Peyton Place and other random thoughts

Hello everyone!

For the one or two people that follow me (if there are that many), I apologize for the lack of participation over the last couple of months. I just felt that I didn't have much to say. In other words, I was licking my wounds from a couple of months of getting "kicked while I was down".

Here is, in a nut shell, what went down.

1. Laid off from my job of 23 years

2. The guy I was seeing broke up with me. (in truth, he was 19 years younger then me so I knew it had an expiration date...but still.

3. The job that I interviewed for and thought that I would get, I didn't. I was 2ND.

4. My water heater broke and flooded my basement for several days.

5. The guy that broke up with me came back to me and said that he made a mistake and could he call me only to text me the next day and tell me that his work was sending him out of state to work for two or more months.

I think that there was something else, but I can't remember. At any rate, I just couldn't take it anymore. I thought to myself, is it ever going to get better? Or actually, I just sat around and waited for the next shoe to drop. So a friend of mine suggested that I have my "cards" read. My tarot cards, that is. She had been saying this to me for months prior but I just brushed her off saying that that was a bunch of malarky. But after all of these things started weighing on me, I thought, what the hell it couldn't hurt. I just really wanted to know...is it ever going to get better? When will this cloud of gloom and doom lift off of me? So I made the appointment and I have to admit, I felt 100% better after seeing her. I won't go into details because it's not something I am ready to share yet, but all the cards were favorable and I felt that the sun shone a little brighter that day.

How has my life changed since then, well....(1) I have obtained a temporary job doing something completely different then I was before. Let's just say that I went from business casual to wearing steel toe shoes and carrying my lunch in a sack and I LOVE IT. Ok...my lunch "sack" is a brightly striped bag that if it was bedazzled a little could go almost anywhere. But what couldn't with a little bedazzling? (2) I have obtained a library card and have become obsessed with it, (3) I have discovered that I LOVE shopping at the Goodwill and have found many, many bargins there. More on that later. (3) I discovered or should I say rediscovered that I have the best friends and family in the world. They have been very supportive to me during all of this.

So on to the title of my post...Peyton Place. Since I am OBsessed (hear Rachael Zoe's voice here) with my library card, I have read book after book. I have ordered them online and waited with anticipation for each on to be ready for pick up. The Help, now that one took a while. I was 117 in queue for that. About every other day I would log in to see what number I was and zip....there it was. Now that book was AHmazzing. But what I got curious about was a book that was mentioned in The Help, the one-time banished book called Peyton Place. So I "rented" it from the library and I couldn't put it down. My version was actually a twofer. I got Peyton Place and Return to Peyton Place. I highly suggest reading both of these. There is one MAJOR flaw in the second book. They changed the name of the main characters. I would have to say that it was just a job of poor, very poor editing. So I say...check it out. It was very interesting to see what was so risque about it back in 1956. It also made me think about how things have changed and what we are used to seeing on a regular basis on the TV, internet, magazines, etc.

Next on my list is Fried Green Tomatoes. Which when you look it up at the library it is listed as having some gay issues. Don't really remember that from the movie. I'll read and report back to you.

Enjoy the fall...talk to you again soon.....

Oh how life changes...

Hello everyone,
I know that it's been a while since my last post. Things have really been up heaved in my life. After almost 23 years at my job, I was laid off a couple of weeks ago. Never in my life have I been unemployed. While I kinda knew that it was coming, our company has been struggling for a while, it was still a shock to hear the words out loud. Now, I am not sure what to do. I haven't done anything since then. Clean, paint my spare room, drink beer, put my head in the sand. Today was the first day that I decided to really try to get "back into the world". I have some job leads that I'll be following up on. It's just that I really don't know which way to turn. Now that I have this "do over" in front of me. Do I stay in the same field or try something completely different? Do I take a job just to have a job? A couple of friends have suggested that I take the summer off to regroup and decide what I should do. Financially, I can't do that. Unemployment is certainly not what I thought it would be.
Other then that, there hasn't been much happening that is blog worthy.
The weather is getting nicer and I try to get out and walk. Perhaps I can use this time "off" to work off my fat ass?!
See I just don't have much to say. Hopefully, my frame of mind will be better soon.
For now...Nelle.

