Sometimes when I talk to my sister, I tell her about something my husband did that totally pissed me off…or that he didn’t think through. She always has the same reply…”Do you think you’re in this alone????”

Then she proceeds to tell me something her husband did or said that makes you squint like Clint Eastwood and shake your head at the same time. Then we burst out laughing.

One thing we both know for sure is that doing home-related projects with our spouses DOES NOT WORK.

Before we start an agreed upon project, I always ask Bill, “Do you want to be the Chief or the Indian?” If he chooses Chief, he runs the project and calls all the shots. If he chooses Indian, he follows my lead.

He has ALWAYS chosen Indian…and within 5 minutes of starting the project, I am on the couch watching past episodes of The Waltons. He just can’t help himself and must always start a project by telling me what I’m doing wrong. And by the way, I’m not exaggerating on the 5 minute comment.

Two years ago we agreed to repaint the living room, dining room, hallway, kitchen, cupboards, and stairwell to the basement. Since we live in a very small house (962 sf), these are not large areas. By taking on the largest project of our relationship would have meant a slow, painful death for one of us…or a divorce.

I took it upon myself to ‘Call the Guy’ for an estimate. I found painters in our area, read reviews, made phone calls to set up appointments, and only one company responded. It was an interesting response because when the gal called me back, her very first question was, “What is your budget because we aren’t cheap?” The reviews on this company were outstanding. At this point, in order to avoid death or divorce, I didn’t care what it cost. In my mind, it was going to be done right and there would be no stress to either of us.

The salesman, Andy, arrived on time (I’m a stickler for punctuality…score one for Andy). We had a great conversation about death and divorce, and I hired his company on the spot. There were a few details to work out and paint colors to choose. Since I wanted the kitchen cupboards painted gray, he told me why I shouldn’t choose gray. We went with white. Since I don’t know too much about paint finishes, Andy told me what the best would be for the ceilings, cupboards, walls, and crown molding. I gave the reins to him by telling him I wouldn’t tell him about paint if he didn’t tell me how to bake a pie. We shook hands and agreed.

The cool part of this, at least for me it was cool, is that I got to pick the start date, the time the painters would start every day, and the time the painters had to be out of the house every day. I actually felt in control of this project! Since our contract signing took place in November, I chose February 8th as the start date. With Christmas coming as well as a couple of vacations at the end of December and January, I chose Monday, February 8th. Start time 8am. End time 4pm.

Someone came to remove all the cupboard doors to take back to the shop for prep work and painting. That would take a total of three weeks. Monday the 8th rolled around and I went to work at 6am like always. When I got home a little after 3pm, the crew was starting to clean up and they were out by 4pm. Friday at noon they were 100% completed with all the painting except for the cupboard doors. Oh…I also paid extra to have all the hardware professionally installed with the cupboard doors. I left nothing to chance.

Four-and-a-half days and they were done. No death. No divorce. Not even a spat. Although the price I paid would have afforded me a good ten-day vacation in another country, it was SO worth it. Fast forward two years and each time I look at the walls or the cupboards it brings a smile to my face.

One of the best parts of this contract was that their workmanship was warranted for two years. As Andy explained to me, if I got mad at Bill and threw a cast iron skillet at him, and it went through a wall within two years of the completion date, they would repair the wall and repaint it free of charge. How can you beat that? The time has come and gone and the walls and skillet are still intact.

Always, ALWAYS, call The Guy…..

About six years ago, I was writing another blog about me, my beliefs, sharing recipes, suggestions for staying organized, and more.

One of my posts included several ways to save the environment and participating in recycling. Someone I didn’t know posted their opinion of my ideas, and it honestly shook me up so much that I stopped my blog that very day.

Today, that’s not going to happen. If someone reads my blogs and doesn’t agree with me, that’s fine. I know who I am, what I believe in, and what works for me.

The methods I have to save money or recycle aren’t something I dreamed up. They came from how my mom did things, reading helpful hints, and listening to other people and what worked for them. I learned something from each of them, took the suggestions that I thought were the best for me, and then applied them to my life.

Applying what I learned to my everyday life mainly started by going through my teen years with very little money in our house, and those many lean married years. Bottom line, if there’s simply no money for something, you have to make do with what you have.

