Bye Bye January ~ Not Too Sad to See You Go!

Hi y'all!  Well, we made it through January.  January is not a favorite month

of mine.  It's after Christmas and there is a lull after all the festivity of the

season.  It's usually cold ~ even here in South Texas.  I try to look on the

bright side, so I have been able to wear sweaters and burn fires in the 

fireplace.  However, I am starting to long for spring.  Now, I may well

regret that because after spring comes the long, long, long, hot summer

days of South Texas, but I'll take the chance and give in to a tad bit

of Spring longing.

I spent four hours working in the yard yesterday.  We had two days of 

a cold snap that froze all the Ginger again.  My lawn man doesn't have

time to cut all the ginger back.  I think that secretly he doesn't want to do

it because he told me that we might have to give up on tropicals and 

plant something that will withstand a freeze.

So, back outside I will be once again, lathered up with SPF 50, my

sun protection hat, sweats, gardening gloves and clogs, hoping that

I don't run into any snakes when I am making my way through the

clean up.

Wish me luck ;-)

I am itching to show you some Valentine's Day decorating, but I am holding

off until February.  I don't want to rush things and make time fly by any

faster than it already does, so hang on ~ it's coming!  

I must tell you my big accomplishment for the month of January.  I 

decided to have a Dry January.  This has become a tradition in England

to give the liver a rest after the holidays.  I have not had a glass of wine 

since New Year's Day, and it's been so easy for me that I am thinking 

about abstaining for February too.  I get a thrill out of conquering small

challenges.  So, my next challenge is to memorize Bible passages.

I have never done this before, but I am enjoying this challenge so much.

I will give you more information about this later this week.  Until then, 

it's back outside to tackle cutting down the Ginger that froze.  It will

all grow back, so I am not worried about it.   Have a great day!

PS: Bentley will be taking his sun bath in the garden while I am

hard at work.  He sure does have it easy :-)

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Feeling So Disorganized

For some reason I am feeling very disorganized.  At the moment, the only

spot in my house that does not seem to be chaotic is my foyer.  Well, that

is not exactly true because I want to find a new front door.  The current one,

which I believe is original to this 69 year old house, does not have a window

in it.  That would not be a problem except for the fact that the foyer does

not have any windows, so I always need to leave a lamp on, even in the

daytime.  Wait a minute ~ this is not a 69 year old house anymore.  It's now

a 70 year old house because it was built in 1948!

So there you have it, another project on the list of many.  I have no idea

why I am so unable to make a decision lately, but it's really giving me

a headache.  I could either choose to do nothing and go read a book,

or I could get busy and make a list and start crossing things off.  The 

decision to do nothing always ends up being a bad decision, so I best

forge on.

The most pressing issue at the moment in a new dishwasher.  Which

one do I choose, Bosch or KitchenAid?  That's the choice, so please

don't confuse me by suggesting others or I will have to take to my bed!

Isn't that what women used to do in historical books?  

When I first started looking at dishwashers, I became very fond of

the Miele brand.  Problem is, that brand is not sold here in Victoria.

Even if it were sold here, no one here can repair one.  It is also more 

difficult to find a repairman for Bosch here in town.  That being said,

it sounds like I have found my answer.  Now I can scratch that

decision off the list.

This foyer is beginning to feel like a waiting room.  It's the waiting room

for my own decision making.

So after the dishwasher is installed, and that fence has been jumped, I

need to place an order for the new flooring for the kitchen.  The reason

for the new flooring is that the old dishwasher leaked and buckled the

floor in the kitchen.  I am putting down an antique brick floor.  I have

been a bit reluctant to start this because of Bentley.  He has been 

adjusting to his loss of sight, and I have not wanted to confuse him

even more.  Over the past month, he seems to have made great

strides in his navigation around the house, and especially out in the

backyard.  I know that moving all the furniture out of the breakfast

room and having guys in here doing the installation will be tough

on him.  As much as I understand how chaotic this will be for him,

I also realize that putting it off any longer won't necessarily make it

any easier for him.

The next project we have been kicking around for a while, is a pool in 

the backyard.  We still have not decided exactly where it is going to

be placed.  We need to add some privacy and safety elements and I 

have been looking at options for that.  The pool and new fencing 

projects will be especially invasive, another hurdle for Bentley, and

I worry about that too.  

Yet another project is pulling out the carpet in the living room.  I really

hate carpet.  I hate vacuuming it and don't want to have to shampoo it

every month.  I find the more it is cleaned, the more often it needs to be

cleaned.  The hardwoods in the foyer extend into the living room.  We

don't know the condition of the flooring under the carpet, but I imagine

it will need to be either refinished or buffed out.  Another big project.

