Done, for another year! I have never cared much for doctors or tests or medicine, but I realize the importance of "preventive maintenance". So, bit the bullet and had all done...pap smear, physical, lab work and then, today, the mammogram.

I think, many times, as women we put ourselves last. We're so busy caring for others we don't take care of our own bodies!

But who is going to take care of our families if we get sick? It's time to put mama first. Make the appointments and keep them. As much as I hate doing all this, it's a heck of a lot better then dying needlessly of a treatable or preventable disease!

Before the holiday rush begins, take care of yourself!

Wishing you a spooky Halloween....

Isn't this jack-o-lantern great? Gillian carved it all by herself! I am so impressed! LOL

Busy....cough...cough....so very busy!

Sick babies! Sick babies! At one time this week I had all four kids home. We went through more tissues, chicken soup and ginger ale then I would have thought humanly possible! The older two were both back at school today and I expect the two younger ones to be back by Monday.

The Ontario County Health Dept. issued the following statement: Here are several key points to remember:— If you are sick, stay home!— Most cases of H1N1 influenza continue to be mild and do not even require a call or a visit to a physician’s offices— Rest and drinking fluids are key treatments for any flu-like illness— If your symptoms are severe or getting worse, call your physician’s office for advice— Go to the emergency room only if your physician advises or you believe your symptoms may require hospitalization.— We strongly recommend limiting the number of people who come with you to the emergency room for any condition - they will most likely be exposed to flu!— People with the flu should stay home from work or school for at least 24 hours after their fever ends, after the discontinuation of fever-reducing medicine such as Tylenol.

I have been working steadfastly towards finishing all the inside type things I can do without Joe's help. And what I can't do, I write down and then every weekend he's home I give Joe 2 or 3 things on the list to complete. For example, last time he was home, Joe repaired the wallpaper on the main stairway. It looks almost brand new again! Now I need to find a painting to hang on the wall above the mid-way landing! FUN!

I prowl Craig's List for items I need at bargain prices. See this 9 ft tall book shelf? $45!!! Mwaaaaaaaa! I was able to remove 3 smaller book shelves from the library/game room and replace it with this one. LOVE IT!

The other end of the room is.....workable. There's room for the kids to play their video games or read or take a nap or practice their music. Not EXACTLY the furniture I would choose in a perfect world, but it will do for now.

Oh, and did I mention Jasper? Our Oliver passed away after being a part of our family for 13 years. When Joey moved out he took his cat, Oreo. We were down to only one cat!!!! Little Peggy is sweet, but shy and we wanted a cat who was a little more outgoing and friendly. So, I answered an ad in the paper and we found Jasper waiting for us. He was a little shy the first few days, but he seems to be making up for lost time. The kids bought him a collar with a bell. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking Tinkerbell was flying around our room! LOL Evidently , Jasper decided to explore under our bed and then jump from the bed to floor to the chair to the floor and back to the bed again. Crazy kitten! LOL

So, before the weekend rush, Joe and I are having dinner with friends and relaxing a little bit. I nice supper, some wine, maybe a nice dip in the hot tub...I should be ready to face the rest of this crazy weekend!

Happy Birthday Mr. President!

This was a man who was an explorer, a diplomat (he won the Nobel Peace Prize too, but he actually earned it), an Army officer and war hero, the author of 26 books, a hunter (many of the specimans at the Smithsonian are his donations!), rancher, a naturalist (you know he started the U.S. park system, didn't you?), an athlete, and a loving and committed family man.

He wasn't perfect, but he did his best. He lived a deliberate kind of life. He was an amazing man

He stood up for what he thought was right and called a villian a villian...no politically correct mumbling from this guy!!

We need a new TRs. Not just in the white house, but in the courthouse and the schools, and the police stations and in business and industry. In the military and in the clergy and everything in between. Can you imagine what we as a nation could become if people tried to live up to TR's example? My word!! There would be no stopping us!!

So happy birthday Mr. President. And thanks for showing us how it should be done....I just hope we're all paying attention.

Some of my favorite TR books....

My Jimmy is confirmed!

This morning we drove to Buffalo, to our
old Parish of Christ the King, to see our Jimmy get confirmed. He did all the study last year and even though we moved, the religious education department was gracious enough to allow Jim to return and be confirmed with his classmates.

It was a lovely service and I think Jim and Ben (who stood up for Jim as his sponsor) both looked very handsome! ( I don't know what happened in that picture! LOL But he really did look good in person!)

Afterwards it was off to Duff's for some of the best chicken wings in Buffalo! Jimmy said the only way the day could have been better was if his dad could have been there...and I think he was right.

The Diva's scandal and her contest.

The amazing product!

My friend Lisa over at : http://www.traveldivastories.com/ Was STINKY! Well, not her personally, but her yoga clothes and towels (Lisa does hot yoga, and if you know that is, you know you sweat like you are doing an impression of Niagara Falls!) She recently tried a product called Smelly Washer and was so impressed by it that she is having a little give away contest!

Go on over and follow the instructions (Please don't disobey the Diva!!!) and maybe you'll win a bottle of this wonderful elixir to try for yourself!

The ever gorgeous and (now) non-stinky washer owning Diva!

It must be a sunny day in October because.....

there are lady bugs all over the front of the house! Every fall this happens. As I understand it the bugs are looking for a warm place to hibernate, so on the first warm day after a cold spell here they all come...house hunting!

Usually I break out the vacuum and clean them off the windows and doors. But I always miss a few and those few find cracks and crannies and,eventually, dry out and die...leaving a not so delightful odor!

Even though they are kind of a pain, they are also beautiful and, well, darn it, they make me smile.

