One of the BEST Days of My Life!

"So, Barb, how can you say that? You've spent the week on the couch after your nasty slip and fall on a wet floor at Chick fil a where you didn't even get to eat your superfood salad. Your hives are raging and you are back on your highest dosage of prednisone allowed. Plus you look like Quasimodo!You had surgery today and spent another 7 hours at the hospital," you say.

"Well, you're right!" I say. "But---and this is a BIG BUT!" (okay, so I do have a BIG BUTT, but let's not confuse the two!) The doctor reported to Butch (hmmm notice that "but" too?)---the doctor told Butch that my bones are extremely strong and in great shape. So great that I will be able to go directly in the boot in about 13 days when this splint cast comes off. She had no trouble attaching the plate and screws. I'll be in the boot---non-weight bearing for 6 weeks or so. And then I'll be able to walk in the boot. It was just a really bad break due to a freak accident! NOT weak bones!"

Oh My Gosh! This makes me so happy! I was downright giddy and laughing so much last night. I'm sure the drugs had something to do with it. I'll be back on my feet before you know it.

You just can't keep this gal down for long! Oh, I tried to wallow, but all of the most wonderful family and friends a girl could have wouldn't let me! So many sweet notes, texts and phone calls--that at the time I whined about. I told Butch that apparently my friends didn't understand wallowing. That's best done alone! All the surprise Starbucks teas didn't hurt either!

Today, truly one of the best days of my life! I like it. I'm back! That's how I roll! 

Oh, and I still have extremely clean feet!

PS Stephanie, you might be sick of hearing it, but I'll say it again! You are on the fast track! (little inside joke).

Oops! I Did it Again...

Yes, I did indeed.

Now I've broken the OTHER ankle. I slipped on a wet floor in a fast food restaurant. I'll be having surgery this week. Depleted calcium is just one more side effect of long term prednisone use (nearly 17 years). It's a miracle drug for me, but the side effects are brutal. I thought all these years of mega doses of Vitamin D3 and calcium made up for the deficit. Apparently, not.

I'm struggling to come up with any positive thoughts about the situation---unless you count the doctor's comment, "You have really clean feet. It's ALMOST a pleasure." Yeah, there's that.

Much to my Chagrin

With the heat comes aggravation and boy, is it hot here!

1. One of my greatest pet peeves is blogs with so many ads that you cannot get a good view of the content---especially the ones that pop up over the top. I stopped following several of those today because I couldn't take it anymore. You click on the little "x" to get rid of the ad and then up pops questions---nor does it completely go away. I "get" that many people have their blogs monetized, but here's one reader that doesn't have time for the distraction.

2. After living here for 21 years, someone has decided to build a house right behind us. I'm a little concerned that our tiny patch of woods---maybe 50 yards by 25 yards---is going to be taken out. If not, it looks like the back of their house is going to be right on top of the woods. The house will front on a pretty busy road, so I understand why they would want to put the house on the back of the lot. Actually, I don't know why anyone would want to build a house on that road at all. If the woods go away, not only will the house be on top of us, but we'll lose our wildlife---deer, turkey, groundhogs, and many other species that may not live there, but take refuge when passing through.

Not a great photo because I took it from the sunroom. If we'd known the lot was for sale, we would have bought it just to keep someone from building on it. Butch says if the woods go, we're moving. Good bye big house (which we really don't need), good bye pool (which we are still enjoying despite the huge maintenance bills), good bye whopping utility bills (which we won't miss).

3. Politics. Period. Enough said.

4. After about 10 years with annoying tables at bridge, they finally bought new ones. They are tiny!

Whoever ordered them certainly is not a bridge player, nor did they consult with bridge players. There is a lot of stuff that goes on the table. This is the view from my "south" position. As it is, I have my cup of water on the floor. The "boards" (they hold the bridge hands) aren't on the table yet either. Actually, I've never seen card tables this small. They are only 30" wide. I didn't even know you could get them this small.

5. Alas, after 7 years, my trusty Mac desktop is just about obsolete.

I do not plan to replace it as I use my laptop for just about everything. I only use the desktop for bill paying, scanning and printing photos and scrapbook journaling. It also stores ALL of my photos and about 25,000 songs. When I say it's obsolete, I mean it's really outdated now. It still works just fine, but I can no longer access my bank for bill pay as the operating system is too old. I can still download and print photos, but I cannot scan them. The scanner software is unable to download to this outdated technology.

