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Anniversary or just another day........?

6/26/2013

8 Comments

 
Good gravy it’s hot and sticky! I’m sitting here in my bra and panties and my fingers and wrists are sticking to the laptop.   My hair is up per the usual but the few sprigs that lay on the back of my neck are an irritant, causing extra heat as it blocks the moving air of a fly buzzing by...that's the only breeze to be found!  My air conditioner is upstairs in the bedroom closet and too heavy for me to schlep down the stairs so I'm trapped in this sweat shop of a house mired in misery.  There isn’t a fan for the asking.  The bloody weather snuck up on me….I wasn’t prepared but this gal will be in Gows Home Hardware tomorrow evening stocking up on whatever it takes to get through the summer heat. 

I spent my anniversary alone as hubby is away on business. Boo hoo for me.  No fancy dinner out, no flowers, no nothing to mark it as a special day, and yes that might be a double negative but I'm in a double negative mood!   There are so few things to celebrate in life you have to grab on to whatever you can and 22 years of marriage is nothing to sneeze at.  Of course we'll celebrate at a later time per the usual.  In our life, there's always two days for every event.  The actual day and the day you honour it.  Having a bad case of the poor mes all day and maybe whining a bit too much to a customer, I got a nice hug!  Sweet!


After our orientation on Monday, Sue and I went to the gym for out first workout.  Thankfully it was in air conditioning comfort.  It was quite the hour and I’m sure I’ll be feeling it tomorrow. I love to exercise once I start…it’s the getting there…excuse after excuse pops up.  I suppose we all think we’re infallible but at some point we have to face reality and know that our life is half over and it's time to make changes. The first five decades were a cake walk but this second half is all uphill and we have to do the work to get to the end as healthy as can be.    Those ads on TV that say the last ten years of our life will be sick ones, well I don’t want to be cast in that mold.  The Mahone Bay Center has a lovely gym facility, top notch, well maintained, lots of equipment,  clean rooms and a trainer available for special requirements. 

There won't be any exercise tomorrow as the building is closed due to the TV show Haven filming an episode on the premise.  A bit of excitement for our town as The Mahone Bay Centre has once again been transformed into "Haven Medical Centre." They will be shooting there all day today and into the evening.  This will be the second such event for our town.  Once they shot an episode right outside my shop window and we watched Jason Priestly in make-up... I have to say he is pretty cute in real life.  It was a hook-in night but instead of working on our projects we all clustered around and watched  the proceedings through the front window.  The star of the show, Emily Rose loved my poodles and the director actually came into the shop for a snuggle...with the dogs that is....  The outside of my shop made it into some of the scenes and although I don't follow the show I did watch that episode for the familiar scenery. 

So back to my exercise.  I’ve decided to go at this with a realistic approach, not blitz it like a dog charging a bone.  I plan to workout moderately so I don’t burn out and grow tired of the routine. A fast weight loss might build momentum for a while but it’s the slow and steady that will win the race and keep the weight off and retain the newly built muscle long term.  So wish me luck with this new addition to my routine cause we all know about the road to the nether region being paved with good intentions!   

It's all about managing time.  I've always felt bad for poor little time,  always getting blamed for everything.  You can always find time if you look for it, a few minutes here and there to do what's good for your body.  At this point in my life, I can’t afford not too.  That emergency visit a few weeks back was an eye opener.  As I lay there hooked up to a machine I projected ahead and realized I didn’t want this to be part of my future.   My heart might be all over the place with menopause but that will pass and if I build that wonderful muscle into a kick ass ticker it should last my lifetime.  Our heart sends out a lot of love, but we need to give some of it back. 

I tested my heartbeat yesterday and it didn’t have any skips and I was over the moon.  I’ve been off of white flour and sugar and coffee for a bit over a month so I’m thinking I isolated the culprits. Sugar acts like shards of glass coursing through your veins, cutting at the walls which the body repairs with plaque, the same plaque that clogs your heart leading to nasty problems.  So it’s clean living from now on, some good ole cardio, pumping a bit of iron and the right food to sustain my body!  It's time I give my body some love! 

Last evening I waited for the temperature  to cool down to work in the gardens but that didn’t happen so I went out around 8:00 and turned a bit of soil.  Fresh from my workout I was still pumped and wanted to do something other than play couch potato.   In no time  I was drenched like a contestant in a wet T Shirt contest.  Ten minutes of that and I was wiped and I gave up before the neighbour got out the binoculars.    

