Category: Grandma Ruddell

Feeling Better About Life

  • Spring

It’s SPRING!!! Halleluiah. I always feel happier when nature starts greening things up, and flowers start popping out. I’ve been doing some planting. After the coffin flower bed had the bottom collapse, last year, it has been redone. I’ve planted herbs and a few other things in it. I’m liking the looks of it. I’ve also planted flowers in several pots. Dick cleaned out a big, overgrown, dying vine from the patio. We’re trying out ideas for that corner. I always get excited in the Spring, and plant things. Then it gets incredibly hot, in the summer, and I fizzle out. I think we may have lost a couple of things during the Snowmageddon. We’ve already dug up my rosemary bush. Not sure if the Banana Plant survived. We’re playing a waiting game.

My new herb garden, in my coffin planter.

Yes, I still need to weed some, but I like this pot of flowers. Can’t wait until they fill out.

Great news is that we’ve had both of our covid vaccines. That’s a relief and makes me feel safer. We actually went over to our friends’ house, the other night, for dessert and visiting. I hadn’t seen them in so long! That was after we joined them at a restaurant, sitting on the patio. Yes, we’re still using our masks, doing social distancing, and being very selective about where we’re going. Ummm…yes…we did go to Winstar. I won a lot of money but gave it back to the local schools and economy.

We have our vaccines! But we’re still being safe and responsible.

It’s about time to get our Poker groups back up and going. We are all seniors, and have all had our two vaccines. In April, we’ll start back. Maybe Bunco will be next.

Our son, Chris, recently had surgery for Colon Cancer. He’s only 41. Luckily, they got it all, and it hadn’t spread to the Lymph Nodes. He’s still dealing with a stent in his kidneys and some kidney stones, but he seems to be getting better. We thank all of our family and friends for their prayers.

I had the privilege of taking care of my two grandkids, during the surgery time. I stayed with them for two weeks, had a weekend off, and then picked them up and brought them to our house for Spring Break. They had a chance to play with their other cousin, while at our house. We had Nana School, went to a park, and they are masters of Minecraft. It’s actually hard to get them off of electronics. Electronics were my leverage for getting them to brush teeth and go to bed. I felt fortunate to beat my 8 yr. old grandson at Chess. And he’s a beginner.

Big news! We are about to come to the finish line with our bedroom. Yeah! We still need to buy a new bed. We’ve gone from a gold wall to a grey wall. So much calmer and serene. But….you’ll have to wait. Hope to have the big reveal in my next post.

Leave me a comment and let me know how you are enjoying your Spring time. Are you planting things? Have you had both of your vaccines? Are you going out more?

Happy Easter,

Grandma Sherry

A New Class, For The New Me!

Every year, I get the urge to make resolutions. Every year, I accomplish one or two of them. This year, I gave myself a gift for Christmas. It was a class, called “Take Your House Back”, put together by three great vloggers. I love these gals. They are Dana White, of A Slob Comes Clean; Dawn Madsen, of Minimal Mom; and Cassandra Aarssen, of Clutterbug, and she’s also on HGTV’s, “Hot Mess House”. This class is all about decluttering, organizing and minimalizing your house. It’s very helpful and the ladies are funny. I follow the Minimal Mom and Clutterbug, every morning, on You Tube.

Oh, this hit a big spot with me!! For years, I had a terribly kept house. The children were young, and had things everywhere. I was teaching school and my hubby had a job that involved lots of traveling. We were very busy, and my house showed it. I really didn’t know how to organize things. I had also inherited my mother’s teacher mentality….”Oh! I need to keep this…I could use it in the classroom someday!” Yep, that’s me. If you look in my hallway, you’ll find a little bottle of my husband’s giant gallstones. Well…I COULD have used that if I had been teaching science or health or something. It does make a good conversation starter.