Rags – I like using rags for scrubbing floors, wiping up spills and messes, washing windows (using my old lint-free dish towels), washing the car, dusting, and anything else you would use a paper towel for. I use them for everything. Growing up we always used rags. We had stacks of them and they were laundered every week, dried, and used again. Some will say that I’m using water, electricity and detergent to clean these rags every week…and they are correct. By using paper towels in place of rags, you’re helping to fill the landfills. Think about doing your part.

Comet – Good old-fashioned kitchen cleanser. When I was a little girl, there was a commercial on TV for Comet. The commercial said something to the effect that nine out of ten hospitals use Comet to clean their toilets. It has bleach in it so it must be a good cleaner, right? Fast forward about fifty-five years and I’m still using it. I have never used anything else. It comes in two sizes, with the taller can costing approximately eighty-eight cents. I only have one bathroom and the big can lasts me at least two months. Think about doing your part.

Window / Glass Cleaner – We’ve all cleaned windows with paper towels, rags, newspapers, and squeegee’s. One day my sister told me that she was using auto glass cleaner with ammonia. Her husband owns an auto supply store and she thought she’d give it a try. I’ve been using it ever since. It’s great on the film inside the windows in your car, glass, windows, mirrors, or basically any shiny surface that is not harmed by the ammonia. With my old lint-free dish towels, they come out sparkling. On sale, I can purchase the auto glass cleaner for between two and three dollars per can. Think about doing your part.

Hang Your Laundry – Anyone who has EVER hung bedding on the line outside would be hard-pressed to find anything that smells better. Crawling in bed on a summer night, after a shower, into sheets that came off the line, is an actual slice of heaven here on earth. A few weeks ago while there was still just a bit of snow on the ground, I took advantage of an unseasonably nice day (55 degrees) to hang bedding out. It had been at least four or five months since I was able to do that. In spring, summer, and fall I plan my laundry days around the weather. I hang towels, bedding, blankets, and anything else that I know will blow in the breeze and they smell heavenly. I truly feel sorry for people who can’t or don’t take advantage of this because it saves money (not using the dryer) and even makes the inside of the house smell amazing. Think about doing your part.

Recycling – I’m quite surprised how many communities do not recycle yet. I was recycling before it became popular. Recycling and up-cycling comes in different forms. If you’re not using something that is still perfectly good, you can donate it to Goodwill, Purple Heart, The Salvation Army, and so many more organizations. Or…make some money by getting together with some of your neighbors and have a rummage sale. I used to have rummage sales and really enjoyed them. Sure, there’s some work involved and little to no expense with advertising being done via social media. I even put out an urn of coffee and donuts. I tried to make it social along with selling. It is so interesting what people will buy…the things you would bet nobody will buy sell like hotcakes. Think about doing your part.

So what about the plastic and glass bottles, jars, cardboard, plastic grocery store bags, paper, cans, etc? In this country, 34.7% of people recycle. That leaves a lot of people who don’t. I’m a little over the top with my recycling because I wash all the bottles, cans, and jars before they go in the recycling bin. I can’t begin to imagine what those bins smell like when it’s ninety-five degrees outside and there is food still in the bottles, cans, and jars. Think about doing your part.

Balloons – They do not fall under recycling but they are wreaking havoc on trees, lakes, rivers, oceans, seas, birds, turtles, etc. Hardly a week goes by that there isn’t a post on social media showing birds and turtles with plastic rings on them that inhibit their movement. What about the remnants of balloons…not to mention the garbage that people don’t dispose of properly at campgrounds, picnic areas, lakeside, riverside, or seaside. Balloons are released as memorials for the deceased, gender reveal parties, birthday parties, welcome home parties, and every other kind of party you can imagine. Think about what you’re leaving at different sites or releasing into the air. Think about doing your part.

One last thought. We try to raise our children to be kind and respectful as well as involving them in many activities in the hopes of keeping them out of trouble. What they are not being taught is how to save this earth for their children and grandchildren who will still be here long after we’re gone. If we don’t start taking care of our earth, who will?

Think about doing your part!

“When I was your age…”. I swore I was never going to say that. But I did. Each generation swore they’re never going to say that. But they did.