As for word processing programs, I have Pages, Word and this old, old original AppleWorks application. I had this on all of my previous Macs and loved it. Very easy to use. When I got this computer 7 years ago, that program was obsolete. My computer guru told me I needed to just get used to Word. At first, I couldn't believe how complicated it was compared to AppleWorks. Still, he copied the AppleWorks program from the old computer and put it on the new one. I have adapted to Pages and Word now, so I rarely use AppleWorks anymore, but I do still have documents created with it. So sad to me. My computers are family---like people's pets---this is my pet. If dogs are 7 years for every 1 real year, then computers must be 10 years for every 1 real year. Yep that's about right. My "baby" is 70!

6. This annoyance is not really mine, but on behalf of my sister, Jeanne. When I was staying with her last week and admiring her gardens, I noticed this. It sort of freaked me out at first. They were everywhere! I've read about Japanese beetles, but had never seen any in person.

They are a very serious problem. For a second, I was feeling like "I hope I don't somehow carry these home with me!" They eat everything is sight.

And now I can see how they reproduce so rapidly! But I have to admit, they are beautiful bugs---if there is such a thing. Yeah, I can say that because they aren't in MY garden!

7. We've been warned about the airport traffic and long lines. When Chrissy dropped me off last week for my return flight to Nashville, I started to panic. I have never worried because I have the TSA Pre-check for the next 4.5 years. This scared me. They are selling too many pre-checks.

 Turns out, it still moved faster than this:

Plus I like that I don't have to take my shoes off and walk on foreign carpet and then put my shoes back on.

So there you have it. The things that are aggravating me lately. Still, I think to myself---these are small annoyances. I am truly grateful for all of the blessings in my life. Now, did that counter-act my negativity?
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Instagram Equals Insta-success!

So, 10 year old Elizabeth started a new business. She is making beaded necklaces. I like to think I provided the inspiration for the name of her business due to my kazoo skills playing Michael Jackson's song "Beat it!" 

She named her little business "Just Bead It!" I shouldn't call it little because after posting a few of her necklaces on Instagram, she sold 11 in 2 days and made $95.00. Okay, "made" is stretching it a bit!! According to Sandy the orders started coming in so fast, she was overwhelmed and stressed! They have quite a bit of money wrapped up in supplies. They've been to Michaels 4 times in 3 days trying to keep up with demand. And, they've been downtown to purchase expensive (relatively) African beads at a specialty bead store. 

Here are some of her necklaces. She's quite clever in her marketing. The first one she listed as:

• just._bead._it._Red white and blue beaded necklace with pearl charm for Catholic and America🔴⚪️🔵$7 dm to order

  
  
  The "Catholic" she is referring to is the local high school. Those are the school colors.

When you get to the blue and black ones, she markets those as from her "Panther Collection" for the North Carolina Panthers football team.

On Wednesday after only 3 days in business, the sales slowed down. Elizabeth panicked and decided to run a sale on her excess inventory. This is the picture she posted and the following conversation ensued.

just._bead._it._These are my merchandise that hasn't sold yet necklaces are $6-$7 and bracelets are $5 dm to order

• avap3rryIf nobody buys it maybe lower the price because I know I can afford it
• just._bead._it._Which one?? @avap3rry
• avap3rryAny of then
• avap3rryThem
• just._bead._it._If you pick one I can tell you how much @avap3rry
• avap3rryI don't want any of them I'm just saying if they aren't selling maybe lower the price the like 5-6$
• just._bead._it._Oh @avap3rry
• orgnz4uThe trials and tribulations of the young entrepreneur!
• *******************************

I just died laughing. Kids are so hilarious! Sandy told me that this particular little girl had already bought 2 or 3.

Anyway, they went to dinner the other night and had planned to make a few deliveries on the way home. Besides the materials for the necklaces, now you have to add the cost of gas  and packaging.

On top of that, she's sold a few to some friends in Michigan, so now Sandy has to deal with mailing and shipping costs! 

The girls they tried to deliver to were not at home. Sandy said that no sooner did they pull in to their driveway than the girls called. Greg was exasperated when Sandy said they had to go back out. She told him that he did not understand little girls. They would want their jewelry as soon as possible. I'd say that's true for big girls too! In Greg's defense, visiting stores like "Claire's" and "Hello Kitty" was his own personal hell! But girls want what girls want!

