Spicer, both actors who were implants here from New York. They divorced more than a year later and I don't know what happened to them after that, but they were fun on the trip.

I was able to also meet Mayor Ed Kotch, which was really a treat. I always liked him. He always just seemed like a man of the people...





 On this trip we saw "Evita", "Amadeus", "Pirates of Penzance", "Othello" (with Christopher Plummer & James Earl Jones), and "A Chorus Line" , plus one off-off Broadway show called "Cloud Nine". Now that I've seen the pictures again, it all seems like just yesterday...

Houston, We Have Lift Off... AKA The New Guest Room Is Done!

Of course, this doesn't mean I have the bathroom finished, because I don't. I still need to do the counter top, hang a decorative black iron hanger for towels or clothes, find a suitable window treatment for the bathroom window, have sliding door repaired (yes, the painter broke it), as well as have the cabinet doors repaired (that he also broke) and find a replacement for the toilet paper holder (which is darkened-by-time brass). Then, I will actually be finished.

However, for now, the bedroom is finished and I'm so pleased with the way it all turned out.



I just finished repainting SD's old camp trunk that was ugly as sin. It used to be hidden in her closet, being used to store excess junk. I like it much better in black, situated at the end of the bed. The best part is that it's located right by my new craft closet, so I'll be able to hide my large and small containers of paint, etc.

Oh, and here's a picture of my new craft closet. I just love having everything in one place, all organized and easy to find. The excess is located in the next closet, inside our old Heywood-Wakefield dresser, which is also hidden away.



Also, I finally got the curtain tie backs up today, which was a rather major improvement to the look of the room. 

Here's a picture of SD's camp trunk before I started on it. Let me just say that I had to do a huge amount of scraping and sanding before I could even begin to paint it, which was a necessary evil...





Oh, and I also still have to hang another item for the wall that displays the two Oriental hats, but first I need to spray paint it black, but it's really just an afterthought, to add more interest to the wall. It's not what you'd call an important element to the room, but it will make the wall less boring....

Yet Another Mini-Snowmageddon In West Texas....

Yes, it's true. We received a total of 14 to 15 inches in 24 hours, which set another new record. Haven't we just been the record setters this whole last year? I'm now certain that everything left outside is dead or close there to. We simply aren't accustomed to this kind of weather. Besides, we have no HILLS, much less mountains for skiing. To me, that renders snow to be useless. Can't ski on it? Don't need it. I never cared for cross-country skiing, which is too bad since we've had so much snow the last few years.


We've set records for snowfall amounts, consecutive days of triple digit heat, number of destructive wildfires for a record setting number of days, consecutive days without rain and our first ever city imposed water rationing. It's been like living on another planet, really. It no longer resembles Earth and has seriously cut into our golf playing time. It's almost like we're living on some planet in the Warp Zone. Or the Twilight Zone.


Year before last our yard had begun to look like it had before life got in the way, giving us brief hopes for revival. The last two years have stripped us of any hopes of returning to those glory days. It would just take more energy than either of us have and Mr. Snoots wouldn't even consider having someone aside from the man who mows once a week during the growing months. So, it would be ridiculous to replant everything without someone or a crew to care for it all. We are on a double-sized lot, after all. It would all merely die again, therefore causing us to throw more money down the drain. We have better places to throw our money down the drain, thank you.


Mr. Snoots still hasn't told the painter to come back and finish the back exterior of our house (and the doors). Not sure what that's all about. Surely it can't be Moi? Anyway, I'm still not missing him, if that tells you anything. The painting of SD's tiny room and bathroom nearly did me in. 


Amazingly, Mr. Snoots told me today that he's going to call a local company about windows, which means Mr. Molasses won't be doing the new windows. Thank. The. Lord. I might have gone stark raving mad.


I finally finished hanging the Roman shades in the guest room, as well as the curtains our friends gave us for free. We tried to hang the curtains in SD's room today but found that we're going to need a stud finder. When we tried to hang them today, the whole deal just fell out of the wall, which made me wail at the damage to the new paint job. We are such novices when it comes to DIY that it's almost comical, but not. Really.....

My First Masterpiece Of 2012....

Last year at this time I had made the horribly painful but lovely Coffee Filter Wreath but since it was filthy with irremovable dirt by October, I spray painted it black and added mini pumpkins, to serve as our new Halloween wreath. Not wanting to go through the painful process of another coffee filter wreath, I searched high and low for a new wreath project.