For those of you reading this that are close to my age of sixty-three, my memories will be nostalgic because you can see in your minds eye exactly what I’m talking about. Others who are much younger won’t understand one word of this.

Simpler times for me personally was nothing short of The Andy Griffith Show…the black and white version. Our address was Route 1, Box 365. Our subdivision streets were dirt…not paved. One mailman for the entire town and his name was Herman. One milkman for the entire town and his name was Don. If it was your birthday he gave you a free quart of chocolate milk. The post office was not handicapped accessible (there was no law about that back then) and there was an outside set of concrete stairs to climb. Once inside there were many post office boxes to your left and one window for transactions straight ahead. It looked similar to this:

The one and only insurance company in town was right next door…and 60 years later it’s still there. Around the corner, basically across the parking lot from the post office, was the police department. We rode our bikes there to get our bike licenses. Yup, we had license plates hanging from under our bike seats.

Since our community and surrounding areas were made up of many farms, there was a feed store down the street. Across the street from the post office was a drug store, complete with a soda fountain and candy counter. A little further down was the bowling alley with what seemed like a huge banquet hall in the back. Lots of weddings were held there. The only bank (where I deposited 25 cents of my 50 cent weekly allowance in my savings account), along with a butcher shop and hair dresser, were in what today might be called a strip mall.

On the other end of town was a restaurant. Not your typical small town restaurant but something equivalent to a supper club (millennials…look that one up) and across the street from that was the milk processing plant. Boy oh boy, on a hot summer day you sure could smell that sour milk.

At that same end of town, where the street came to an end, was an auto repair garage. You could find several locals hanging out there just to talk…just like folks liked to stop and chew the fat with Gomer and Goober on Andy Griffith.

Along with a few old Victorian-type houses, there you have it: Main Street.

Our subdivision, a 5-minute or less bike ride to Main Street, consisted of ninety houses, all ranch style. My dad was an architect and friends with the owner of a realty company that owned that land. They made a deal with my dad to design some, if not all, of the houses for the subdivision. In turn, including a paycheck, he was able to pick any lot in the subdivision as his own. He chose a corner lot. It wasn’t big, but a nice corner lot. He also custom-designed our house. Since he and my mom were considered tall in the 1950’s (he was 6’1″ and she was 5’10”), he made sure the kitchen and bathroom counters were 3″ higher than the standard. There were closets galore but no fireplace in the family room. Mom said she wanted a closet instead because you can never have enough closets.

Our backyard was two houses away from a cornfield. On the other side of that cornfield was where Farmer Brown and his family lived. They had pigs, cows, and chickens. My mom would send us through the cornfield to buy eggs from Farmer Brown. While we waited, we played with the kittens in the barn.

Just to the east of our house was ‘the woods’. At the time it seemed like a big place to get lost in but years later when I went there, it wasn’t quite the same. There was a path that ran through the woods and part of that path was a hill. In the winter we would go sledding down that hill. There was also a pond and we spent many summer days catching polliwogs, putting them in jars, and keeping them in the corner of the garage hoping they would become frogs.

Abutting the woods were railroad tracks. The only trains I remember running on those tracks were freight trains full of coal. That train was slow as it rumbled side-to-side shaking off some of the coal. We put the coal in buckets and took it home. All the windows in the house would rattle when that coal train came through.

Just to the west of our house, over what seemed like a big hill at the time, was a middle school and the park. Great swings, monkey bars, a tall metal slide that was hotter than the dickens in summer, and a merry-go-round. Tennis courts were set up in the parking lot of the school. The park abutted the fire house and in the winter the firemen would flood the parking lot so we could go ice skating. The park also had another hill for sledding and a good place to sit while watching fireworks on the 4th of July.

With all the homes in our subdivision being built, many new families were moving in so all the kids were about the same age and went to the same schools. Everybody had a bike, roller skates with a key, a baseball glove, ball and bat…and that was about it. Of course there were some indoor board games but for the most part we were outside. Why? Because my mom said that if she saw us in the house, that meant we were looking for work to do. Since we didn’t want to scrub floors, vacuum or dust, we stayed outside.

Friends…these childhood memories mean the world to me and there are so many more that I didn’t include here. I would give almost anything to go back to this life because it was a simpler, easier time. I certainly would not want to have my childhood memories related to electronics.

