Category: Other Posts

Marriage, Where do I go?

I’m Not a Procrastinator!

deborahanndykeman

Yes, I am procrastinating! I love to write. I adore getting into that very special little space where the ideas, dialogue, and story is flowing faster than I can type. But some days, I keep putting off the begin time. This is one of those days.

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I’ve accomplished all the ‘tasks’ I set for myself each day before I write. You know the ones. Dishes, laundry, vacuuming, and just general upkeep of a home so you don’t have to shovel out after a couple of weeks.

But I just can’t seem to ‘jump’ in this morning. Maybe it’s because I was interrupted during a really great, pivotal scene last night. (Really…I can’t write when I’m being stared at!) And now I’m afraid to try again because of plans I have later. I don’t want to be side-tracked . If you are a writer, you know how frustrating that can be. After you try to write a scene several times…in my case it just loses some of the ‘oomph’.

Life is rather like that for all of us at times. The best laid plans and that sort of thing. I’m not really a very flexible person. The humor is there, in the fact that I had five children and a husband that drove over the road. Anyone with children understands that your day doesn’t always, (almost never) goes as planned. But we all survived.

That last statement brings me to why I started procrastinating this morning. It was Face Book…again. No, it’s not their fault, but it’s probably the number one time waster for me. I stopped writing last night because our second daughter had given me a challenge to post pictures of my husband and I when we first met, and then a recent one. I posted that last night, and then this morning I had to check it…of course!

So, I will share the pictures with you all. That statement about survival also pertains to these pictures. My husband and I have survived. We started out as children, young and full of exuberance, and half our size. The first one was taken right after our wedding rehearsal on October 19, 1984. The second one was taken last fall, October 4, 2015. We haven’t changed a bit, have we? 😉

The third one is just a bonus shot for all of you. It was taken on October 19, 1984.

October 19, 1984 day before wedding.

We were raking my parents yard. Cleaning it up a bit before our reception at their home the next day. My parents had just purchased the property in upstate New York, the Catskill Mountain area. It was a mess when they moved in, as you can see from the roof of the pump house. But it was beautiful when they moved fifteen years later! My husband and I were commenting on how it looked like we were on a set. Then our youngest daughter asked who the man was.

This last one was of us in September 1984, just after we were engaged. We were taking pictures for the newspaper to announce our engagement.

September 1984 engagement picture for newspaper

So many memories…and that’s how I got off-track in my writing last night…and now this morning! I know you all never do that! Have a great Thursday…and now…back to that scene!

 

Just For Fun!

Handyman Special

deborahanndykeman

I spent the better part of yesterday in Menards with my son. He has a couple projects he is working on at his place. So, he was picking up supplies and wanted to know what his options were. I’m great at figuring out all the possibilities and I love designing it. But having the money to complete the project, and now the energy is another matter!

And no, the above pictures have nothing to do with our son’s place…unfortunately!

At one time, these ‘Big Box Stores’ as they call them were one of my favorite places to be. It was thrilling to be in there for hours, just wandering through all the products. My mind would race with all the possibilities of what ‘we’ could do at our house.

Not so much anymore! After four hours in there, my brain was swimming and in serious need of rescuing! Yes, we found some great deals, my son now has some wonderful plans to put into working order. All my mind can concentrate on is: Contractor anyone?

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Just For Fun!

Hot Enough to Fry an Egg!

deborahanndykeman

Is it hot out? No, it’s pretty much gone to the broiling point. Birds have stopped singing, my flowers are shriveling, the lawn is browning and I’m itching. It must be August. June? It can’t be happening already! After a perfectly gorgeous spring with lots of rain, we are in the not-so-enjoyable days of summer.

What made it worse was that our air-conditioning also quit. Each year, our goal is to see how many days in the spring and fall we can go without turning on the air-conditioning or the heat. This past year has been fairly fantastic from that standpoint. We had several months with nothing on…and we were actually pretty comfortable. So, when the weather showed triple digits on the way, we finally turned on the air…and there wasn’t any!

Yes, they were able to do a quick fix and we now have cooler temps inside than outside our back door. But the long-term solution is going to be into the thousands. Such is life.

By the way…has anyone really ever tried to fry an egg on the sidewalk? I always thought that would be fun to experiment with. But the price of eggs now…well, maybe not so interested. Stay cool!

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Just For Fun!

Perseverance, Endurance & Determination.

deborahanndykeman

This is a fantastic story! I’m looking forward to following this gentleman and his journey! I cannot even imagine trying what he is striving for!