One more thing...

There was one more thing that we did accomplish during "Craft Weekend", we designed a quilt top.

My guest room still looks like it was on the latest version of "Hoarders" but I've started to collect thoughts in my head. I would like to use red toile fabric. I absolutely LOVE red toile. Hope I spelled that correctly. It's a basement bedroom with a window. I would like to keep it bright and cherry. So to the Internet I went to find a red toile comforter or coverlet. There isn't really one that I like that I'm willing to pay for. So , we decided we could design a quilt top. Which we did, but neither my sister or I really love it. I would probably make the quilt using a different fabric but at this point, I got nothing.

Again, until later

What's been happening...

Hello all,
Here is what's going on...it's Thursday night and there is nothing and I repeat nothing on TV to watch. Currently I've got it on the Jersey Shore. It's embarrassing to admit, I know. I wanted to sit on the couch and watch TV but no...I can't believe these people are paid to be on TV and we treat them like celebrities.

Anyhoo...
What's really been going on is not really much of anything. Work and work.

Last weekend was Craft Weekend with my sister. This month I went to her apartment. It was fun but with a 5 year old and an almost 2 year old under foot, not much crafting was done. It was fun to be there with her and her family. I love hearing Auntie, Auntie, Auntie.

I cast on for a scarf for myself in this awesome pink yarn called James C. Brett Marble Chunky. I'm suing size 10 needles and cast on 50 stitches. Since the weekend, I've gotten about 14 rows...not a lot but it is taking shape.

Other things that I've finished is a "greeting card" book. As many of you know (ha ha...many of you is probably consists of 2) I love sending cards and I could probably open a small stationery store with all the cards and papers I have. The problem was is that I would put them all over the place and not know what I have in stock. So I had to come up with something. So I took a plain white 3 inch 3 ring binder, used scrap book paper to pretty it up and then used sheet protectors to divide the categories up. I'm pretty proud of it. I don't know why I didn't think about it sooner. And as soon as I finished it I was looking at a Better Homes and Garden (I think) and there on the beautifully colored pages was my card idea. I will post some pictures when the camera is charged.

Other then that not much fun stuff done.

Oh wait, I wrote 2 letters this week. That's part of my New Year's resolution.

So I guess I've done some things.

Well I got to go there kids on Jersey Shore are drunk again...this is really getting interesting. I have to concentrate on who is sleeping with who.

Until later...thanks for stopping by the Nook.

No! I'm not dead

Ever hear those news flashes that so and so was dead and then like 20 minutes later their rep comes on and says that they are in fact still alive and well. Well, I don't have a rep (I'm not a famous blogger or a famous anything), but here I am alive and well.

I know that it's been a while but I've been in a funk. And there was Christmas.

Since we've last spoken I've had a couple of things happen. One, at my main job, my hours were cut and my pay was reduced. 3 of us had our hours reduced and the entire company had their pay reduced. I know we should feel "lucky" because 5 people got laid off. And by laid off I mean that they are never to return to work at our company. So, trying to find a benefit in this, I worked out a schedule with one of the others and every other weekend I have a four day weekend. No, don't get me wrong, that doesn't suck, but..........

Well that was three months ago and here I sit. Money is starting to get a little tight. Not were me and the kitties will be living out of the car, but I'm starting to feel the pinch.

So let's talk about some possitive things.

As always at the beginning of the year, I make out my resolutions and right about this time of January I've already giving up. Well, hopefully, this year I can have a little more "stick with it" in me.

So I'll share some with you and perhaps that will make me "stick with it" better.

There is always the obvious: Lose weight. Now I have to admit, I'm really needing to do this, but on the other hand one of my other resolutions is to cook and bake more and try new recipes. So...deliemma.

Blog more, write more real letters, send birthday cards, organize my house, go to church on a regular basis, and knit on a regular basis.