As a child I remember my parents reading the obituaries in the daily paper. I don’t think they read each obit word for word but what they probably did was scan the names for anyone they might know.

From childhood on, I have also read the obits. Now that I have been reading them for over fifty years, although not an expert on them, I think I have learned something from them.

I scan each obit and every now and then something catches my eye. One that always comes to mind was a woman who passed away that was survived by six adult sons. Each son had Dr. in front of their name which tells me that aside from a ton of student loans for six sons, there was a lot to be proud of. That woman must have been busting her buttons when meeting someone new and they asked her about her family.

There is a saying that crossed my path one time that said to live your life so that your obituary is a good read.

For the most part they all read the same way: Name, Age, Birth Date, Death Date. Then there’s a list of survivors, maybe where they worked, and any clubs or organizations they were members of. Following that is the date, time and place of the services and burial, as well as charities you wish to make any donations to on behalf of the deceased.

There should be more creativity when writing a two-inch column about a person’s many years on this earth. Everybody has been somewhere, done something, or achieved some kind of recognition that deserves mentioning.

I realize that at the time all of this information is being gathered from next of kin, they are sad, distraught, and experiencing a host of other emotions while sitting in front of a stranger known as the funeral director.

Every now and then I come across an obit that catches my eye because it is written like a sweet song. Someone took the time to really give the deceased a proper send off by highlighting that they loved to sing or bake, cook or do volunteer work, or was an amazing wife / husband, mother / father, and grandma / grandpa. How about mentioning that the deceased loved to travel and what they learned about different countries and cultures during these trips. So maybe not everyone lead an exciting life but even if the deceased liked to stay home and do nothing but read books, mentioning that their interest was in history is still worth mentioning.

At a very young age, my oldest son told me that he wanted to be a millionaire by the age of thirty and frankly he didn’t seem to care what he had to do to achieve that. Needless to say that didn’t happen but I can tell you he turned out to be quite successful…but not by the age of thirty. But there is nothing wrong with setting goals and dreaming of your future.

If the surviving family has a great sense of humor, it could always be written that the deceased always dreamed of being a famous singer but unfortunately they couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.

It might be in everyone’s best interest to write their own obit highlighting the dreams they had or events they experienced. Don’t forget to leave fill-in-the-blank areas for the funeral director. This, my friends, is going to be your last hurrah so you may as well go out with a bang!

We, collectively the United States of America, are in limbo. It was probably tolerable when we were initially told that social distancing, school closings, restaurant / bar closings, would last about two weeks. Not bad I thought…we can do this.

In the last four days, five states have ‘closed’ as well as beauty salons, tattoo parlors, nail salons, massage parlors, dentist offices, health clubs, and any other business that has ‘intimate’ contact with the public, are closed with reopening ‘to be determined’.

Self-quarantine is being suggested to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. Again, we can do this. I am noticing fewer cars on the road going to and from work as the company I work for, a construction company, is still operating.

Today is Saturday and to get out of the house, I took a short drive. Grocery stores, big box stores, drive-thru’s, etc. are still bustling. Looks like ‘social distancing’ doesn’t apply to everyone.

How about those thousands and thousands of college students that flooded the beaches of Florida for the last few weeks for spring break. The crowded beaches that were on the news meant that the college students weren’t taking this seriously. Now that a lot of the spring breaks are over with, the college masses are going to be headed home only to bring back anything they caught while drinking in groups, sunbathing in groups, and Lord only knows what else.

Today it was announced that at a minimum our new way of life may last at least another four months. Weddings have been canceled and funerals are non-existent except for the deceased because of social distancing.

Have we become so selfish in our lives that we cannot give up our way of life for a few weeks to try and get this under control? I’m a home-body so this hasn’t really affected me negatively. I’m looking to get some spring cleaning done by cleaning out closets and dressers, and might even tackle painting the basement walls. This morning I made some soup and baked some muffins. There is always something to do.

The longer we dig our heels in and not cooperate with the CDC, law enforcement, and follow health care suggestions, the longer we’re going to be going through what could be nothing more than a minor hiccup in our lives. I personally would like to see the entire country locked down for two weeks and anybody caught breaking the law will be penalized to the fullest extent of the law.

