Optimist? Pessimist? Or Just Plain Mean?

Reposting.  Just 'cause.

This is who I am.  Take me or leave me.

I posted this right here in 2011.  I haven't changed.

 

Every once in awhile I just feel the need to have a good rant.   And, actually, I was going to title this blog "It's My Blog and I'll Rant If I Want To."  But.  I already did that. In a blog I published here quite a while back -  with that very title.  And guess what.  It's a rant about the very same thing.

Negativity.  And a lot of you commented.  Remember?

Here's the link if you'd like to see and see what you had to say - http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2009/11/its-my-blog-and-ill-rant-if-i-want-to.html

And then, by golly, I found another post where I did it again - http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2009/08/what-makes-you-crazy.html

So, I guess, it's times like this that having your own blog is a lovely thing.

Not only can I rant whenever I want to.  I can even repeat myself.  HA!

and more than once!

HA!


So.

Negativity.

If there's one single thing that pushes all my buttons and makes me nuts it's being around someone who is constantly and consistently negative.  Ugh.

Does it make you nuts, or am I just totally off the wall about it?  Do you think I might need professional help with this 'cause I react so strongly to it?  Seriously.  Do you?

'Cause I admit - it makes me pretty crazy.

It makes me crazy to the point of wanting to just reach out and grab some people and give 'em a good shake.

I think if we have our choice about who should get sucked up off the earth, it should be all the negative people who suck the life out of the rest of us.

Now, I know we're all gonna have a bad day.  But you know what I mean, right?  That's different than those people who can't stand seeing someone else have a smidge of joy.  You know people like that.  Don't you want to weed them out of your life?  Truthfully?!  Don't you??  But maybe you can't 'cause they're family, or they've been a friend for so long that your history makes you feel like it's just not possible.

Grrrrr.

They're the type of people who find it easier to be your friend when you're down and out than when you're on top of the world.  IMPOSSIBLE for them to work up some enthusiasm and wish you well.  That is just sad.  I'd like to feel sorry for them, and I guess I kinda do, but mostly I just want them out of my world.

We all know I'm not a total Pollyanna (pfft - imagine that), but I hope to God if I EVER become a complete and total 100% all-the-time-bitch-on-wheels (or a witch on a broomstick, since I couldn't really find a bitch on wheels image I liked), I hope someone will give me a reality check.  Someone out there promise me this, please?  I am quite happy being one of those people though, who prefers to think of the glass as being half full as opposed to being half empty.  

So.

Where am I going with this?  I'm not sure.  Just ranting, perhaps.


But.

I do have a theory about all this.

Aside from those moods we all have, I think people tend to have a negative spirit or a positive spirit, and whether they know it or not - it shows.  Loud and clear.  They may be able to hide that mean ol' self a lot of the time - even most of the time - but the true self reveals itself.  What do you think?  Am I being too harsh?  And what do YOU do about these poor ol' sad negative souls who inhabit your world??  You can't kill 'em, so do you just put up with them?  Do you try to talk to them about how very boring they are, or how pitiful they are?  Recommend LexaPro??  Or have you walked away from them?  Or are you all just much more understanding and patient than I am?  I really want to hear, so if you don't want to post your comments publicly, post anonymously.

Meat Camp, NC

 Today is a gorgeous day in Meat Camp

Donald has gone off on his bike for a ride.

Annabelle is perched on her rock out back.

I'm sitting on the back deck enjoying coffee, Mother Nature's artwork, and . . . dare I say it - my lot in life.

And dinner cooks.

Saturday evening plans include pot roast, a glass or two of wine, and a cut throat game of Scrabble.

Life is good.

Women to Women - Get Out the Vote

 

What I'm doing today before allowing myself time with my new book.  

Doing what I can to Get Out the Vote by engaging in some letter writing.  Women to Women letter writing.  Reaching out to women in my area in an attempt to remind people, women especially, why it's important to vote.  Especially important now.

Thanks to Pamela Williamson and The Watauga County Dems for pulling this program together, putting together valuable information to share, and samples of letters to personalize.

#GetOutTheVote

This is a personalized version I'm using:

"Our country is so divided right now, and it’s so important we elect candidates of good character who want to bring us together. We can't go on like this. Our country will be destroyed, and we will lose all hope for our future.  For our democracy.