Carolyn's avatarThe 1940's Experiment

raymatthews2

It’s taken me about over 20 years to truly understand what it takes to accomplish a lofty goal. These things are perseverance, endurance and determination and you have to have all three of them…

For the past six months I’ve been studying people who achieve great feats in the hope of determining what makes these people stick with something and achieve their goal to succeed! The reason I’ve been doing this is partly in my own personal battle against obesity. I want to get into the minds of these people, understand where there mental stamina comes from, what sort of mindset do they have? I figure that losing a large amount of weight is possibly on a par with the achievements of endurance athletes, explorers, entrepreneurs, those that rehabilitate themselves from serious illness, those who overcome disability.

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Recently, through a friend at work I came to talk to a gentleman…

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Just For Fun!

Summer Songs

deborahanndykeman

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a writer…but my senses are usually in overdrive. With every change of season, my eyes, ears and nose go into full swing. No, not with allergies, but just the enjoyment of that new, precious time. I am very thankful for this.

It is now summer, not officially on the calendar, but in our everyday lives. School is out in some places…and it is hot and getting hotter. Childhood memories of going to bed in the daylight and sweating until the wee hours of the morning knock on my brain. Afternoons at the swimming pool, mowing lawn, riding bikes, and the ice cream truck. The smell of that fresh grass and a newly cut field of hay. A summer day downpour…cooling the air in Colorado where I grew up…making it steamier here in Kansas…usually.

So music also plays a big part in my brain…setting the scene for summer. Of course the Beach Boys always comes to mind…probably for most people. They are the quintessential summer group, in my humble opinion! There are other songs as well, but today this one came to mind…and as always…I can’t shut if off in my head! So, I’ll share it with you.

The very first time I heard this, was with my husband, no children, (and they were all at home then), on a gravel road heading to our little town from Manhattan, Kansas. And yes, summer was coming! It just set the tone for that day and gives me pleasant memories each time I hear it again. Enjoy! Summer is here!

 

Just For Fun!

Tiny Topics

deborahanndykeman

I’ve always been enthralled with anything miniature. I think it’s amazing that you can make something out of itsy-bitsy items and it’s looks real.

So, as you can imagine…I love doll houses. I could get lost in studying a room like the two pictured above…each little detail.

I love the train displays…not because of the trains, but because of the little villages the track weaves through. I find it fascinating to see the wee towns and the ‘houses’ on the hillside.

After many years, I finally have a fairy village. No, I don’t really believe little people come and visit and night, (although I tell my grandchildren they do! ;)) I spent hours a couple springs ago, repainting my fairy village houses. What fun! Now that’s something I could do for a living! I received so much enjoyment looking up all the options for houses and accessories online. The possibilities are limitless!

I also have a Christmas village that has grown too big for my upright piano top. I originally set it there to keep away from little, exploring fingers. Someone would always lift them up and point out the ice-skaters on the little ‘pond’ made from tin-foil, the children sledding on the ‘hill’.

Tiny to me…is tremendous! Check out my Facebook post for today and you will find another petite puppy to make you smile.

Baby mice, hummingbirds, tiny table settings, white picket fences two inches tall, stone cottages for a tree frog, teacup chihuahuas, bistro for baby…and of course babies in general. These are some of my favorite things! Happy Friday to you!

A Day to Remember

Begins!

deborahanndykeman

It has finally arrived! Today is the last day of school here in our little town. Graduations have finished and now it’s…summer. For children, anyway. Can’t you just feel it? That sense of excitement and anticipation…no school for a couple of months. No getting up early in the morning, for school anyway. Going to bed later. Long, hot days that seemed as though they would never end…and that was a fantastic feeling!

Follow along for just a bit…relishing that period of time that was like no other. For me, as a child, every summer consisted of swimming lessons…early in the morning. Roll out of bed, put on a damp swimsuit from the day before and have a bite of yogurt and granola, (yes, my mother was very much into us eating healthy!) You would get to the pool, yawning and freezing, your towel wrapped around your shoulders. You would stand there shivering, dreading that moment when you would have to jump or dive in, knowing it was going to take your breath away for a second. Then the water would become liquid warm, gliding over your body.

Then we would head home, do our chores and have a sandwich. As soon as the pool opened in the afternoon, we were back again and stayed until the pool closed. Those days weren’t about the tanning for me, but practicing all that we had learned that morning. If we were very lucky, my parents or friend’s parents would pick us up and we wouldn’t have to make that trek back home. Although it was pretty fun to stop by the little building that sold candy and stock up for the walk. (And no, my mother would not have been happy about that!)

We managed to fit so much into our summer days! Bike riding, lemonade stands, and playing cards on rainy days.

