She's Comin' Down

hey y'all!

on the way home from today's thrifting haunts, i drove by "my" old silver water tower as usual. it seems i've always lived nearby this water tower, ever since i was born. it was an icon of my childhood. a part of the scenery and background of my life.

when i was a little girl, i used to imagine it bursting and flooding the neighborhood ... but mainly i had happy thoughts and memories of it. the silver tower served as a beacon in many ways. i always knew HOME was close by.

well, i was gobsmacked to see HUMANS on top of it and quickly pulled over to take some pictures. then i drove closer to investigate. were they cleaning it??

i drove down the little side street leading to the fenced-in area at the bottom of the tower ... and discovered a full crew of worker men, cranes, etc. OH! they're renovating it, i thought to myself. how nice!

i noticed a clark kent-looking guy, notebook & pen in hand, interviewing what must've been a supervisor, because all he was doing was standing there in his hard hat, smoking a cig. it didn't take long for them to spot me and soon they were at my car.

i babbled on and on about how special this water tower was to me, growing up in the shadows of this silver giant, blah blah blah ... and then the reporter blurted out, "well you DO know they're tearing it down?!"

"uh, no. i did NOT know that. i thought y'all were cleaning it. or even better ... renovating it. you can't tear down my tower!"

"it's not being used," said hard hat. "they built a newer one over on lake road."

like. THAT. mattered. to. me.

clark kent started asking me reporter-type questions and scribbling fast and furious (i talk fast) about my history with the tower (oh, we go WAY back, all the way to 1961). my sweet little elementary school (fowler elem) is right across the street, where i spent 6 years of my childhood and many hours on the playground swings and slides, looking up at my huge silver friend and wondering what it'd be like to climb up that high. scary!!!

after chatting with hard hat and clark, i left the scene feeling a definite and significant sense of loss. tomorrow, i'm told, is when the "BIG" crane comes and "that's when things will really start coming down fast," hard hat had told me.

i don't think i can watch it. how do you watch an old friend just crumble (or clang) to the ground?? i circled the streets and took a few more shots of the silver giant, realizing this may be the last time i see her standing there.

keeping Perspective in check, i realize a water tower isn't a person or pet. i've lost both and nothing compares to that grief. but it's still a loss ... perhaps just a symbolic icon of my childhood and the fact that sometimes memories will have to do.

love and hugs,
terry lee

I Can't Talk Now. I'm Breathing!

Hey Y'all!!!!!!

It's been so long since I've blogged ... AND blogger has changed SO much since I've last written, that I don't know HOW or WHERE to begin!!

What I really wanted to write about is my CPAP machine, which is now history. Well, it's still in the house but will be gone just as soon as I can manage it.

I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea a couple of years ago, after a two-night sleep study. What a joke! The sleep study, that is. Sleep apnea is no laughing matter. It can lead to chronic health problems if untreated. Apparently, your body needs lots of good, restorative sleep. Who knew?!

Anyways, for two years I've been putting off the inevitable, mainly because I KNEW I wasn't cut out for a CPAP machine. I was right!

After some not-so-gentle nudging from my doctor, I decided to give it a whirl. After all, it couldn't hurt me, right? WRONG.

The medical supply girl came to my house last week and set me up. Instructions, supplies, a trial run with my "dosage" of air. It was all fun and games until I put the contraption on for the night. GAAAHHHHH.

Sure, I was medicated. To. THE. HILT. Like most sane folks, I do NOT care for anything covering my face/nose/mouth at any time of the day or night. But especially when I'm trying to SLEEP. So I figured the drugs would prevent any anxiety associated with all that garbage attached to my head.

No. Wrong again.

I lasted about 2 hours, if that. At 12:30am, I had drifted off and woke with a start. I yanked off the mask, tubing and whatever else was attached and bolted out of bed. That's when I realized that my nasal passages were sore and my right eye (I'd recently had surgery on this eye for a blocked tear duct) was uncomfortable.

The next morning, I emptied the water from the humidifier section, disconnected the hose/tubing/mask and packed it all away ... right back into its nifty black bag and zipped up the case, along with any desire I'd had to be a successful CPAP user.