Also, my sister has decided and I think it's a brillant idea that once a month we get together and craft. Each month we will switch location. This month she is coming here. I'm sure that we'll add some classes and maybe some shopping. But, while we talk all the time on the phone, we don't always see each often. So that's one to add to the list.

My "post college" roommate and I have decided that we need to get together once a month too. Once she got married they moved to Vegas. They have moved back but getting together was a priority. Now it is.

I at this time of year, I usually reflect on that despite the troubles in my life, I am truly blessed in many, many ways. I am surrounded by friends who I love like family. We always have great times and help each other through the tough times.

That and setting up my new calendars. That's my favorite thing to do. But that's another post.

As for the weather here in central MN...there is snow....lots of snow. I bought a snowblower last night off of Craigslist. I will be using it today or tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to use it. It's also cold here. It's supposed to get colder too.

I hope that all of you had a great fall and Christmas holiday. I also hope that your New Year is blessed.

Talk soon (this time I mean it)

Nelle!

No title...

I have no title for this post because I don't know what I want to say. I will start by numbering the one hundred million crazy thoughts I have in my head. We will go to ten as fast as I can.

1. The leaves in my yard are up to my ankles. I have raked until my back aches. Wow my fat ass is really out of shape. I have 15 bags of leaves and that's just the front yard. I like to do the work though. I guess that's the joy of being a home owner. This is one of the times that I wish a I had big strong strapping man to help out. Well, it's not the only time. There are lots more and none pertain to the house. That's not the case and I'm left to do it all by myself.

2. On the stove right now is some homemade chicken noodle soup that I made a couple of weeks ago. No it's not been in the fridge this whole time, I froze some. I even made the stock from scratch. I know for all you foodies reading this you are saying "big effing deal". Well, for me it was a big deal. The Pioneer Woman I am not....yet.

3. I'm am just finishing my first Crown Royal and ginger ale. Not my first ever, but my first one of the night. YUM!

4. A friend brought back some delicious dark chocolate from Italy and I am TRYING to not eat it all at one time. Thanks, Jason!

5. After raking I came in and cleaned out the refrigerator and washed all the little plastic dishes that contained just a couple of scoops of something wondering that I had made weeks...months ago. Why the hell do we do that? Why don't we just throw it away instead of saving it and saying to ourselves "no, I'll eat that this week." Whatever.

6. I'm a little concerned about my job.

7. I'm a lot concerned about my job.

8. I love my kitties. Mostly because they love me. I love to feel their little warm bodies tucked in tight next to me in bed. It's very reassuring.

9. I'm really glad that I took my knitting class again. I love my teacher Barb and I really did have a brain fart. I don't think that I could have even cast on by myself.

and finally,

10. I went to the Farmers Market today to buy some bread. A couple of weeks ago, I was there and found a woman that I know, but now really well. She makes the best breads. When I shared with her my fear of making bread, she said just "try it. It's just bread" When she answered me what she didn't know is that I didn't mean just breads. I have a stack of recipes half why up to my knees that I want to "try". Everyday I pour over my favorite blogs for recipes. I print them, sigh and say...I'm going to make this and then I don't. I don't want to have a ton of desserts or sweets around the house (see #1 and the big fat ass reference), and it's hard to cook for just one person. I want to have people over for dinner but can only seat two people at my table at a time. The simplest words, "just try it" have taken a great weight off my shoulders. Thanks, Karen. I'm going to....

Talk to you all later. Time for a fresh cocktail and the Real Housewives of DC reunion.

Fall Ball

Good morning, all.

Now don't be so surprised that I'm up this early and that I'm blogging so soon after my last post. I told you, I'm trying to turn over a new leaf,

I actually just wanted to send out a cosmic "Good Luck" to my MN Twins. Playing ball in the fall is a dream every year for ball players. Hopefully, we will be playing into November.

I get to watch the game live today for the first time in our new stadium. I have my "uniform" all picked out.

Now to work before I get fired.....