The plot thickens. In order to keep up with demand, Elizabeth had to enlist the help of the whole family. They were sitting around the kitchen table the other night. Elizabeth was doing the beading, Sandy was doing the tying and Greg was putting a drop of glue on each of the knots. Mitchell was giving business advice while Victoria was trying to get a necklace for $3.50. Then she said, "Wait, I can just make it myself!" Finally Greg said, "Is this what we're going to be doing now?" 

But suddenly, there's a fly in the proverbial ointment. 3 of her friends have decided to cut in to her business by starting their own beading businesses! Even at 10, the business world is cutthroat! After only 5 days in business, she's being undercut by the competition! She's learning a valuable lesson---get in early and strike it quick!

So if you need the perfect accent for your new outfit, I can hook you up! 

This Makes me Happy!

I have two posts ready to go---one positive and one negative. I've decided to go with the positive one first. I'll put off the negative one until tomorrow.

When we got home from the beach, we found Justin and Mindy waiting for us. Justin cleaned the leaves out of the pool from the night before. Turns out, he was a pool boy when he was a teenager!

Even Mindy got in on the act. But the truth is, EVERYONE thinks it will be fun to play with that long net!

I can't remember if I got these orchids from Butch for my birthday or Valentine's Day, but they are still beautiful. I don't usually have good luck with orchids. I know, water from the bottom, use orchid food, yadayadayada.

I love the contrasting colors of the house, trees and sky during the summer time.

 I found the perfect spot for that big, honkin' box storing Mindy's wedding dress.

 We went geo-caching a few weeks ago with Jack and Connie.

 It had been a long time since we've done that together. Butch always tries to find interesting caches.

 I picked up the Christmas ornament that Mindy made to commemorate her wedding.

 I just love the fluffly little bow the finisher put on it.

Butch wore his "skewered" t-shirt that Mindy and Justin gave him for Father's Day. It's become a family joke about Butch writing scathing reviews on Trip Advisor. He started referring to it as "skewering" them when referring to a bad experience. In all fairness, he writes more nice reviews than negative. He's one of Nashville's top reviewers.

Mindy and Justin ran a 5k on the 4th of July. Mindy said she was complaining about the heat and the fact that she was hungry and thirsty---less than a mile in. Thank goodness that Justin is so patient with her!

 My hydrangeas after 3 weeks! The flowers still looked great---but the leaves had turned brown.

I had planned to let them dry to see if they would retain their color. But when I came home on Monday, they were gone. Apparently Margarita thought they were done. So, this makes me happy and sad!

Jeanne received copies of 3 documents from Italy. Thanks to Thumbtack I found a guy in Virginia who is going to translate them for $10 per document. We know that one is a marriage certificate, but are unsure about the other two. We're excited to know what they are and the dates.

My cousin, Chrissy told me that ALL of the movie theaters in St. Louis now have big, comfy, reclining seats and food trays. You can even have a waitress come and take your refreshment order. When you purchase your ticket, you get to choose your seat. I'm saying this is a good thing, but since I sometimes have trouble staying awake in a dark theater, this could be a bad thing for me! We don't even have one place like this in Nashville. BTW---saw "The Shallows." It was EXCELLENT---and spine-tingling!

When I got home from St. Louis, I found that Butch had filled my gas tank! He knows I hate doing its so that was such a nice surprise!

 The tree hydrangeas out front are looking spectacular!

 The blooms are so big and heavy that they almost look like a weeping type tree.

I've had my eye on this needlepoint for ages. It is really big. I can't think of where I'd put it, but it is so gorgeous.

 This is just one of the new canvases I bought! There are 9 in the collection. I'm not going to do them all.

The finish work is incredible. I always like to have a small project for traveling. We're leaving for our "Gems of the Danube" river cruise in two weeks. This will be perfect to work on.

 I've mentioned before that I am not a big Oreos fan. Well, I need to change that. I really like the Oreo Thins. I just got the lemon ones for the first time. They are delish!

And the Cinnabon Bun Oreos---omgosh! There's nothing else to say about them. You just have to get them. Run.

So there you have it. Everything making me happy these days---AND---pool parties with friends, a little scrapbooking, reading some really great books and enjoying all the fresh fruits and vegetables of summer.

