weary
No posts as I am feeling rather bleak. Our beloved old dog Holly is wetting the bed (our bed) and the couch, so we banished her back to her bed and now she won't speak to me. The couch cushions won't fit into any laundromat washer I can find (How does one clean couch cushions?). The laundry is piling up -- all that bedding. My son is, well, see the post below -- I don't want to talk about it. The storm windows aren't up yet. The medical bills are still hanging over me. The skies over my house are gray and cold. Nobody leaves comments on my blog anymore. I basically don't like fall.
I am trying to talk myself into a happier mood. And I do have so much to be grateful for. My husband -- who has been working away from home -- is back and I like him a lot, so that should cheer me up. We get to spend this evening with my Dad; that should cheer me up. I'm just having trouble transforming those 'shoulds' into reality.
I may be just worn out from solo-parenting all week and pretty much the week before that. Did I tell you he worked a 26 hour shift last week -- that's one continuous shift? I'm sure that is not even legal.
:: a year ago today: bread-baking and pokeypine
21 comments:
A comment just to show you that we all still love you. Sorry the wear and tear and weather is getting you down. Try a nice hot cup of cider, a cinnamon stick and a great bit of music on the stereo - helps me every fall. It doesn't make parenting any easier I've discovered but it does make me smile.
Ronda
I hope you have a better weekend! If I lived closer to you, I'd bake you an apple cake. I tried your recipe and it is just to die for, and certainly worth a smile, and baked things always task better when someone else bakes them for you (since you don't have to clean up, of course!) Though, admittedly it would take a LOT to cheer me from dog peeing on my bed and couch. Poor you. I have no idea how you'd clean that. Probably will have to get one on those machines that you clean carpet with, with an upholstery attachment.
Oh that is a good idea Rachael. I hadn't thought of that.
I did bake an apple pie and walnut whole wheat bread and meatloaf today, to take over to my Dad's. For our own pantry I made Kim's Marinana Sauce and Andrea's Chimichurri. I have a crockpot of pot roast leftovers in the fridge and vats of borscht (5 gallons in the freezer and 2 gallons in the fridge).
Can you tell I use cooking as therapy? But I'm running out of storage room.
If the couch cushions are soaked through, you can get them dry-cleaned (not that I would know this through experience or anything). Have you thought about channeling some forced gratitude into a craft? I read somewhere--can't remember where, of course--about making a Thanksgiving tree, where you take a branch and then cut out leaves out of construction paper and on each leaf write out something you're thankful for and hang them on the branch to create a tree. Or you could do something similar on paper. If you, Dandy, and Chickadee did it together you could each practice saying a brief explanation for each of the things you're thankful for. I think sometimes just verbalizing and affirming the positive in the presence of others is helpful to me. (((((((hugs)))))))
Don't I feel bad about never leaving a comment. Sorry to hear you are under the weather emotionally. I think a lot of people are. It's hard to feel optimistic when our economy (and the world's for that matter) is in such a terrible state.
I'm really concerned about the election. I'm sad that it looks like Obama is going to win. I'm sure he is a very intelligent man who wants to do good things for our country, but I don't believe his liberal policies are what our country needs. I get even more depressed when some of my favorite bloggers are so very negative about McCain and Palin. I have to remind myself that we all want the same basic things for our families; we just have different ideas on how to get there.
My suggestion is to spend more time with friends and family. It's easy to shy away from social activities when you feel a little depressed, but that is the last thing you should do. Of course, I'm telling this to myself too.
Sorry to hear about the Dandy troubles. That must be really disheartening.
Keep your chin up. I believe things will get better. We are blessed to live in the greatest country on earth.
Hi Suzanne,
Sounds like what we used to call a 'blue funk.' Overwork, physical exhaustion, stress--it can be brutal. Wish you could come over for a cup of coffee and a chat.
Our old Evie girl had (and occasionally has) piddle problems (happens when they get old sometimes). I discovered it when she got one of our couch cushions damp, so I zipped off the cover and threw it into the washer along with all the other cushion covers (in case they faded slightly).
For the cushion, I pressed as much of the wet as I could with towels, then used a solution of ODO-ban and water on a sponge to rewet the area with cleaning solution, pressing the wet area with dry towels. Then I treated the cushion with Fabreeze and put it in the sunshine for a couple of hours.
It worked for us--no smell. The cushion covers came out fine. (I didn't put them in the dryer. I dried them over the line in the basement and then fluffed them on air dry for a few minutes before reassembling the cushions.)
Eve is now banished to a doggy cushion on the floor. She still dribbles in her sleep occasionally, so I cut a large piece of foam the same size as her pillow, tucked it into a plastic leaf bag, and placed it under her pillow so that if she does leak, it won't go through to the rug. She gave me baleful looks for about two weeks, but now she loves her pillow and accepts the banishment without any residual attitude problems.
We'll be raking leaves and hanging storm windows today (if the weather permits, that is!) I'll pray for you as God brings you to mind.
Love and prayers,
Kim
Mmmm. Food as therapy. I want to have dinner at YOUR house. Sounds delicious, and I hope it's helping!
Today is sunny, and my darling husband took two things off my list -- deal with the couch cushions, and deal with the collapsed bookcase. We had a great time with my Dad last night (he is so gentle and patient with the children, I want to be like him when I grow up). Tonight we are renting Star Wars and loafing about with the kids. So, things are looking up.
Thank you all so much for you advice and encouragement. I realize I may appear more self-contained than I actually am. One of the downsides of being hyper-articulate is that folks confuse adept word-crafting with inner stamina.
All that is a fancy way to say I really appreciate that you take the time to comment. It means a lot to me, more than you may ever realize.
I love you auntie. Today is a hard day for me too.
so glad things are looking up a bit! *hugs*
Hoping you will start to feel a bit perkier soon. It's a rough time for any of us to feel really optimistic, I suppose. *sigh* I just found your blog from someone else's (Aimee i Washington state). But....hope having another comment makes you feel a tiny bit better.
Pat in DE
It sounds like you've had a rough go of it over the last few weeks. If it's any consolation, I'm sure it will get better soon. Once you think you've hit your rock bottom, the only place to go is up.
www.theartofgettingby.com
Honey, it ain't nuthin but a thang. As my sweet Granny used to say.
Couch cushions can be dry cleaned. Children will be what they are. Life will go on. Take a deep breath and a bubble bath. Do something just for you.
This too shall pass just like a bad case of diarreah, it's just shitty until it does. (another one of my Granny's sayings).
Hugs
WOW - look at all these sweet and thoughtful comments. Maybe I should gripe more often?
(don't worry, I won't turn this into a whine-and-dry blog)
opps - I meant "whine-and-cry" I guess I have couch cushions on my mind.
You are loved! ;>
(And I sooo get the mistaken impressions that being articulate can create.)
I thought you might Kate. At some point in our lives, we are going to have to meet face-to-face.
I've got a spare room... Would a trip to St. P perk you up? ;> I have the feeling that we WILL meet one of these days.
Hey Suzanne, Hope you get to feeling better. I think we all get fed up sometimes. Take care
Serena
Call your vet -- he/she can give you hormone pills for Holly that will stop the leaking (like magic!) -- as long as you remember to give them to her....the remembering was always my problem. She isn't really "wetting"--as in doing it on purpose--older female dogs begin to "leak" involuntarily when their hormone levels plummet. I didn't know this , until it happened to our old dog Biscuit,and I was ready to pull my hair out...
Yes, you are so right, propwashz. We started the hormone treatment and she has had two dry nights. Yipee! We knew it wasn't on purpose as she was mortified when she figured out what had happened. Poor dear. We are all much happier now.
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