Some users have concerns about their sleep partners. Some of those sleep partners have concerns of their own. Mine (my dear hubby) had only one: "will the machine make any noise that might keep me awake?" No, the thoughtful inventors designed it to be as quiet as a mouse. Or almost. And even BETTER: the user can't TALK while using the CPAP because the air flow will be disrupted ... something my hubby was happy to learn! Grrrrr. Not being able to talk or open my mouth at will?! Impossible!

But speaking of partners, this is where I'll add that the CPAP machine could be an effective birth control device. At my age and post-hysterical-ectomy, I'm no longer in need of those services, so it didn't immediately register with me that it serves dual purposes: it helps keep your airway open and all other by-ways CLOSED. See photos.

More than anything, I'm perturbed. Not at myself. I know that my body is sensitive and doesn't like anything new or foreign in or around it. I get that. No, I'm perturbed that in the year of our LORD, 2013, THIS is the best we can DO for sleep apnea?!

Scientists! Doctors! Researchers! All you Smart People out there!! WHY, oh WHY can't we figure out a better, less obtrusive way to treat sleep apnea?!

I pity the folks with severe sleep apnea who are definitely at higher risk for health problems ... the ones who MUST use these torture devices. I can chuck mine (gladly hand it back to the medical supply folks) and wash my hands of it. At least for now.

Anyhow, that's my rant for today. Feels good to be back in bloggie land. I knew I'd return some day, but I also knew that it was all in the timing. Welcome back, my maniacal muse! I've missed you.

Love & Hugs,

Terry Lee

 

 

i like

this artwork from heart&soul. not sure who the artist/designer is. but i sure love what it represents. love my gal pals!

Things: On My Mind and Around My House

hey y'all!

much, much too much on my mind today. and yet i feel the need to bloggity blog. so here i go.

i never really plan what i'm going to write ... it's usually just a stream of consciousness, if and until i get to some sort of point.

but there are a couple of things i want to write about before they fly out of my head and are gone. with. the. wind.

1. my dear friend sue at vintagesue recently held a blog give-away (drawing) ... and **I** won!!!! couldn't believe it! she had lots of entries and since i'm not known for my good luck (gloom, despair and agony on me), i never dreamed i'd be chosen. but i WAS! woohoo!!! what'd i win? don't know! but if it's coming from vintagesue, it'll be lovely vintage yumminess. i'll keep you posted!

2. my dear friend dana of dana's chicken scoop recently asked me to post some pictures of different vignettes around my house. honestly, i'm afraid she might be a tad delusional in thinking that A. i even have "vignettes" in my house ... and B. they're worthy of sharing with others. but since dana is such a sweetie pie with a heart of frickin' gold (oh, and she named one of her blonde chicks after me!) i am obliging her. thus the random photos throughout the post.

my mantel ... the white lights stay up year-round. one of my favorite things to look at
3. oh, and back to my dear friend sue. she also recently tagged me to post a list of "7 things you don't know about me". due to sheer laziness, post-holiday recovery and low hemoglobin, i've yet to make my list. until now! check it out below.

4. the girls and i went junkin' last weekend and hit an estate sale in temple, the goodwill bargain barn and the "garage sale" at the bell county expo. it was a cold, rainy, dreary day. but those two and all the junking brought lots and lots of sunshine and happiness my way. thanks for a great day!

terrific treasure pick, this vintage dresser was $28 and in dire need of a make-over. i spruced her up with a greenish color and topped her off with a killer vintage painting of luscious roses, salvaged from the goodwill barn for $2. gotta love junkin'!

laughter is great medicine. i take it as often as possible in large doses. love this sign as part of my bird vignette
5. i have totally forgotten to announce the winner of my v. own blog give-away contest from before the holidays! i asked for ideas for the acronym of LIFE. my sister (no nepotism was involved in this decision!!) belinda was the winner. her entry was: Literacy Is For Everyone. she's a librarian. huh. congrats, belinda! you won a delicious smelling candle which i've already given you! :)

6. all right. i guess that was more than a "couple" of things, but i hate to waste good blog space on just two things.

love and hugs,
terrylee

7 things about me (which i'm sure will thrill and excite you!)

