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Fad diets, plastic surgery, uncomfortable corsets.

There are many ways to lose 10 inches.

There is only one way to lose it painlessly.

Cheers to someone else who will appreciate my hair more than me.

Nothing says, “I’m a grandma” to me like an iris.

My great-grandmother had iris and lilacs.  My grandmas had iris (and lilacs).

I tried to salvage some iris bulbs from our old house, but only a couple survived.  I am trying to keep them alive.

The iris bulbs were from my grandmother- overflow from her patch on the ranch.  I had them in our old flowerbed for 3 years after she gave them to me.

The iris never bloomed in those early years.

My grandmother passed away in January.

And the irises bloomed that spring.

Some may call it a “sign”.  I know I teared up when I saw the buds for the first time, as if Grandma was tending to my flower bed from heaven.  (Which I need all the help when it comes to flowers and lawns!)

I always think of grandmas when I see an iris bloom.

“Shot at and missed….

Sh!t on and hit.”

It’s been one of those days/weeks/month.

History to this great quote:

My friend lived in the country and the place they bought came with an outhouse.  (An outhouse what you use when the water pipes freeze, or the plumber takes forever to visit your extremely rural area, or when a Sandhiller tries to fix the problem himself.  It’s a small building over a hole that substitutes for a real toilet.)

Her outhouse was used by many a bored (and witty) persons.  They would scratch in toilet related poems and sayings.  This great saying came from that outhouse.

You’re welcome.  Now you can put into words when you have a really, bad day.

Thought for the day:  Does recycling the cardboard out of your Reece’s peanut butter package make you a better person?

If so, I’m a really good person most days.

The driest March on record meant lots of sand blowing.  I was regretting the dirt work to get our “new” house in.  Sand has been blasted through the doors and windows.

Luckily we missed the fires that started across the state.

Thankfully, we have had a week of wet weather.  Rain, rain, and more rain.

The parched hills have filled up & turned green.  The spring flowers have exploded.

The morning sun shines through the pure white and baby green plum bushes. The road ditches are alive with the new blooms.

One of the first wildflowers to bloom in the spring- the purple cow peas.

The grass is greening up.  For now, we can enjoy the rain and the peace-of-mind that the cows will stay put.

When ReeRee was born we bought a crib that converted into a toddler bed.  I would highly recommend the crib/bed, as it stayed part of the furniture for over 4 years.

Since our friends, Cindy & Dave, are moving, we bought their daybed and sofa.  After loading the old furniture and loading the new furniture, Newt and I decided that we would never, ever buy another sofa or bed again.

As we bolted the new daybed back together, I told ReeRee she would have to love her new bed forever.  Or at least until she was married and moved out.

“OK, MawMom.  I will love my bed for 4 more years until I’m married.”

Not quite the answer I was expecting.

Cindy and Dave- you wondered how ReeRee liked her new bed?  I asked her that exact question- her answer was again not what I expected.  “Mom- I don’t like my new bed…

“I LOVE IT!”

First we lost Hairy- ReeRee’s black kitten.

Then Rowdy- ReeRee’s black puppy.

Then Torpedo killed 5 of Hissy Kitty’s brand new kittens.

Fingers crossed Spike, the new addition to the ranch, lives for many moons.

Spike will be a fierce, ankle biting cowdog someday.  But right now, he is ReeRee’s buddy and friend.

ReeRee is growing up too fast.  I look at her baby pictures and tear up.

She looks so big in this picture, but someday I will look back and think what a little thing she was.

Time is going by too fast.

The rain was pouring off the roof and directly onto the block layers below.

I had taken a break from sanding and mudding drywall to chip/peel/cuss/cut away the ancient linoleum that refuses to leave the floor.

The block layer came in to say it was too wet to lay cement and they would be back (haha- that is contractor language for “see you in 3 months”).  He was pretty upset they couldn’t stay, but Mother Nature does what she wishes.

As the pickup drove away, and I was left to chip away linoleum, when a great quote popped into my head.

“Don’t let what you can’t control, control you.”

The sun sets through a field of annual sunflowers.

I know- deep.  Generations of worry-ing genetics causes me to fret and stew over nearly everything.

I had lost sleep, thought about terrible scenarios, and ate more than my average share of chocolate over our house insurance.  The insurance company would insure the house for nearly nothing ($20K) until the skirting or block was up, then the insurance would become a comfortable amount.

I can’t control the crazy weather around here, but I did call my insurance agent and get a different policy on the house, starting now.

I feel much better with one less thing to worry about.  ahhh.