What's making you happy these days?

Addendum

Okay, in all fairness I have to post this in view of my rant yesterday. I received a delightful thank you note from one of our renters. She wrote what a wonderful time they had and how much they enjoyed our condo. This was a first!!

We greet our guests with a bottle of wine with a tag from us that says we hope they enjoy their stay. I also send a "thank you" note afterwards with the return of their deposit check. But this was the first time that anyone has taken the time to write a physical note to us! We do get quite a few "thank you" emails--that we've come to take for granted. But a real, in the mail note? In this day and age, that's almost unheard of!

So I take it back. Maybe most of the people are nice and respectful. You know what they say about a few bad apples....

What is Wrong with People?

I just don't understand some people. We have two condos at the beach that we bought for investment purposes. That means we rent it out. This has been an eye-opening experience. It is unbelievable to me that people can be so disrespectful.

We have learned many lessons.
1. People lie about how many people they are bringing. They cram too many people---I guess to save money. That's really hard on a place. A few weeks ago, our cleaner told me that there had to be a dozen people in the place for the mess. I believe someone brought a little league baseball team because she told me they had to get back for a game. She didn't say how many little boys she had with her, but they put 2 adults and 4 kids on the inquiry.

2. People don't care if you have just had the place painted from top to bottom. Apparently, throwing a cup of coffee to the waste basket by letting it bounce off the wall so that coffee runs down it, is acceptable in their book. After all, it's only a rental. Ditto for the coffee runs by the dresser. We used the Magic Eraser, but it took off the paint. It needs to be re-painted now.

3. People think that if they like something we have, they can just take it along with them! We have replaced sand toys 3 times. I don't get it. They are cheap. The pool noodles have also disappeared. I just bought them for the third time. If they disappear, then there just won't be any for the next guests. As it is, we did not replace the sand toys again. Our beach chairs are old, so people leave them behind. We're down to one beach umbrella. I don't know if the other two were stolen or broken.

4. People don't care if you have just put in new furniture. They think nothing of eating and spilling all over it. We had the new furniture delivered in April and it already has 3 spots on it.---and I don't mean little spots---they are about softball size.  That makes me think they didn't even bother to wipe it up as we had the Scotch Guard put on for extra protection. Butch Scotch Guarded himself on the loveseat, so we know it is on there. After this past week, the upholstery in our other place needs to be professionally cleaned.

5. Even if you tell people to bring their own beach towels, they still take the bath towels to the beach. All of the nice towels have been ruined. Now we have cheap white towels. We also have some cheap---fairly ugly beach towels now, so hopefully people won't steal them.

6. People lie about their circumstances to gain sympathy. I am an honest and trusting person. I believe everybody and their story. I've reduced the rental fee, allowed the fee to arrive late, held checks for deposit and waived the security deposit. No more!

7. It's not worth trying to have a nice place because people don't care. This past week, our cleaner reported that one of our units was completely trashed. She had never seen it that bad. Sunflower seed shells were all over the balcony, sand was everywhere including inside both the washer, dryer and bathtubs. Trash was just left all over. Our brand new washcloths were ruined by makeup. And a decorative shell dish was broken. She had to call for more help with the cleaning. To me those people were pigs. I'll be keeping the security deposit for sure. I just hope that the check doesn't bounce.

8. Even if you've "donated" a week for a worthy cause doesn't mean those people will take better care of the place. In fact, when we donate the place (which we do a few times a year), it costs US money as we have to pay the cleaning and taxes. I don't think I'll be donating time at either place any more.

Personally, we have rented places all over the country for 40+ years with our family. Never once, did it occur to us to treat someone else's place any differently than our own home. We don't allow the kids to do anything they want just because it's a rental. They are not allowed to jump on the beds or furniture, or drip all over with wet suits.

Our places are very nice. I wouldn't want anything less.

This is our Santa Rosa Beach place. Santa Rosa is my favorite beach and area.



These are the towels that are now gone.




This is our Panama City Beach place---personally I do not like Panama City---way too crowded.



We have many repeat customers. I'm looking forward to the day when that's all we have. Some people are so nice. It's the few bad apples that I'm talking about. We're already thinking of limiting our rentals.

Maybe it's too much to ask, but I just want people to treat our places with the same respect they would use in their own homes.