I found a little history of the Ladybug nursery rhyme at this site: http://www.connectexpress.com/~ips/lady/rhyme.html

The Ladybug Nursery Rhyme

One of the best known of all nursery rhymes is the one that begins "Ladybug ladybug . . . " or, alternatively, "Ladybird ladybird . . . " One common version of this rhyme is:
Ladybug ladybug fly away home,Your house in on fire and your children are gone,All except one and that's little Ann,For she crept under the frying pan.
Another is:
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home,Your house is on fire, your children all gone,Except little Nan, who sits in a pan,Weaving gold laces as fast as she can.
In Medieval England farmers would set torches to the old hop (used in flavoring beer) vines after the harvest in order to clear the fields for the next planting. This poem was sung as a warning to the ladybugs that were still crawling on the vines in search of aphids. The ladybugs' children (larvae) could get away from the flames, but the pupae, referred to as "Nan" in some versions, were fastened to the plants and thus could not escape.
Pupae are the larvae when they have formed a cocoon and are changing into adults. "Nan" was originally an affectionate form of the name "Ann" (but it is now generally used as a short form of "Nancy").

So, lets hear it for the ladybugs! The more the merrier! There's no stopping them, so you might as well smile about 'em!

Back to the Corn Maze

When the kids and I went to the Corn Maze last weekend, poor Joe was slaving away up in Northern Canada. So we went back to the maze yesterday and took the Daddy with us. If you'll pardon the pun, the whole thing was corny and silly, but so much fun! The simple things in life really are what makes everything worthwhile!

Joe and I spent Saturday evening in the company of our friends the Catlins. The older I get, the more I cherish these opportunities to get out and just be "Joe and Terri" for an evening.

Don't get me wrong...I love being "mom" to the kids but to just let my hair down and be myself...ahhhh....it just feels so good!!

Thank God for good friends! With all our moving around we have many acquaintances but few true friends. I hope those of you who are blessed with being surrounded by friends and family whom you love and who love you back realize what a really great and wonderful thing that is!

My Montauk daisies. I transplanted them from the house in Buffalo. (I had to bring them with! Who knows when I will get back to Montauk to buy more?)

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. I know I haven't really been keeping up with my blog. I've just been preoccupiedwith life lately. But, I promise to do better from now on.

As usual, there is always something going on around here. Today, for instance I was outside planting garlic. I was SUPPOSED to do it on Columbus Day, but didn't get around to it until this afternoon. If you're interested in growing some yourself check out this link: http://www.garlicfarm.ca/growing-garlic.htm


Come next spring I will have ropes of home grown garlic to cook with. YUM!

Lately, I have been on the hunt for things for my house. I found this GREAT bathtub (I have the claw feet that go with it) and this sweet writing desk. Slowly, but surely my dreams for the house are becoming reality! I have also found where I can get a few other pieces that I have been wanting. Still on the list, though are a dresser and a chair. I am looking for artwork as well.

My friend Lisa told me about DIF. This stuff is amazing! It takes the adhesieve off wallpaper making it easy to remove. I got the whole back stairs cleaned off and ready to paint with very little effort!! I wish I had known about this product before I cleaned off the paper in my bedroom! The steamer was a pain and kind of messy too. DIF just sprays on. Wait 15 minutes and go back and scrape it off.

I also made this cold frame. It turned out pretty well, I think. I threw in some spinach, lettuce and radish seeds and they are coming up nicely, thank you. Maybe, I 'll make some more next year and keep a whole late season garden growing. I saw some neat, brick lined cold frames when I was in Williamsburg. Something like that might be just the thing!

Now, I have Jimmy's last football game of the season as well as his confirmation next week. Then there are Parent/Teacher conferences coming up (The first quarter is almost over already) Then Halloween, of course, and if I last through all that, I can relax a little until Thanksgiving.

Children of the corn....Maze that is! Corn Maze!

I am really trying to find fun ways to exercise. And with my oldest son's leaving home, I am reminded how quickly my babies are growing up and how I need to take advantage of the time I still have them around. (After all, they are the ones that are going to be choosing my nursing home!!) SOOOO....being the creative girl I am, yesterday I combined both objectives and we spent the morning and the local pickin' patch and corn maze! What a hoot!

We laughed and ran around there for over an hour. It was so great to hear the kids shouting out to each other instead of shouting AT each other for a change! LOL

Matthew completed both sides of the maze first and came back in to find the rest of us slow pokes!

Before we left we took turns shooting the corn cob cannon, drank some apple cider and petted some pigs in the petting zoo.

Next weekend, weather permitting, we are going back. Daddy will be home and we want to enjoy this all over again with him.

When we got home we made subs and watched football. Just another glorious fall day! Sigh. LOVE IT!

I wore my new hat OUT IN PUBLIC for no particular reason

I love hats. I usually have a few around, but a rarely, if ever, wear them. They make me self-conscience. But, recently I have decided that if I am going to ever really enjoy every last drop of my life, I am going to have to put on my big girl panties and do stuff just for me and quit worrying about what other people might think or say.

Now, I'm not talking about doing hurtful, bad things. I am talking about living my life in a manner that enables me to be the me I have always wanted to be. I want to be that person that has been inside for so long, that she is almost afraid to come out.

I think most of you know who Tasha Tudor was. (Yes, Lisa, the goat lady) I think she exemplifies what I am talking about. She was a woman who lived life on her own terms. She dressed as she pleased and lived as she pleased and lived a long a happy life doing it!

So, here's to taking a step out into the unknown. Here's to learning that it's o.k. to be yourself and not apologize for marching to your own drummer. The only one I have to answer to is God (O.K. and maybe Joe) but as long as there are no moral issues there, I think I might just have to go on and bring that inner me out into the daylight. She just might find that she likes it out here!