My husband’s summer days included camp every year. When I became a teenager, we had moved to the east. The finish of school for the summer was just as filled with anticipation and excitement. But now the swimming was accomplished on pristine lakes with extremely cold water. Those shivering mornings were nothing compared to jumping in that lake in the Adirondack mountains on a sunny afternoon! After a few minutes, the water warmed and it just felt…delicious.

My teenage summers also included staying with a cousin at her parent’s cabin in New Hampshire. Those were the summers I learned to row a boat, making sure to stay clear of the lily-pad end. Having an oar tangled in that is no fun! Rainy days still included playing cards on the enclosed porch, listening to the rain beat on the roof. Sunsets were gorgeous, of course! Oh, the memories!

Sometimes I wonder about the youth of today. My childhood was filled with activity, special days, friends to play with and a sense of just…belonging. You knew your place in the world and what was expected. There was a time for work and then a time for play. You interacted with others.

So today…summer begins. Have a beautiful day with lots of sunshiny memories!pink-lemonade-795030__180

A Quick Thought

Experiences of Life

deborahanndykeman

Today I’m posting from Tim Horton’s in Dayton, Ohio…or at least a small suburb of that city. They all kind of run together while we are driving around and it’s hard to keep track of where you are. No, I don’t have a coffee, but after a bite of an apple fritter, one would be good. And I mean coffee…black and as strong as you can make it. My daughter purchased this cold stuff…watered down coffee with milk and ice cubes in it. It’s a real pretty color though. Maybe I will do my dining room in it. Just a thought.

So, we have been in Dayton for almost two weeks now. It has been enjoyable to see a state blushing with spring, that is a bit different from Kansas…but I do miss Kansas. I miss my roses starting to bloom as well as my poppies and lilacs. At least the roses will bloom many times over the summer, but not so with the lilacs, and I do adore lilacs!

The weather has been rather gloomy…overcast and humid, not unlike Kansas weather this time of year. So far no tornado watches or warnings that I have been aware of. Probably wouldn’t have mattered too much as we are on the top floor of an apartment, three sets of stairs up. The view from the balcony is wonderful. There is a large lake with a fountain and there are geese and ducks, and an occasional crane. The ducks and geese are caring for babies right now, so it’s been very fun to watch them growing up so quickly. But again, not a great place to be in case of a tornado!

The apartment is also near an air force base and at times there are very big planes flying overhead. One of these woke me up the other night. It was the night there had been storms. Waking suddenly to a very large plane flying very closely overhead when there has been a chance for tornadoes…well, let’s just say I took a moment to ponder the reality of quickly getting three people and a large dog down all those stairs…and I went back to sleep. Standing out in the rain in my night clothes didn’t seem very appealing at two in the morning.

So, as our time here in Ohio nears an end…I am anxious to get back home and to my routine. It’s been different to be someplace else for a while…drive in traffic again…everywhere you go, relate with people that are very different than in Kansas. It’s been wonderful to visit with our second oldest and meet a new member of the family…but home is beckoning me.

Life is all about changes, and experiences. I tend to get stuck in a rut, and I kind of get comfy there. But I jumped out of the puddle for a bit and now I’m ready to return. I’ve spent most of my life in cities, driving in traffic much of the time when I was younger. I really don’t want to go back. I relish my quite, little town and one stop light.

By the way…I really miss my washing machine! Laundromats have not become better over the years…just more expensive. Just a last thought! Enjoy your Friday! I will be…with a doughnut and a hot, black, cup of coffee.

A Day to Remember

Special Delivery

deborahanndykeman

Waiting for a baby to make an appearance really pushes the patience scale. I know that five times over with my reluctant-to-arrive children. Each one was at least two weeks overdue. You wait anxiously for that due date…and then it passes! What? Then every day thereafter is pure torture. The first week the questions and little ‘jokes’ about your due date being passed, are somewhat bearable. The second week, not so much. You avoid going out in public and the stares of mercy from people you don’t even know. At home, you snarl at those you love and level gazes at them that would shrivel a prune. And you wait. The days, hours and minutes slow to a turtle crawl.

Our two youngest and I are now in Ohio, waiting for the arrival of grandchild number four. TODAY is the due date…and it’s not looking good. Now begins the wait.

People offer suggestions to help speed up the process. But all of us know that a  baby has a mind of its own…and he or she will express it very loudly and clearly concerning their entrance into the world. They have us in their itsy-bitsy hands.

So, here I sit in Target, sipping on a Starbucks coffee…writing to all of you. Our three youngest girls are off shopping for baby items that are always needed at the last minute. As I have mentioned before, I’m not much for shopping anymore. So the set-up suits me just fine. Well, it kind of suits me. They don’t sell Krispy Kremes here. Have a wonderful Monday!