I really hated to put away my Christmas wreath because I love it so much, all sparkly and bright. So after a bit of thought I decided to make a Valentine Ornament Wreath. When I began to look for a heart wreath form to build upon, I found everyone in town to be out of them, save for one smallish wreath on the bottom shelf (at the very back of the shelf) at Hobby Lobby. Of course, thinking that I could easily acquire plenty of red/reddish ornaments, I was further disappointed to discover that NO STORES had any left except for some at Target. I immediately became overwhelmed with greed and piled every single box of medium and small sized red ornaments all marked 80%, yes 80% discounted, into my basket.


Who cares if people were staring at me as if I'd lost my brain somewhere in the parking lot? I was on a mission. Assuring myself that these would be enough for the project, I checked out and raced home to get started. As usual, it wasn't enough but no place in town had any left and I went everywhere that sold (or had sold) ball ornaments, probably spending a small fortune in gasoline, right?


I worked feverishly for two days until I reached the point that I knew I couldn't finish without more red ornaments. Fully aware that there were no more to be had locally, I searched the internet for miniature red balls that would be used to fill in the gaps of my wreath. The cost was astronomical on the scale of after Christmas ornaments, so I declined. Then I did the unthinkable. Yes, I unpacked all of the ornaments I'd already carefully packed away and I robbed what few red ornaments I could find. Then I robbed the front porch decorative trees of their red ornaments as well. Frankly, I decided I could just worry about them next year when supplies are plentiful.


Still, I had gaps that needed to be filled in on the wreath, so I finally had to break down and use some champagne colored mini ornaments I had put away for next year. I suppose I'll have to replace those as well, when the time comes. Until then, they did a nice job of filling in the remaining holes, don't cha think?

The most amazing thing to me is that you can't buy ball ornaments out of season and fleaBay is always a crap shoot. You never know what you'll end up with and it almost always costs more than it's actually sold for at retail prices. Who runs these places anyway? Don't they know that people craft 365 days of the year? They could have made a tidy sum, but they had nothing to sell. Too bad for the retailers, huh?



Did I mention we are scheduled to have another snow tomorrow night? I'm cynical but the hubby says it's guaranteed by the weather service. A guarantee from them is absolutely worthless, thank you anyway. Why does anyone believe them? Their ratio for being accurate is like 2%. Hello......

2011... A Look Through The Rearview Mirror

Looking back, I must admit 2011 hasn't been the best of years for us. A huge chunk of time was spent going to doctor appointments, countless hours on the phone with AT&T trying to get our services to work, trying to redecorate for showing the house (someday) and attending far too many funerals for family and friends. Somehow, we were able to survive a record setting drought, late record setting freezes that jumped straight to record setting heatwaves, the wildfires from Hell and city imposed water rationing because there are so many idiots in our city that just didn't get it that we are seriously running out of water. Soon.

The entire year has been riddled with repairs in and around the house and we've still only taken a tiny chunk off the *Big Picture* of things that need to be done. We still have so many things to update and repair. However, if we keep hiring people who are slow as molasses, then we've still got a few years ahead of us before we're even ready to put the house on the market, much less move. Luckily, I've also learned many things already, about the way things are done and not done.Always good to know, right?



 
Whew! That is the most we've ever had to deal with in one year. Maybe one other year. The year we lost both of Mr. Snooty's parents to cancers (7 months apart) was gut wrenching but we didn't have insanely drastic and unpredictable weather to deal with, in addition to what was going down in our lives. But I'm getting off track here.

So taking everything that has happened this year into consideration, I'd say 2011 ranks pretty low on my list of the *good years*. That said, there have been some pretty grand perks to the year. I was able to see Celine Dion for the first (and last) time, zip-lined for the first (and second) time, learned I could successfully do my own home decorating, discovered the joys of spray painting and Goodwill, taken 4 or 5 nice trips together, and I had one of the highlights of my year, going to Seattle and getting to know my *blisters* (blog sisters) better.

Probably the best part of 2011 Christmas was having Mr. Snooty's brother and his family come to visit after Christmas. We had so much fun with them and we all found one another to have mellowed over the years, allowing us all to have nothing but fun times. However, we all went bowling yesterday (which neither of us have done in years) and today we are both miserable with muscle aches, back aches and various other pains.....



What were we thinking?



So, for a HUGE laugh today, go here to see the top 25 Twitter auto-correct fails. Never have I laughed so hard at the many reasons I don't text...

