Sistah Pat

I have some great friends.  Just when I get so down I don’t think I’ll ever get back up, they start coming out of the woodwork.  Sistah Pam emailed me yesterday and we’re going out to dinner tonight.  She’s driving in case I’m drinking :-)  DS came by yesterday afternoon to make me some insalada caprese because he knows I love it.  Fresh, ripe homegrown tomatoes and basil from his garden, a good quality chunk of mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice.  Simple but soooo good!  It really hit the spot.  Little Sister called and invited me to go to Horseshoe Casino with her next Monday because she has a coupon for a free room.  Phyllisann wants me to pick a day when we can go shopping up at the Edinburgh outlets and DH wants me to make a room reservation at Grand Victoria Casino so the two of us can get away. 

Friends just don’t let friends stay in a funk.  I feel so much better today.  Thanks for all the kind comments and encouragement, Chickies.  It means a lot.  I got up and sat in the spa a few minutes while Andrew was getting ready for work.  Joy, thanks for the virtual coffee!  You sat on the patio with your coffee and I sat in the spa with mine.  Looks like we both enjoyed the quiet of the morning.

I let myself get too overwhelmed and depressed about all the crap going on but I’ve done a lot of thinking about it.  I live a good life and do what I can to help my family and be an advocate for kids.  I don’t do anything illegal or immoral.  I know in my heart that the kids will be okay.  I can’t imagine anyone giving custody to DIL and I just have to quit stressing over it and trust that everything will turn out right.  I don’t want to dwell on this stuff today but I want to address a couple comments that have been made.  I’ve thought about showing the social worker some of my blogs about how DIL has just taken off but, strangely, she doesn’t seem too disturbed by that.  She said something to the effect of, “I know it inconveniences you when she drops off the kids and doesn’t pick them up or when she just takes off for days at a time but I’ve seen a lot worse.  To her credit, she leaves them in a safe environment where she knows they’ll be cared for.  I’d rather see her do that than to have them subjected to the fighting and argueing.  She may be gone but the kids aren’t seeing or hearing anything that’s hurting them and that’s my major concern.  I don’t care if she takes off for a month as long as those kids are taken care of.”  After hearing her opinion on this topic, I’m not sure she’d be interested in what DIL is up to on those long weekends or periodic “bushwalks”.

I think I might drag out the sewing machine today.  I usually pick a fabric or picture that I really love and decorate a room around the colors in it.  I’ve been trying to decide how to do the upstairs in the cabin for quite a while and haven’t found any real inspiration.  There’s a fabric outlet in Georgia that I visited on vacation and they’re going out of business.  Prices were really discounted and there was one aisle where the fabric was reduced 75%.  This really unusual fabric caught my eye and I kept coming back to it.  It’s not the colors or pattern I would usually pick for decorating an entire room but there was something cool about it.  I showed little sister some of the fabrics I was considering and she zeroed in on the same one.  So, I bought ten yards of it.  Can you believe it was reduced to $2.00 a yard?  I showed it to DH and said, “What do you think about this fabric for the bedspread upstairs and these colors for the carpet and paint?”  He said he didn’t like it.  Okay!  That’s good enough for me!  If he doesn’t like it, it must be good!  I think I’ll start making the bedspread.  Of course, grandkids, Jake and Scout, keep telling me the SpongeBob blankets I made for their bunkbeds four years ago are too small now so I guess I should take them shopping for new fabric.  Scout still loves SpongeBob but Jake is getting a bit too old to have to look at SpongeBob lamps, wastebaskets, and curtains.  I don’t think he needs big stuffed Patricks and SpongeBobs on his bed either.  Yeah, time to drag out the old sewing machine.

I’m going to check in with some of you guys and see if I can get caught up (at least a little).  I want to do some housecleaning, too.  It hasn’t missed my attention that everyone around here seems to shut down when I’m off.  I need to address that.  All of a sudden, no one is picking up after themselves or doing any of the household chores. 

1:00 - Had a bit of a rebellion.  I decided that I didn’t want to clean the house so I went shopping.  Didn’t find anything good but I got some ideas for the upstairs bedroom in the cabin.  Now I’ve got to get moving.  The house is a wreck and DH is due home in two hours.