Each year, I organize something, here and there. But you don’t want to look in my closets. They are a mess. In this class, you spend a week organizing something and then move to a different area the next week. You use three containers…donate, trash and Quarantine bin. The idea is to consider your shelf, closet, drawer, etc., as your “container”. You may only keep what fits in your container. Your room could be your container. If it doesn’t fit, something has to go. I’m trying to send a lot of things to Goodwill, or other places. I’ve sorted through my kitchen inventory and had a lot of doubles of things. Things that I didn’t need or ever use. Out, they went! My kitchen looks so much better. Some days, I just go and look at it. It gives me peace to have my counters cleaned off.

BEFORE…the Party Closet
AFTER…The Party Closet
Cleaning out the Container cabinet,,,what a ness!
AFTER….Store containers with lids on.
From my African instrument and decor collection
Some of my African instruments

I have a seriously hard time parting with sentimental items. I have a whole closet that is full of my teaching things. I’m a retired teacher. One of the units I did with my students, included African Music. I had collected lots of instruments, masks, fabric and decor. My students loved this unit. I knew I needed to part with these things, but it was very tough. I posted it on Facebook Marketplace. A sweet African American lady bought the whole collection. She has her home decorated with similar things. She was so delighted. It’s nice to think that others can use these things and enjoy them, and they are out of my house.

I’m supposed to be doing my clothes closets. I keep stalling. It looks so overwhelming. It is recommended to set your timer for 10 minutes and do that much. And it usually revs you up and you keep going. But you can stop and know that you did something good. REMEMBER: 5 MINUTES COUNT!

The horrible clothes closet.

We are about to start painting our bedroom. It’s our COVID Project. Right now, all of the furniture is pulled out to the middle of the room. My hubby has put painter’s tape around the edges of most of the room. It has been sitting this way for two weeks or more. We WILL get this blasted room painted this next week! I’m going crazy. It’s a good reminder to me, that a clean, clutter free room makes me calmer. This room is going to be more modern and minimal. I’ll update you soon, whenever we finish.

Off to Goodwill!

Our good news???? We had our first Covid vaccine, a couple of weeks ago. We’ll get our second one on February 13th. Yeah! We’re going to get our shot, and then head to Hill Country, and stay in a condo, for a week, at Canyon Lake. We’re getting away and vegging out. We will celebrate 45 years of marriage, on Valentine’s Day.

Have a great week. Stay safe. If you are in the big snow storm, I hope you are stocked up with food and have electricity. Go build a snowman. Is anyone else doing a major declutter and organizing job?

Leave me a comment. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!

Toodles,

Grandma Sherry

PROVERBS 31…COVID 19 VERSION

I wrote this back in June, but never put it on my blog. At the end of the Year of Covid, 2020, I think it’s still quite appropriate. Maybe we’ll be coming to the end of this, in the coming year. We are starting to hear that vaccinations are arriving in Texas. We are in group 1B, for 65 and over.

Enjoy. I’ve always loved Proverbs 31. It’s long, but well worth the read.

10: Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is worth more than precious rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She will not hinder him but provide “helpful suggestions” all her life.

She is like a merchant ship; she brings her food from afar. She orders online and picks it up from curbside pickup or has it delivered. She tries to get up before the children and has her first cup of coffee. Her husband prepares breakfast for her household, because he is on furlough. She plans the day’s work for her children, for they are doing online schooling.

She plants a Victory garden and tends her elevated coffin garden. She prunes her rose bushes and nags her husband about the ground cover.

She is tired and worried, but a hard worker. She watches for bargains. Her lights burn late into the night, looking for deals on Amazon. Her hands are busy making freezer meals; her fingers are texting her friends. Her days and nights are sad, from being confined to the house and missing her friends. She misses going to the Casino to make extra money.

She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She wears her mask and leaves food on the doorstep.

She has a fear of the coming winter for her household because of the the virus. She clothes them in hand me downs and online bargains. She wears her stretchy pants of finest cloth. She has cooked more than ever and her girth has expanded.

