About Last Night

For the first time ever in my life, I experienced running from a tornado (rather tornadic weather).

The storm sat about an hour and a half away from us for several hours yesterday evening.  About 9pm, the "super-cell" began to move eastward/northeastward toward Amarillo.

I watched and watched, but at 10:15pm, I sent the children to bed, as the cell was headed more northeast and that put us just within the safe-er area south of the storm. We are located approximately where the black arrow is pointing.

At 10:50, a weather advisory came on and the storm was, once again, going directly eastward. I immediately made the decision to leave our mobile home and get to town (Amarillo) to a strong brick structure. A hotel. I went to the hotel that my ex-husband opened here, the one that moved us to Amarillo to begin with. I know that the building was built to and above safety code. I know it is the safest place we could be, if not underground.

It took me nearly 20 minutes to wake up Felicity and Gregory, pack a quick bag, gather the dogs and get into the truck and head to town.

By the speed the storm was traveling at the time I left, I had plenty of time to arrive and get into the hotel safely.

While we were in route, the storm picked up considerable speed and met us at the hotel, which is on the west side of Amarillo.

This is not my video, but it is exactly what we saw heading into town. Felicity recognized the funnel cloud and I did my best to convince her it wasn't so. This was about 1 mile away from our destination. I was terrified!


When we were seeing the funnel cloud, though, there wasn't anything being said on the local radio about it; still music playing. For about a quarter of a mile....then the EBS (Emergency Broadcast System) broke in and that was it....."Amarillo, take cover NOW!"  We heard this over the radio as we pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.

I put the kids and 2 of our dogs out at the entrance door, parked the truck quickly, grabbed the other 2 dogs and ran for the hotel entrance.

Hail had started and beat me (and our Chihuahua, Petunia) in the head as I was running to the door.

We got in, and into our room. Immediately went into the bathroom. All 7 of us (yes, the dogs, too) sat there until the storm had passed. It lasted about 20 minutes until we didn't hear the hail hitting the windows in the room any longer.

Once we were all calmed down, I went downstairs to the truck to get our suitcase and this is what I found.

I have never in my life seen so much hail! Reports north of town were some had measured 12" deep.

There were no reported tornadoes with this storm, but two funnel clouds were witnessed. They say it cannot be officially called a reported tornado unless it touches down.

We had some hail damage to our truck...but nothing that cannot be fixed.

The children, dogs and I got a good night's sleep.

Once I had taken them to school this morning, I came home....we got nothing! Not a single drop of rain, possibly a bit of wind, but that's it.

What an eventful night. Don't want another like that ever!

Every living thing

deserves a chance.

We had a very late freeze here in the Texas Panhandle two weeks ago. Snow, even :-(

I had gone into Lowes for something, and as usual, I went into the garden center.

WOW! So many babies had been frost bit and were reduced at 50-70% off regular price.

This Hydrangea was on the clearance rack. It had really taken a beating.

I saw the branch that was split down the middle and just knew I would have to cut off the entire branch, but I didn't care. I have always wanted an Hydrangea and now I was going to have one at a price I was willing to pay.

So I gave it a few days to see what happened and I couldn't believe it! The split branch was not dying!!! It was generating new growth!

I bought a roll of floral tape today and taped it up good. Now I am hoping it will graft itself back together. Time will tell.

Repurpose and Reuse

I have held on to two old water bath canning pots for a couple of years.  I knew I wanted to use them as planters, just have never gotten around to putting the holes in the bottom (used a screwdriver and hammer).

So yesterday, I just did it!

And I think it's just pretty as can be :-)

I can't wait until the plants are growing and filling out more....going to be gorgeous!

In Our World Today

Everywhere you look....it's "more", "bigger", "better", "faster".

You can have this and that and the more of it you have, the better.

Then there is the "always have to be quicker, faster and EASIER" way to do things. Fast food, microwaves, quick short cuts....

Gotta have the bigger house, bigger car, bigger yard.....bigger, better, more more more!

Source

These words are terrible in the mind of a person with obsessive personality behaviors. Whether formally diagnosed or not, one can identify if they have obsessive tendencies.

I have them.

I am ready to end them, at least get them under control.

Quilters call their love of fabric and continuing to purchase fabric even if they don't have a specific project for it their "stash".

Knitters and crocheters-the same with yarn.

Along with any hobbies.....there's the books, patterns and magazines to taunt one, as well.

Just think of all the money tied up/invested in thousands of yards of fabric....yes, I have it....as do so many people.

THEN.....there's the collectables. I have seen some people that collect things and OH MY GOSH! I just shake my head. But then, looking at my fabrics, yarn, books, and kitchen things.....I shouldn't be shaking my head..... I am just like those people. But I don't "do" collectables, per se.

I come from a line of women that have this thing for dishes and kitchenware. Now just how many sets of dishes does one household need anyway?  I have three sets. One set was my Mother's (that I have never used since inheriting them in 1984), one was my "good" dishes (that I have never used) when I married my ex-husband 13 years ago. The third is the dishes we use every day. This is INSANE! Not only dishes...but bowls, bake ware, silver serving pieces, glassware. My mother had lots of these things, and my sisters and I have just let it trickle on down the line.

