Don't talk to me before my morning coffee

I may wake up, get out of bed and move around the house in the very early morning, but my brain doesn't fully "engage" until I have a few cups of coffee in me.  So please don't talk to me until I'm capable of processing human speech.

I have told my other half this, time after time after time.

So what does he do this morning?

It's 5:07am, and I'm just exiting the ermm... ladies room, and I'm on my way to get my first cup of coffee... when my other half walks in.
And he then proceeds to tell me that he thinks that one of the cats peed on his toothbrush in the shower, some time yesterday.

I don't know if I actually responded to him or not (because my brain was not engaged yet, due to having no coffee in me and all...) but all I could think of was "well, ask the cats which one took a shower last, because I certainly can't remember."

And until I had 2 full cups of coffee in me,  I  actually stressed over which cat was the last to take a shower - which one was tall enough to reach the shower shelf to pee on it - and I wondered if they had hung their towel up or not.

No joke.
Don't talk to me before I'm fully awake.
It messes up my day.

I am a ceraunophile.

I love thunderstorms. 

 The whisper and wailing of the wind, the boom and crack of the thunder, the lightning that suddenly, shockingly, lights up the night sky.  

Leaving me blinded for a moment, before it fades away...

 only to come again.

Because sometimes in this mundane, boringly safe life... it's good to be reminded that not everything is perfect.

Not all good and excellent things are quiet and gentle.

That sometimes chaos and cacophony are not only a part of life,

but they are needed, as well.

A good thunderstorm is soothing to my soul, and it acts as a balm to my spirit.

Especially at night. 

 When it feels as if I'm all alone in the world, while my husband and the rest of the world are sleeping.

 While most sane people are tucked safely up in their beds, snuggled down warmly in their bed-covers;

 for me to be out on the porch, watching the wind and rain through sudden bright flashes of lightning... 

It's heavenly.

To hear and see and feel all that power and glory and to feel that it's mine alone to experience, is such a wondrous thing.

 I will never get tired of the night sky.

Of  rolling, booming thunder shaking the very ground beneath me, while the lightning illuminates the dark world in short, quick bursts of light. 

 Of watching the rain come down so hard, that mud erupts from the ground like dancing effervescent sprites.

I feel sympathy for the small wild creatures of the night, who need to hide themselves away from this dangerous storm, but I also feel envy... that they are right there in the thick of it.

I am a ceraunophile.

Happy Snaps / or Snaps that Make Me Happy

It's the little things ...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this sign, even though it's seen better (much better) days.  It came into the thrift store when I was working in Murphys CA, and it was just tossed in the garbage - as "unsellable"!  Can you believe that??  I'm not exactly sure of the dating on it, but I'm guessing at the very early 1950's.

An article in the Chicago Tribune says: 

"A total of 280 signs for Wall Drug still grace the highways and byways of South Dakota, with many more along America's roadsides for hundreds of miles. Other signs now are on every continent.
 In Feldkirch, Germany, one reads, "See the six-foot rabbit at Wall Drug."

 http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-01-10/travel/9303161382_1_ice-cream-totem-pole-signs

This gorgeous cross was my Valentines present this year, from my honey... He knows me so well, and I love him for it. The bottom picture is a close-up of the detail, showing  the beautiful individually carved dogwood blossoms.

 ~ ~ ~ ~

 I just LOVE these old Tupperware bowls, that came with the house... don't you?  They're identical to the ones we had when we were kids, and every time  I use, them, I think of my Mama and our camping trips.  But back when I was young, I really had no appreciation for them, and always wanted to eat my breakfast cereal straight out of those little perforated Kellogg cereal boxes that you could split down the middle, and pour your milk in.  Unfortunately, my Mama didn't understand our need to be cool...

 ~ ~ ~ ~

 We went to a yard sale just up the road from us last fall, and even though I had drooled over the lady's button collection,  the buttons just plum slipped my mind when we went to pay up. (I think that fact that the lady GAVE me her 3 huge Boston Ferns, kind of got me side-tracked.)  Anyway, I forgot all about the buttons, until the woman showed up at my house a week or so later, saying "I know you loved these, so I brought them to you rather than send them to the thrift shop.

 Running my fingers through those buttons brings back so many memories of my Mama and my Nana... who always kept their buttons in old candy tins.  Being allowed to "play" in the buttons, is one of my most cherished memories of my Nana.

~ ~ ~ ~

 Another treasured find from the thrift store in Murphys CA.  I kept telling Shirley that some of the stuff she was tossing out was going to be valuable to someone, but she didn't agree.  Lucky me.  
There used to be bottle opener almost like it at the old bait shop in Clearlake Oaks when I was a kid, and if I concentrate, I can still smell that gas and oil mixture smell, as well as the odor of the "warm in the summer sun" bait.  Oh... I'm gonna cry.

~ ~ ~ ~

It's good to have friends! My friend Melissa gave me some of these canned goods on Saturday, and a few were left in the house when we bought it... and I was plum tickled to get them!  Kosher Dills, Bread and Butter Pickles, Pickled Beets, Peach Jelly, Peach Butter... and a whole lot more!