Her husband is well known, for he sits in Rotary meetings with the other civic leaders. He Zooms with several groups. He beautifies her by putting Root Coverup on her hair.

She teaches piano lessons on Zoom to make extra money. She misses her other piano students.

She is clothed with waning strength and dignity. She laughs, uncontrollably, with thoughts of the future. When she speaks, her words are harried and kindness isn’t always the rule when she gives instructions. She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and wishes everyone would let her take a nap. She wonders when they can go out into the world again.

Her children sit with their Ipads and ask for snacks. Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”

Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Give her the Stimulus Check. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Happy New Year,

Grandma Sherry

Houston…We Have A Problem!

Something weird and mysterious has happened to my garden above-ground planter!

What in the world happened?

A couple of years ago, my dear hubby built me a wonderful, sturdy above ground planter. We called it our “coffin”, because it looked like one, when he made it. I was so proud of it, and proud of him for making it. I’ve enjoyed planting flowers and plants in it. This past summer, I planted one cucumber, and it kind of took over. A month ago, I cleaned that out and planted some pansies. So pretty!!

Dick Ruddell, my hubby, making the “coffin”.

At the middle of the first year.

The cucumber grew and grew!

Yesterday, I went out to make my daily circle around the back yard, and found a major surprise! The bottom had caved out of my planter. WHAT???? So we are trying to analyze what happened. Yes, we’ve had a little rain, but not that much. Had some of the bottom soil turned to clay? Were the holes not big enough for drainage? Had some animal gotten in there and messed around? Who knows? This will be my hubby’s new project, for the New Year.

It collapsed!

What a mess!!!

Have any of you ever had the bottom fall out of your planter? How did you solve this problem? What kind of plants do you have, right now? My pansies are pretty…some others WERE pretty.

Such is my world today. Guess it’s pretty minor, compared to many others and their problems. Sigh.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Grandma Sherry

My First Attempt At Making Cocoa Bombs!

We are almost to the end of 2020, this crazy year. Is everyone ready for Christmas? It’s in less than a week. I’m almost ready, just had a few more presents arrive, so I need to wrap those. Now I’m ready to make goodies.

You may have noticed two hot things that are featured this year. One is Christmas Gnomes. They are so cute! I bought a couple for myself, and a couple to put in with gifts.

The other “hot item” this year, is Cocoa Bombs. So I decided to try making some. How hard could it be? Yeah, sure. One of my friends makes them and they look beautiful. I see them all over the internet. I can do this!

I ordered my silicone molds from Amazon. Took them awhile to get here, but they finally arrived. I coated them with melted chocolate chips, and put them in the freezer for 15 minutes. Afterwards, I peeled them off of the silicone, and they were shiny and smooth…fabulous!

The directions said to fill one half with mini marshmallows and hot chocolate mix. So far, so good. Then to use some of the melted chocolate, and attach the other half with a little of the melted chocolate around the center. Well…that’s where the trouble started. I’d get one part done, and see a little area that needed some more chocolate on it, and would put some on that. Some of the powder leaked out in places, so I smeared some chocolate on those places. It came out looking like a roughed up, chocolate snowball. Not attractive.

After that, you put it back in the freezer for 5 more minutes. Before I did that, I decided to melt a bit of white chocolate and drizzle it over the top of them, and add some crushed peppermint. Then off to the freezer.

I had my hubby be the taste tester. After we poured hot milk over the cocoa bomb, we watched little marshmallows suddenly pop up to the top. That was fun. The end result??? He really liked it! Yes.

Note: My friend, Kim Heuermann, who makes these a lot, shared her secret. Put a plate in the microwave for a little bit. Put the empty halves upside down, to melt just the edges, and then press on to the other half. You can smooth that with your finger, if needed. GREAT IDEA!

Let me know if you’ve made any of these Cocoa Bombs. I’m going to refine these and add as Christmas gifts for a few people.

Have a happy holiday. Pray for a better 2021!

Love,

Grandma Sherry