Harsh? Yes. I was unable to go to Florida to see my grandson last week and I don’t want to have to wait another six months to go just because some people think that all of this is a bunch of hooey and that the rules don’t apply to them. Right now they’re suggestions…in another week or two they could become law.

On a positive note, some folks are helping the healthcare providers by making face masks that are so greatly needed, celebrities are giving free mini concerts or reading children’s books online, people are sharing their suggestions for keeping the kids busy, and maybe a few folks have just gone a bit out of their way to be a little bit nicer.

I think this is a wake-up call in many areas of our lives and at least deserves some consideration on everyone’s part to make this work.

A little over two weeks ago, we were living our lives in our ‘normal’. Now we’re part of a global normal called Coronavirus.

Corona to most of us is beer…with or without a lime. Today the word is part of what could become a deadly respiratory illness. The United States is not at a loss for details and information on this illness. It’s on the radio, TV, blogs, Twitter, the tongues of every American, and in the newspapers and magazines.

Reading and listening to everything that’s available to us has made us experts on the Coronavirus. What we don’t have are cold hard facts. What we do have is rumors, guesses, and speculation. What we need and want is one individual who gathers all the facts on a daily basis and presents it to the American public once a day, at the same time, and on all the news channels.

This week I heard the Coronavirus will be over in two weeks, will peak in forty-five days, will be here in months from now and so much more that it’s difficult to sort out what the truth is. The fact is, I don’t think anyone knows what the truth is. It’s an unpredictable illness.

In the last three days, one of them being one of the biggest drinking days of the year known as St Patrick’s Day, we have seen schools, restaurants, bars, malls, movie theaters, churches, senior centers, libraries, all sporting events…professional as well as amateur… along with thousands of other types of businesses close across the country. Most of those closures will not be permanent. Some will.

Those Americans that have maintained a sense of humor have been very creative about all the toilet paper jokes and with good reason. Why hoard toilet paper for a respiratory illness? To try and combat this illness we have a new term for quarantine…it’s now called Social Distancing. In addition to a shortage of toilet paper, there’s a shortage of face masks, rubber gloves, disinfectant wipes, and every cleaning product imaginable, as well as canned goods, dry goods, and frozen food. The shelves at every store, from Mom & Pop stores to big box stores like Costco and Sam’s Club, are out of these products also.

If I recall correctly, about 50+ years ago I learned about supply and demand in grade school. Didn’t pay attention to that back then, or since, but I am today. Why? This is the first real time in my life that supply and demand has become an issue.

Coronavirus has caused a snowball effect. For example, if a restaurant closes, there’s no need for employees. Employees stay home with no pay. No pay means no money for rent / mortgage, food, gasoline, insurance, electric bill, car payment…and on and on.

The schools are closed so those that were getting breakfast, lunch, and after school care no longer have some or all of those available to them. If Mom and Dad work and can still work, there’s nobody to take care of the kids who are now to be home schooled. Those parents who can, work from home. Technology is proving to be very useful.

Then there’s social media…in this case I’ll address Facebook. Anything you ever wanted to know is on Facebook whether it’s true or not. In the case of the Coronavirus, there are facts, rumors, suggestions, jokes, threats, as well as some human interest stories about acts of kindness, generosity, and helpful suggestions for parents who are attempting to home school their children while their financial lives are crumbling. Lots of folks are suggesting that in 9 months from now there will be a huge baby boom as well as many more divorces because of the Coronavirus. Let’s face it, working parents are not used to being home with their children, spouses or significant others. Then there’s the added financial burden. There’s bound to be some fallout from this.

We have no choice but to take this on the chin…myself included. I was supposed to leave tomorrow to visit my son, his wife and my grandson who live 1,400 miles away. The airline kindly changed my travel plans for me. I’m disappointed but there’s nothing I can do but pray that this ends sooner rather than later so we can all get back to the ‘normal’ we know.

I wonder if there could actually be a bright spot in all of this. WHAT IF the kids that are home from school actually learn to fix their beds, clean their rooms, help with meals, dishes, laundry and other household chores? WHAT IF fun things were planned like Netflix movie night with popcorn, board games got dusted off and played, folks were nicer and more helpful to those around them, a few pay-it-forward gestures were done as well as other random acts of kindness?

Did ANYONE consider that this just might be our wake-up call?