I hope you'll vote and vote with your heart. Vote Blue."

Please vote!

A tough few weeks

 Donald and I have experienced some sadness these past few weeks.

We're both, knock on wood, fine.

But some very serious medical problems have been diagnosed for family and very close friends.

When this happens it's only human nature, i think, for us each to step back and do a little soul searching.  

A little assessment of where we are right now.

And i can't help but remember a conversation i had with Joe Maron who urged us quite earnestly to travel.  To travel often.  To travel while we were able, because the day would come when it would no longer be possible.

We had this conversation while sitting at the kitchen table looking through one of the photo albums from a trip he and Margaret had taken.

With photos came a narrative of memories.  Remembering  a restaurant with an amazing meal, an hysterically funny incident, or a moving moment remembered with a look passed between long-time partners.

I wish I could assure Joe and Margaret that we're trying our best to get out there and make more memories.  To honor that not at all subtle prod.

It has been driven home, quite powerfully, that we need to do it now.

Who knows what tomorrow might bring.

Like everyone else, our travel itch had to be put on hold for a couple years.

Then we planned a trip that we ended up having to cancel.

Now, we have something planned for next year with our fingers crossed that it actually happens.

Who knows what tomorrow might bring.

Why I Re-read

 

I re-read to savor the beauty of the words; the phrasing, the pacing, the choice of those words.

This is an excerpt from 

Pamela Terry's THE SWEET TASTE OF MUSCADINES -

"Every house is haunted. Some are haunted in the traditional way: by spirits generally more mischievous than malevolent, who take delight in closing the open door, rocking the empty chair, or snuffing out the flaming candle, unfortunate souls who failed to squeeze enough enjoyment out of their paltry allotment of days to sufficiently satisfy their eternity. Most, however, are haunted by our own memories: bits of ourselves, individual and unique, left behind and lying dormant for decades but with the power to quicken and breathe the moment we step back inside. These personal spirits can live in the house of our childhood or the church where we married. They wait for us with the patience of angels, alert to the sound of our step, the certain sweetness of our perfume, the touch of our hand on the door. Like rainbows through beveled glass, they coalesce in the stillness, ethereal as a dream yet visible to our eyes only. We alone may catch glimpses of ourselves at long-forgotten ages, running down the hallways or sitting with a book at the window. We alone can see our parents as they once were, young and hale. Fleeting, hardly real, the sounds of our youth can return on a breeze—the music, the laughter, the tears. These spirits gather in the corners of once-familiar rooms to whisper and sing, a murmuration of memory meant for just one."

My mom still speaks up

So.

If you don't believe in spirits, rather than scoffing at what I'm saying here, just move along.

Close it up.  This particular post is not for you.

IF, however, you do believe, then let me assure you my outspoken mom is still speaking out.

As I've mention about a hundred beezillion times, we're living in a wee bit of chaos here.

I know there's an end in sight, so for now, I'm going with the flow.  (Funny how as I've aged, I find that going with the flow/rolling with the punches thing easier than i once did).

During all this, Donald left for about a week to spend time with his folks in Birmingham.

And because they're preparing to move from their home to a smaller place, they sent him home with a few things including some furniture.

One of those pieces is a desk we have both loved for many years.  

It used to belong to Donald's much loved and adored Great Aunt Gladys.  

The timing for receiving things - ALL things we love and feel quite blessed in receiving - including this sweet little desk isn't ideal, but so what.

The house is going to be in disarray for awhile anyway, so what the heck.

We love it all and it all falls very firmly in the category of cherished treasures.

We knew exactly where we wanted the little desk to live, but that meant moving another Aunt Gladys treasure that we've had for a number of years.

The place where this the desk now is used to be the spot where this magical rocker was.

The space where the rocker will go . . .  well, as you can tell by this photo, is in a bit of a mess right now due to that closet redo, which was put on hold due to insulation installation, put on hold due to broken pipes and another set-back i'll tell you about another time.  Enough is enough.  Right? 

(going with the flow here . . . ).

Back to the subject at hand.

(insert my old and very dear and much missed friend, Michael Dean, saying, "Kaye Alan, can we have the abridged version of this story, please?").

So.

See this piece?

 

It's my mom's jewelry chest.

She LOVED this piece.

It's no longer filled to the brim like it once was, but suffice to say there's still a lot in there.