The Joys of Christmas.... Or Not

After attending the Griswold party we came home to discover there was nothing for the poor cat to eat, so I ran up to the nearest convenience store for a can of tuna (she won't eat cat food). After paying for the tuna I left to get in my car and a strange woman came up to me, saying she was sorry to ask, but she needed help with either a place to stay or the money to find a place. I'd heard on the news that Salvation
Army and other shelters around town were all full.


My first reaction was to tell her no and bolt for the car as quickly as possible. Then, that question came to my mind. You know the one. What if it was Jesus testing me? So, I gave her every penny I had in my wallet, which only amounted to approximately $37.50. When I told Mr. Snoots and SD they just rolled their eyes and laughed at me for being such a sucker. Perhaps I am, but I felt good knowing I'd helped someone to have a warmer Christmas (as opposed to believing she was a con artist).


Yes, I'm one of those people who still believes there are lots of good, honest people left in the world, whether they have fallen upon hard times or whatever. I'm also the person who can only toss so many coins into the Salvation Army pot before she begins planning new routes to avoid them. They always tug on my heart strings too hard.



Last night I went to see the yearly light and music show that a local paraplegic works on all year. As always, it was so fun and he has music to like 8 different songs in a row, all set to the beat of the lights. 


As I'm sitting there recording one song, a young man comes up to my car from behind, startling me. I nearly dropped the camera. Luckily all he wanted to know was what radio station to turn to for the light show music. But he still startled me pretty badly so I decided it was time to head home before something else happened.


Anyway, this is the best recording I was able to get:

The Griswold Party & A West Texas White Christmas...

We almost never have a white Christmas, but this year Mother Nature treated us to a big snow, making everything look like a Christmas card. Yipppeeee!

We trekked through the snow to the Griswold party and boy, were we ever glad we did. It was really a hoot and some of the costumes were hilarious. SD borrowed an ugly Christmas sweater from a relative and and she looked great. We only wore hats because I don't own any ugly Christmas sweaters & Mr. Snoots doesn't even own a sweater. Seriously.

As usual, I said I'd take lots of pictures, which I failed to do except for when we first got there and then when we were leaving the party. I know. But I always just get so wrapped up in talking with people that I just plain forget.

There were lots of men with squirrels pinned to the back of their sweaters, but the best part was the RV they had parked out in front of their house, proclaiming it to be cousin Eddie's travel trailer. They put up lighted palm trees & put out an old club chair and neon pink flamingos as well.

They had the entire roof of their house loaded with lights, just like the Griswold's house in the movie. I mean, this couple was really into it!

We stayed for a couple of hours, then left SD there to party on with her friends, with her friends promising to bring her home later. So, I received a call from SD around Midnight and had to venture out in the snow to fetch her ( but this seems to happen every year and I'm always happy to rescue my babies).

 
 






We were trying to remember when we last had a white Christmas, all of us certain that it had been many years ago. Our memories are obviously failing us. The last White Christmas was in 2009.......

Well, Merry Christmas To Me & To You All...

This morning I received *the call* from the doctor who did my colonoscopy. The nurse told me everything was perfect and they want to see me again in 5 years. Woot! Woot! Always good to know, right? I have mild Diverticulitis, which is not a big deal if I increase the fiber in my life. So. Can. Do.




So, I think I'm all ready for Christmas and the *in-laws* on the 27th. I'm so excited I can hardly wait! It's going to be like an extra Christmas for me. Yeehaaaaaw!




Our son hasn't been looking very hard for a job and I suspect that he just wants to come home while his cousins are here. If he gets a job now, that wouldn't be possible, but I understand and I'm okay with that.

On the 22nd is the Debutante Presentation at The Petroleum Club ( which we declined this year). Mr. Snoots usually agrees to attend for the sole purpose of lingering over the bottomless bowl of fried quail, while I'm usually at the smoked salmon buffet. It's always the best party in town at Christmas, but I decided to decline the day after my bone grafts for tooth implants, which might have been a bit hasty. I hate missing those festivities. Seriously.

SD will be home Friday, which is the day we are to attend the Clark Griswold party at a friend's home in the evening. What fun that promises to be! The last party they had was a *Disco Down* Christmas party, dressed in full 1970's garb, with literally hundreds of people in attendance. What a hoot this couple is! I'm taking the digital camera this year and getting pictures. It's all just too good to pass up, really. I know. I'm shameless when it comes to obtaining blog fodder.




In addition to this, it looks to be smooth sailing from here, on in to the New Year. It makes me feel so blessed. I'm so thankful for every single thing in my life.


Merry Christmas To All...