I took a few minutes to smell the roses though, well actually the peonies.  I was surprised that the deep magenta ones don’t have any scent....a bit disappointing. The smell is what makes a peony the royal stunner that it is so I can’t imagine why someone would genetically alter a flower to remove the smell.  That's what attracts the bees!  The peony should be a feast for all senses. Petals of silk to touch....breathtaking beauty to see.....and a delicious fragrance to inhale; the trifecta of gardening gold.   

I’m beating back the weeds and grass one wheel barrow at a time.   The grass is four feet high, dwarfing the plants around it.  Grass is a nasty bugger to get rid of once it grabs hold of a plant’s roots.  You have to pull it out one piece at a time and hope the entire root system comes with it or you’re back to the drawing board in a few days.   Grass is a bully, stealing the nutrients in the soil and gradually pushing the plant right out of the way.   Give grass an inch and it will take the yard! 
 

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So now for a bit of fun. This rug is a hoot!  To actually draw out a design and hook this message sort of seems like someone was royally pissed off at their in-laws or maybe in this case, out-laws!
 
This rug lives in the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine Florida.   Charlene came across it hanging on the wall when taking a tour during one of her snowbird vacations.   She brought back a postcard depicting the rug for a show and tell for our hook-in.   It makes us laugh every time we see it.   If anyone knows anything about this rug please leave a comment.

http://www.lightnermuseum.org/


Inlaws are rodents in human guise
Who eat me out of cakes & pies
Oer hill & vale & rivers & ruts
They gather for dinner
I hate their guts

8 Comments
Adena
6/26/2013 02:43:28 am

Back home with my goodies! That rug is a hoot!

Reply
Kim J link
6/26/2013 02:52:55 am

That rug is too funny. I can just imagine the family dynamics that spawned that idea!!!
I called the shop yesterday to order a pattern. We could have done the poor me's together but someone else answered the call :)

Reply
Sandra Licher link
6/26/2013 08:53:11 am

Oh, it is funny but sad as there are so many women who accept their "lot in life" like a bitter pill when they are the ones in charge of it. But then the generations back then were different and there was so much pressure to always do what others wanted. I feel bad for her and hope she eventually got the appreciation she deserved and that she was able to find some solace during the making of that rug. I'm sure she never showed it to the ones that took advantage of her good nature and hard work. I'm also sure she was much too kind to hurt the ones that hurt her. Bless her soul.

Reply
Christine
6/26/2013 01:25:45 pm

You're so right. One can only surmise the story behind this rug. It's almost a mystery to be solved. Personally I can't imagine being that hurt or angry to work that much to make a point. Maybe it made her feel better to have a voice through her hooking, exact a bit of revenge served cold.

Reply
Kim J
6/26/2013 09:22:59 pm

It could have been created mid-divorce. Seems like something a scorned wife might create

Anne Lewis
6/27/2013 03:20:59 am

Nah, nah, na nah nah! My daughter-in-law brings over food, cooks it, and cleans up after her nice 4 little kids 8 yrs. and under - then washes our kitchen floor. Move over Lady Luck, I'm in first place. Extra magnet: I bought a community outdoor pool Bond and yearly membership for us and grandkids...love to see them all get swim lessons. Shall I go on about the other son and his wife? No - they are also great. Providence landed on our doorstep.

Reply
Me
7/11/2013 10:16:53 am

I wish I knew more about it as well. You know a woman created this, right? No straight man is gonna hook a rug ...
I wonder if that's her self portrait in the center.

Reply
Janet conner link
3/21/2016 12:47:02 pm

Ladies, I have good news! That rug is one of many designed by a husband and wife team during the 1920's, 30's and 40's In Brooklyn,NY. At Sauder Village Rug Week August 2016, a new book will be released by myself and Kathy Wright ( Magdalena Briner book) called : Rug Hooking Traditions With James and Mercedes Hutchinson. The rug you have found is one of many on the subject of in laws, J & M commented on all aspects of family relationships in their rugs. As we get closer to August, visit Wright Traditions publishing.com to reserve a copy. I will be delighted to sign it for you!
We have been researching the Hutchinsons for a decade, and I have developed a course for creating your own Hutchinsonesque hooked rug. I've made 7 to be included in book. You will learn the details of their fascinating story.....
Hope to hear from you in August- Janet Conner

Reply



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