Well, last night while Donald and I were moving furniture around finding a place for Mom's prized jewelry chest became a challenge.

At about 2 a.m. we called it a night.

Left things in disarray (insert maniacal laughter) and went to bed.

And sometime during the night I woke up to the very distinct smell of cigarette smoke.

And not for the first time.

I knew exactly who was in our bedroom.

My mom, very nicely, but very firmly, assured me that we would find an appropriate spot for that jewelry chest.

And i agreed.

And so does Donald.

Savoring the words

There are a few authors whose books I'm going to read the minute I'm able.

Lucky for me, I was able to get advance copies of these novels written by these outstanding writers through NetGalley even though I have each of them pre-ordered.

I know some people think re-reading is silly and a waste of time.  

I don't feel that way.

Yes, i know - there are exciting new books being published every day.

"Too many books, too little time." 

I get that.

I am, however, a re-reader from way back.

When an author is able to find a way to use words to create a phrase or a thought that feels magical enough to cause me to stop reading long enough to think about, savor, and feel a connection, that's a book I know I'll come back to.

These are the most recent books delivering that magic.

Maybe you'll love them too.

 

Is it just stuff, or is it treasure more precious than gold?

 We opened our booth at Antiques on Howard three years ago today.  

We didn't plan on being open this long.  

Our only goal was to get rid of stuff that had been packed up and stored in our storage building for years and years. 

But stuff grew.  

It grew and we were challenged by deciding what things from my Mom's apartment did we want to keep.

As much as we both loved my mother, keeping every single thing she left behind made no sense.  We did, of course, choose items that had special meaning to us, and to her.  Her sisters, along with several nieces and friends received some things, and we put some things in our booth.

But stuff grows.

And continues to grow as Don Barley's mom and dad downsize to move into a smaller place.  

As happens, priorities regarding "keeping vs. not keeping" keep changing.  

Material things are just things.  

Until they aren't.    

To Donald and I, many family items, along with some personal treasures, have sentiments and memories attached that make those things meaningful.

Those things stay.

So while the great purge continues, the fact remains that we will never be a minimalist household.

And that's fine, fine, fine.

Treasures more precious than gold - - -

Not because of their existence.

But the memories that live within each piece.

❤  ❤  ❤

Sorting and Organizing

After having Bettina and Riley from Clean Mountain Escapes here to do some major deep cleaning, the house looked so nice, and felt so good that we were inspired to do some much needed sorting, purging, and organizing.

I started with my dresser.

Sweaters were sorted, and many found their way to Goodwill.

Underwear and Tees and socks and leggings and tights.

Dumped out of the drawers onto the bed for sorting.

And i ended up with a trash bag full of stuff to toss.

What stays got nicely sorted into drawer organizers I ordered from Amazon.  What took me so long to find and use these wonderful items??  I love them!

One of the things i found appealing about this little house when we bought it back in 1996 was that it had cute little built in features that initially charmed me.

It didn't take long for me to realize that charm was superficial, and their actual capacity as useful space was . . . minimal.

I cannot even express how much i hate my closets.

For those interested and curious, Donald has his own closet.  Bigger.  Better.

AND his own bathroom.

Take those two statements as part if our testimony about what helps make a good marriage.

So.

The great sort, purge, and organizing efforts continue.

Bags and totes.  TOO MANY!

One thing for sure.  These favorite well-loved bags are going nowhere.  ❤

Charming, useless, wasted space is going to be converted to something much more efficient.

Don Barley is on it.  

In the meantime, the sunroom is going to be a wreck.  ( sigh)

Oh, well.

You do what ya gotta do to get things done.

 

And VOILÀ!  

Some semblance of a decent and efficient use of space!

Hooray!

But wait.

Maybe not.

Let's study this  little more . . .

And start over.

And while we're at it, we should add some insulation up here in the attic . . .

And since things in our bedroom are in such disarray, how 'bout i empty out this little space that is also in need of sorting, purging and organizing.

This is how things stand today.

And will stand for the near future.

A small new dresser will be moving in (along with some more of those marvie little organizers from Amazon).

Insulation and all the tools that will accompany that job will be moving in.

Things will, eventually, be back to normal and better than it was.

In the meantime, the sunroom is a room to be ignored and forgotten.

But.

You know what?

Life is good.  ❤❤❤

I would not trade places with anyone.