~ ~ ~ ~

See? I told you this house was old, and cobbled together.  And it's little things like this door in the dining room that make me love it so.

 ~ ~ ~ ~

 Aren't these canisters gorgeous??  I wish I had the whole set, but this was all that was left... Another junk store find.  I fell in love with these roosters as soon as I spied them hidden in a local  "treasure store".  (okay, technically it was a "junk store", but I calls 'em as I sees 'em)

And of course, my old egg basket... I've got pullets on order, so it won't be too much longer before I will have my chickens, and can put the basket to use again!

~ ~ ~ ~

 My Monty the Moose hanging over my kitchen sink.  
Which seems like kind of an odd place to hang him, but you tell me where Monty Mooses are best hung!  (there was a hook already there, so that in itself helped me make up my mind)


 

 ~~~~

  Okay... I'll admit to it.  I have a "thing" for measuring cups... especially the glass ones.  But they all have a use, so when I run across one that I like, it gets added to the collection.  

~~~~

 Yet another thrift store find!   It's only decorative at this point, (it's been gutted) and it's got a false front on it now...  I originally planned on using it for spice storage... but since the perfect place for it was between the living room and dining room, it's now just used as a place to keep pens and message paper nearer our proper phone.  Dan says he can "fix it" so it can be used as a phone again, but we'll have to wait and see.  I heard that pigs can fly too.

~ ~ ~ ~

My favorite-ever apple peeler...  This thing works so well, that  I will never peel apples by hand ever again!  And speaking of apples, we've got a couple of 2 and 3 year old apple trees on order for the yard!  Along with peaches, apricots, plums and fig trees - and whatever else I may come across!

~ ~ ~ ~

We're starting to think of spring around here!  A friend and I plan on doing a garden together at my house this year, so we've combined our 'stashes' and I think we're off to a good start!

I've got a whole bunch of heritage seeds as well, (I can't find them yet, but I'm pretty sure that they're in one of the freezers), so I think this is going to be one big arse garden this year!  Luckily, we have the space for it, and a couple of ideal locations as well.

~ ~ ~ ~

 I can't remember where I found this terrific little foot stool, but I fell in love with it. Our daughter saw it when I posted it on face book... and she claimed it.  But she'll have to wait until she comes to Georgia to visit us, and even then I'll have to think on it for a spell!
I haven't had much luck yet in dating it, but it doesn't really matter to me.  It does need a good clean, but I'm a little hesitant to do much to it.

 I don't know if this is clear enough to read, but there seems to be even more writing under all the dirt and grime.  But until I can actually date this piece, I won't be cleaning it... because I don't want to damage it.

~ ~ ~ ~

Okay, I told you this house was pretty old.  Well, here's a photo on my kitchen ceiling with it's (painted) yellow pine ceiling... The way the wood has altered over the years, and the way the knots in the wood have come out, this looks like someone just painted over a very large spider.  The ceiling is low enough that I can actually touch it... which makes this probably the only "spider" that I will willingly touch!

 ~~~~

And what's a blog post, without the obligatory photos of food, and a couple of kitties? 

Cherry /Pineapple Dump cake that I found on The Pioneer Woman and that I made this morning.  Breakfast anyone? It's a keeper for sure, and so easy to make!  Add a little freshly whipped cream (or a good squirt of "squirty cream - which is my personal favorite) and you've got a fantastic quick and easy dessert! (or breakfast)

 My first attempt at fried Hominy... with bacon.  I loved it, and so did the Man of the house!  Paired with turkey and gravy (and bacon) and Hoppin John (with more bacon)
We love bacon in this house... what else can I say?   And I love saying "paired with".  It makes me feel decidedly cooker-ish!

Sausage Cheese Muffins, artfully presented, in my lovely "Temp-tations" mixing bowl. It's one of a set of 3, that I got off an online yard sale site for next to nuthin'!  I have 2 matching butter dishes and a gravy boat, so it's s good start on a future collection.  Did you notice I said "artfully"?  That's not a word you get to use very often!  Between "paired with" and "artfully", I think I'm on a fancy word roll!

~ ~ ~ ~

 And ... another measuring cup that was still in the sink when I took photos.   This is my favorite "small" one, not to mention my only green one.

Lucy Kitty... keeping Mom and Dad company, while we hunted for the first Morel mushrooms of the season.  We didn't find any mushrooms, but in my opinion,  finding mushrooms are just a bonus.  Especially when you get  to wander on your own property, to your hearts content.  I just love this place, and I thank God on a daily basis, that we are so very Blessed to actually live here!

Our Cookie... She followed us every step of the way, and every time Dad turned leaves over to look for mushrooms, Cookie had to check it all out before he did.

 There were several other cats who followed us on the walk,   (I mean... we have 8 inside/outside cats, so chances are  pretty good that we're never lonely when we're outside)  but the others all wandered off to do their own thing... while Lucy and Cookie stuck right with us.