Then there is the dining room.  The previous owner extended the dark

prefinished flooring that is in the kitchen and breakfast room, into the

dining room.  It's pretty, but I want the living and dining room to match.

I'm not sure why they made those decisions.  I think they were too easily

influenced by other's suggestions when they attempted to modernize the

house when they put it on the market.  

The original hardwood flooring is in the master bedroom too.  At the

moment there is carpet in that room and in the hallway at the 

entrance of the master suite and into the dressing room.  I want it

gone.  I know that some people like carpet in a bedroom, but I 

would rather have large area rugs.  

I won't even get into the fact that I need to have the electrician come

out and increase the size of our main breaker box so we can put in

a pool.  Nor will I discuss having to get the sprinkler guy in to redo

the backyard, or the tree trimmer .... etc.  

That's why I am sitting in the foyer.  Trying to organize my thoughts,

make some decisions, and get this train rolling.  Thanks for listening!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

How I Finally Got a Great Night's Sleep

For a very long time, my restless and sleepless nights have been my

pattern.  There are days when I just felt like I was dragging myself 

around.  I know I am not alone because I have read the stats on how

poorly we all are sleeping.  

One thing that has started to improve my nightly rest is my FitBit.

I have been wearing a FitBit for over a year, but it has just been 

recently (the past five weeks) that I have been faithful about getting 

in my 10,000 steps per day, seven days per week.  I have noticed that

I fall asleep more quickly and sleep more soundly.  However, I was

still waking up in the middle of the night.  Sometimes I fall 

back asleep, but other times I would be awake for a while.

The second thing that has helped me to sleep better is I have

been practicing Dry January.  I have not had a glass of wine or

any other alcohol since New Year's Day.  So, now I am on day

23 of no wine or spirits, and you know what ~ I don't miss it one

little bit.  I am drinking more water and I am feeling great!  In

fact, I am wondering if I should go another month.  David 

has been also practicing Dry January too, and he's doing great

as well.  One thing he mentioned, when we go out for lunch

or dinner on the weekends, the bill is much cheaper!

I have read all about the healthy sleep habits we should be practicing,

but do I really practice them .... well, to be honest, no, I do not.

Since I have adhered to the 10,000 steps per day, and no alcohol,

why not add another element to my regime.  

My new goal is to establish a regular bedtime.  No more 11:30,

midnight or later.  If I am going to wake up at 7:00 am, I need to

be sleeping at 11:00 pm.  In order to slow myself down and get

ready for a sound sleep, I will get the pj's on by 10:00pm,

turn off the TV in our bedroom, and (this is the hard one for me)

turn off my cell and move it away from the bed.  It can't even be on

my nightstand in the picture above.  It needs to be across the room

where any notices from Facebook, texts, Instagram, etc will not

arouse me.  

So last night I implemented this new schedule.  I was in bed

by 10:00 pm, read until 10:45 and turned out my light.  I 

slept until 7:00 am!  I feel so good this morning and I know

for sure that I have been missing the boat on this routine for

far too long.  This falls into the category of you know you 

should do something, but you don't and when you finally 

do it, you have your ah ha moment!

Give these tips a try and let me know if they help you.

Until then ~ may all your dreams be happy ones.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Just Say No to Drama

Do you know anyone who likes to create drama?  Someone who by

their words and actions likes to create a scene to bring attention to

themself?  

Unfortunately, I have known some like this.  These kinds of trouble

makers can make life miserable, and the sad thing is that they 

enjoy it.  They love to stir the pot and then walk away and wait for

your reaction.  

I have the solution to those who are stuck in the middle of this

mess ~ two words ~ WALK AWAY!  Don't let yourself get dragged

down to their level.  

Don't think that will be easy, because it won't be.  They will find a

way to draw you back into their drama because it's their life's blood.

Stand tall and put your blinders on.  Refuse to be an actor in their

nasty little scripts.  

Drama can knock on my door all it wants, but I am not answering.

I have more important things to do and think about.  Go away!

Make your world a beautiful place, full of kindness and love.

You are a child of God.  Put on the armor He happily gives you.

Bring joy to this world, not sadness and certainly not unnecessary

drama!  Pray more, worry less.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

I Love Antique Green

I have gone through so many decorating stages in my life.  I went through

my very contemporary stage, then a boho stage, and then a very eclectic stage.

Somewhere along the line, I developed a love for American and British

antiques.  While I love red and of course blue, and use both colors

liberally in my home, I also love the restful antique or sage greens.

They well on their own, or paired with other more vibrant colors,

and used as a peaceful back drop.

This color was used much more often in the past than it seems to be

used today, and I think that is a shame.  Of course, trends come and go

and it's sure to find it's way back to the decorating scene once again.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley