The Golden Years….really?

I am going to switch gears here for a bit…..things are very unsettled in my life right now (still) and I am getting tired of fighting the depression that goes along with it…..I have a daily affirmation that I get from Neale Donald Walsch ( author of the Conversations with God books) and this is one I got two days ago:

“On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know......that any frustration you have is simply the result ofwrong thinking. If you were thinking rightly you could not possibly imagine that anything was going 'wrong.' You would know that nothing in the Universe is working against you. By definition, given Who You Are, this is impossible. Move, then, to gratitude when you encounter your frustrations. And see every event as an Opportunity.”

Opportunity….really????? For what? Pain, fear, anxiety??? My husband and I have been here before when he was just 50 years of age and it was over a year before he found work, now he is older. He gets to the third interview and then nothing. The recruiters tell him he is a shoe in and be by your phone…it never rings. All he can do with major companies is apply online. You are not allowed to hand a resume to anyone anymore!

One of the factors has to be his age, in this country “experience” is interrupted as “too old”. Example: Target will not hire anyone for any management position without a 4 year degree. My husband along with many other men had to go to work, school wasn’t an option. The HR person told him, if he just had that degree, he would be exactly who they were looking for, she didn’t mention a specific degree like business or management just a degree. Really? So what do we do for 10 years before he can retire????? Right now, it looks like we lose everything we’ve worked so hard for! To have it go because he was thrown out of a promising career by someone who didn’t like him???? For one wrong move…one. Good people make bad decisions.

I am sorry, I am so discouraged and so tired of the “God will provide” lines….and the “not in your time but his time” lines…I have been a little upset with God lately , a very dear friend of mine told me I have to get over my anger with God, that I cannot receive the blessings he wants for me if I am closed to him…..really? I guess that is that “free will” thing, huh? I know it isn’t God’s fault, I know that a lot of it is my husband’s….but can God really help???? The anger is incredible and my stomach hurts….my RA is screaming and my doc told me try not to stress….I had to laugh.

As you can see, I am very conflicted at the moment…. OK….I just needed to vent… thank you for listening…

It’s Spring here in Arizona!

I know so many of you are still in the cold and snow….I feel for all of you! But this is the time Arizona shines! It has been in the mid 70’s most of this spring and the flowers are abundant at the Home Improvement stores!

A few we picked up the other day…..

They look a little sad right now, but these should look great in a week or two…..

We were going to put this water jug in a garage sale, but my husband thought it would make a cute planter….we just leave the spigot open so it can drain….:)

Since it is Easter in a month I got a basket at the dollar store and planted some pansies, they don’t last long here once it gets hot…. some photos of my groupings…I will take photos in a month and you will be amazed at the difference in growth!

I also wanted to show you what our bougainvillea looked like after the freeze:

And after they are cut back…we had to really cut them this year because of the freeze….this is what they look like now….

pretty ugly, huh? See those little red leaves at the bottom? That is the new growth….

These will be beautiful in another few weeks…..

same plants last summer…..

And finally my rose garden, it isn’t much just three bushes, but we added some geraniums and hope they make it thru the summer….they do get afternoon shade….

Before we planted the flowers in front….

See that little patch of grass? Not much, it is for Maya….:)

Thanks for stoppin’ by….it is suppose to be 90 degrees by Wednesday! YUK!!!!! Here comes the heat…..

My Day with Karen Valentine

Yesterday was a cold, rainy, “ be inside all day” kind of day here in Arizona. We don’t get many of these from here on out, so it was nice. I had made plans to have lunch with a new friend of mine, Karen Valentine. Karen designed my genealogy blog : http://withgratitude-sandy.blogspot.com/. I couldn’t be happier with it! I came to know her fairly well during that process, and she and I have stayed in touch.

If you haven’t met Karen…..you must see this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5VyBQ3FelU

Here is her blog too! http://www.mydesertcottage.blogspot.com/ She also has a wonderful downloadable book out that helps all of us with our blogs, whether we are brand new or have been blogging for a while…http://www.buildingbeautifulblogs.com/ ( Karen did not ask me to mention any of this, I am doing all of this promoting on my own! LOL )

Karen and I couldn’t be more different in how we decorate our homes, but I sure can appreciate the beauty! Wonderful palette of whites, creams, browns, so soft and welcoming…This is her chandelier over her dining room table….

So pretty and I love the creamers! Karen has a collection of the most beautiful brown transfer ware in this room.

Her living room:

Her kitchen counter and back patio…

Wonderful little vignettes everywhere!

And then….this is the one side of the double sided fireplace in Karen master suite…..

I love this mantel, I have never seen this style of fireplace with a mantel like this….so homey and cozy!!!!! ( notice the colors on the bricks)

Karen is decorated for spring with all of these wonderful little bunnies! When she told me how she buy’s the plain brown ones or other colors at places like JoAnn’s and repaints them, I was amazed!

This little guy was repainted, his wagon is an Altoids Tin, with a cute little picket fence( popsicle sticks) and simple little wheels she made herself! Is this not the sweetest???? A few more she has made….

Thank you Karen, for a wonderful day ! Have a ball at Round Top!

Can you believe it?????

It is the first day of spring already! Wow….sometimes I feel like I just put away Christmas! LOL

So this is for all of you that are still dealing with the snow where you live…..

It won’t be long!!!!! Hang in there!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

A Bit late….But Happy St. Patrick’s Day !

 

To all of my blogging buddies!!!!  And Jenny,  I had a great time today sweetie!    Sandy :):)

The Tiniest Vintage Card Ever!

I had gotten some cards from an Ebay auction some time ago, and decided I needed to get them scanned….and in the pile was this sweet teeny tiny card. It was attached to a piece of frosted plastic. I put the money next to it so you can see how very small this card is!

Yes, that is a quarter!!!!!! The whole card…..

And then they opened it up and signed the back!

I was just amazed and had to share this with all of you! I don’t think I would have believed they could make card this small until I actually saw it! Isn’t this just something????? Have a good day! :)

Storage Room Surprise

Since Wayne and me have all of this time together we have been going thru things like crazy….we have a nice big storage room on the back of our home that is attached. But is was full of way too much stuff! Our park is having a community garage sale on the 26th of this month so I have been trying to get ready for it as best I can…..

As you can see, a whole bunch of stuff……

When we finally got to where we could open bins, I found a few surprises….

Pez! This whole collection is going on Craig’s List! There has to be well over a hundred, and these are half of what I used to own….

there are a lot of Canadian and other country’s versions….I was an avid collector back in the 90’s…. update: sold this whole bunch on Craig's List....sold in 30 minutes! :)

One of the last items we got to open was my Dad’s WWII locker, my brother had it for years and I had no idea what was in it….I was taken aback some when I lifted the tray…..

I was so shocked to see his uniforms and jacket!

This was most likely his dress uniform for the National Guard, he was in the Guard before WWII for a short time ( The Horse Calvary) and up into the 1960’s until he got a medical discharge for Diabetes. I am sure that was a very hard day for my Dad.

I would like to know what the patch is, perhaps artillery???? I will have to ask some of the vets in my park here. There were tiny holes all through the pants and jacket…

There were no insects in my storage room, but I am sure somewhere along the line from Ohio to here, there was something munching on them!

This is my Dad on the left and his friend from Eau Claire, Laurnie Miles on the right, they were buddies forever!

Check out this rifle, my brother still has it….we think this is in Alaska….

What just really touched me though, was the items in the white bag…..

A wonderful pillow sham that My dad must have got my Mom, …. it is silky and the fringe is beautiful, what a wonderful souvenir from that time in their lives!

I have to figure out how to get out the wrinkles, I want to put in a pillow form and have it on my guest bed….it was my folks bedroom suite.

He started basic in Louisiana at this Camp Beauregard and ended up towards the end of the war in Alaska….. and of course you have to get a souvenir from there!!!!

Now the issue is…..what do I do with this uniform????? I have no where to put it, I thought I would take come good photos, take all of the patches and buttons and such off and dispose of it properly…..it’s hard to think of doing that, but it is the logical thing to do. Does anyone know of the proper way to dispose of old uniforms, can you just thrown them away???? That really feels wrong!

I could see my Dad watching me opening that army chest, arms crossed over his chest, with a grin on his face, and my Mom standing behind him with that sweet smile of hers….forever young…..:):)

Thanks for coming by….:)

Rednesday Vintage Goodies !

I recently went to a fun blog I had only been to a few times and realized that her Etsy shop is wonderful! This is her blog:

http://myvintagesoul.typepad.com/, and here is a link to her Etsy store….

http://www.etsy.com/shop/myvintagesoul#

These kinds of items are so rare and these were well priced I couldn’t say No, even though I shouldn't have! But I had sold some of my CD’s so I had a few dollars of mad money….

Vintage Red Gingham Pleated Plastic Shelf Trim

Look at the original price! I will take a case please! LOL

Don’t need tacks, but I think I will use them anyway…red ones!

Great graphics and the packages are in wonderful shape…I hope I have the courage to open them! :):) Please go to Sue’s blog and see all of the rest of the wonderful red goodies!!!!

http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com/