Our genetics just drive us to wanting more STUFF! It has exhausted me. I hate it!

Source

Yes, nice things are pretty, don't get me wrong. But one can have pretty things that they enjoy having around without having SO MUCH OF THEM.

I can so understand those hoarding shows! Hoards like that don't just happen overnight. They take years. It's begins gradually, then grows and grows. I know I could be there easily in a few years. I have been in a position over the past few years, that I don't know where or how to start. That is how, I think, hoarding begins. I look around and don't know what to do first, or next, so I just quit. Then more "stuff" piles up and up and up! Yep, I understand hoarders.

The constant feeling of being overwhelmed is terrible.

It stops now. I have begun to lighten my load.

I am ready for less. Less of everything possession wise. Possessions are just things and things are not what is important in life. All I need is my husband, children, grandchildren, family and friends. Those are the things we cannot live without. Those are the things that are important in life.

Who is Me?

Fair warning....this post will jump around and not make sense in some places. I just had a lot on my mind.

On Wednesday, it was my birthday. No better time to get these things off my mind and start fresh. Well, as fresh as I am able.

Who is Amy?

Source

I have come to the realization that I am not a farm person. While I do LOVE having animals around, I have come to learn that I really don't like having to take care of them day in and day out. I have had chickens several different times over the past few years. While the older "laying hens" are by far the easiest to keep, I enjoy(ed) hatching eggs. I had goats, too. Now I have come to the realization that it ties me down too much.

Ties me down too much why?

I love to travel, love to be able to go visit with family and friends that live miles away. I am always glad to get back home. Who isn't when they travel? Most of my adult life I have been held back from traveling due to circumstances. Now, I have opportunities and I want to be able to take those opportunities and enjoy the rest of my days with my amazing husband, children and grand-children. I relish in the thoughts of my husband and I being able to have the freedom to do whatever we what to do, whenever we decide to do it.....for the most part. Sometimes I just want to be lazy. Well, with mouths depending on you, it's not an option.

I have learned that I can like the "country life" and country things (decor, themes, clothing, etc), but I don't have to live on or run a farm. Does that make me lazy? Maybe, then so be it.

Even though the life of a farmer isn't for me, I do firmly believe in supporting local farmers, etc. I buy "Made in the USA" when I can. I buy local whenever I can. It's just the right, best thing to do in our world today.

I do love being outdoors. I used to love working in the yard. When I was in high school, I so loved working in our garden...for the last 2-3 years, it ended up being pretty much my garden, but I loved it. Flowers! Oh how I LOVE flowers. I could never have too many flowers in my yard. However, living in the Texas panhandle kind of puts a little bit of a damper on that. Droughts can wreck one's visions of beautiful flowers.

Our dogs. They don't tie me down too much. They love to go in the car, and we take them most places when we travel. Of course, we have to find "pet-friendly" hotels, but that's not too difficult in today's times. I love our dogs, they are part of the family.  I have owned at least one dog at any one time, pretty much my entire life. We currently have four dogs.

Over the past several years, I have studied and read things on the internet. Homesteading, homeschooling, homemaking(can you say "Susie"?). religiousness (is that a word?) and have found myself trying to learn to be/do those things. I have wasted WAY.TOO.MUCH.TIME.DOING.THIS.

Well, as noted in the first paragraph, while I do love the concept of homesteading....I just don't know that it's for me at this point in my life. Had I begun when I was much younger, heck yes! Now, not so much.  I read on one blog several months back, that a family had made the switch completely to homesteading. Animals, gardens, self-sufficiency. The whole "shooting-match". Only to find that all they did was work. Working so hard that they didn't have time or energy to just enjoy life. I don't want that for our family.

Homeschooling. Yes I did that. In my opinion, pretty much failed. My fault entirely. I am not a teacher. Never wanted to be. Still don't want to be. I was influenced by my ex-husband to do this and while I was open to the idea and *thought* it would work for us, sadly it did not.

Religion. Am I a Christian? Yes, absolutely. Am I a "holy-roller" (as some would call it)? Nope. Would I like to be? Maybe. I would say that I am a strong believer, but that my faith is private. Private between myself and God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Do I openly talk about my faith, some. There is a lot I don't know and am unsure of on this subject. Honestly, I want to learn more. I am not one of those Biblical mothers that you read about in so many blogs online now. I gave it a good shot, but it's just not who I am.

Homemaker. Bad subject here. I used to keep such a nice, clean, tidy home. Honestly I did. Then during bad years in my previous marriage, things fell apart. Now, I have good days and bad days. My family always has clean clothes to wear. A warm, clean bed to sleep in and food in their stomachs. Do I always cook the meals? No. In my mind I would love to cook beautiful meals for them every single (well, nearly) day....I just don't have it in me anymore. I used to love to cook. Now, unless I have a bunch of people to cook for, my heart just isn't in it. I do love canning and baking fresh bread and the like. Problem is, my younger children are gone to their father's house every-other week and my husband is overseas working. At this point, when I make things, they usually just mold and ruin. Maybe when David is home full time, I will enjoy doing these things again.

The modesty thing. Went there, too. I do enjoy wearing skirts and dresses, but not every.single.day. This gal loves her jeans and shorts, too :-)

I always have been interested in history, antiques and older times. That will never change, I am sure. Heritage. Our heritage. My heritage. It's where we all come from. Maybe that is how I got so off track from my previous years. I just don't know.

I love to crochet and I think I still like quilting. It's been so long since I was really able to sit down and really work on quilting.....I'm honestly not sure anymore. I mostly left behind my crafts and hobbies when I started my online business back in 2003. That business consumed me and changed me. I like the person I was pre-2003 better....but can't change things now. I can, however, try my best to dump some of the things (habits, ideas, etc) that I have picked up on the way in the past 10 years. That is what I really hope I can do. Oh and I really, really want to teach myself to knit socks!

In this time of basically nothing-ness....I found happiness in things. Fabric and yarn "stash" are the biggies. Followed by books and magazines. Especially craft related books and magazines.  How in this world do I think I will EVER be able to make every pattern in those books and magazines? Heck, even a tiny percentage of them? Shaking my head.

Now, I realize it is time to move forward and even then, I am having issues doing so. I have thousands upon thousands of dollars invested in fabric, yarn and books/magazines. I KNOW I don't need it all. I REALLY want to get 95% of it out of my life. However, I am having such difficulties doing so. In my head I want to go sort through it all, list it on Craigslist and Ebay and re-coop some of the money. BUT darnit, I just can't get myelf to do it. Then there's the other side, if I donate it I will be tossing out all of that money. UGH. I am starting to believe that the bulk of the problem is dealing with the past. The last 5 years of my previous marriage were so unhappy for me.  If I just leave it all packed and in storage, I don't have to deal with it.

I have started/dumped business after business, blog after blog, concepts after concepts. I just shake my head when I think about all of it. Time wasted. Time wasted that I will never get back.

I have been through the hours upon hours of blog reading and Facebook reading looking for answers and information....I guess wanting to be something other than me. I have probably worked too hard trying to be things other than myself, even if I have loved the concepts. I have to be me. I have to take my good days and unfortunately take my bad days.

It's time to unsubscribe to email subscriptions, un-like pages on Facebook and delete all but 2 of my blogs(at one point I had 12!). I want to keep everything online related to a minimum, to just reading blogs that I enjoy and get off this computer more and more.

I am who and what I am. Now I just have to put everything else out of my mind and keep moving forward with my wonderful husband and my family.

Commenced!

Fabric organization and de-stashing has commenced!

I saw this idea on Pinterest a couple of months ago.

Source

I ordered the cards from Amazon in January, (Ultra Pro Golden Age Size Comic Boards (100 Pack))and finally got started yesterday.

So far it is working splendidly!

I haven't even made a tiny dent. This is just one shelf, I have done two. I have used nearly the entire package of 100 boards. Ordering more today. I am putting pieces that are more than one yard on the boards. One yard and smaller pieces will be folded and put into stacks on other shelves. So far, I have cleared out just part of what was in our closet and a cabinet in our bedroom. In the storage shed, there is a line of boxes and plastic tubs full of fabric. The wall is eight feet wide, eight feet tall and the boxes are one, sometimes two deep along the entire wall, all the way to the ceiling.  This is serious, friends. I have to get this all organized, inventoried and get a good bit of it sold off. There is no way in the world I will ever use this fabric all up!

Living in a four month cycle

I go through four different lifestyles in every four month period of time.

Source

Single
Single Mother
Married, with Children
Married, "empty nesters"

When my ex-husband and I divorced, our custody agreement was that our children, Felicity now 12, and Gregory now 9 with autism, would spend a week with Mom and a week with Dad in rotation. Sometimes, the children get off the exact schedule, but then we work to get back on it.

Since that time, David and I married last August.

David is a civilian contractor in Afghanistan and only gets home on R&R every 75-90 days or so, for just a short period of time.

I don't work outside the home because when David is home on R&R, we like to have the freedom to do the things we want to do such as travel. PLUS Gregory is kind of a sickly guy, and I need to be available whenever he has to miss school. This past year has been tough with Felicity, too....strep has been awful, even AFTER having her tonsils removed last fall.

I love, love, love my children so much, BUT I do admit that I enjoy the time alone when they are with their Dad and I can sleep late, don't have to worry about fixing meals on a schedule, etc.

During the time that the children are home with me, and David is home on R&R, we travel occasionally, depending on the time of year and school, the rest of these times we are home as a family.

When David is home while the children are at their Dad's house, David and I are "free birds".

So you see, my life is not any type of the typical realm.

I am not complaining, but I do have such a difficult time figuring my daily life out sometimes.

I have been trying for weeks to figure out how to get back into blogging with this out-of-the-normal lifestyle. I'm going to give it a whirl, though. I may end up taking it more of a journal route, but hey, it's my blog, right? I'm just going to see how it plays out.

I've blogged off and on, but mostly on, since 2008. I miss it when I just drop it....and I miss reading everyone else's blogs.....just need to get myself disciplined again and get rolling.