1. i was born and have lived in the same central texas town for all of my almost 50 years.

2. i was named after my mother's "terri lee" doll, which was a popular brand of dolls in the 40s and 50s. oddly enough, the correct spelling of the doll didn't translate to my birth certificate.

3. i sang in the school choirs and took piano lessons from age 7 through high school. i really couldn't sing a lick, but because of my piano training, i was a fine musician and sight-reader.

4. i started college with the intent of becoming a teacher. after my first two babies were born, i decided to pursue nursing. i've been an RN for over 25 years.

5. i make the best darn cornbread dressing in the 48 contiguous states. actually, in all 50 states, but i just wanted to use the word contiguous.

6. whew. didn't imagine it'd be this difficult to think of 7 things about me. oh! i'm addicted to blistex ointment. but that's cheating because i've blogged about that before.

7. okay, i'll admit it. i suffer from the dreaded scarlett o'hara syndrome, and the middle child syndrome, which i believe are related. if i have to explain either of those, it'd only make my symptoms worse. so google it for yourself if you're really that curious. ;)

(and thus ends The List. thanks a LOT, sue. haha!)

sentimental old mirror, which hung over my childhood piano. i sat staring into it for hours as i hacked out scales and sonatas that'd make beethoven cringe ... if he could hear me (heh heh)

pretty as a picture. lamp is captured by a vintage frame ... one of my favorite corners.

ask not for whom the bell tolls ...

we all need to daydream more ...

vintage loveliness. i so wish i had the figure for this and the one below ... i'd wear vintage fru-fru poufiness all the time

vintage pink fru-fru to die for.

another favorite corner. can you have too many vintage rose paintings?!

fun and adorable. i'm the proud mama of this baby, which i picked for $5 at a yard sale. painted her pink and filled her head with baubles and beauties

my precious parents adorn the mirror above my piano now, along with vintage sheet music and assorted treasured pieces

sweet vintage gloves and vanity hand mirrors

i've always had a love/hate relationship with these shelves, which are next to my mantle and the back door. no matter what i put on them, it never felt right. a few years ago, i painted them pink. it helped ... but still i wasn't happy. this is the first time in my almost 20 year affair with these shelves that i am finally happy. i love the collections (old tins, old boxes, etc.)

Bye Bye, 2010 ... Resolution Time Again?!

happy new year, y'all!

hope everyone had a wonderful, perfect, drama-free (as if) christmas and that santa was v. good to you all. mine turned out to be quite lovely, spending time with loved ones ... family and friends.

having said that, i still feel like that poor lil gingerbread guy up there. he belongs to my daughter tara and i snapped a quick shot of him while visiting her v. sweet apartment recently.

wish i'd gotten him at a different angle, but you can see that he looks a tad, well, overwhelmed. maybe he ate too much? shopped too much? he's got icing dripping off his head and arms. poor thing.

anyhow, i can relate. i think i still have pecan pie goo (thanks jannetta!!) on my chin and pumpkin pie with whipped cream between my fingers. over-eat much?! naaahhhh!!! of course not!

i suppose this is where i talk about new year's resolutions ... eating healthier, establishing an exercise routine, keeping a tidier house (which would mean junking less). blahblahdiddyblahblah.

"new year's day ... now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." ~~ mark twain
ack!! i simply can't handle any of that yet. i'm such a procrastinator, i usually don't make resolutions until valentine's day. if at all. i used to. when i was younger and healthier and had the energy. which, if you think about it, meant i didn't really need all those resolutions then anyhow. is that an oxymoron, honey (this means you, my dear english major husband o' mine)?

but i digress, as usual. i'll leave you with some memories of christmas-time 2010 ... and my best wishes to all of you for a happy, healthy, peaceful and joyous new year.

love and hugs,
terrylee

"he who breaks a resolution is a weakling; he who makes one is a fool." ~~ f.m. knowles

sisters, sisters! there were never such devoted sisters ... at the theater, after watching "meet the little fockers". i gave it two-thumbs-up!

my two favorite girls ... sissy belinda and daughter tara, visiting at tara's terrific apartment

my deliriously happy newlywed sister and her just-as-delirious new hubby ... belinda and teddy
around my house on a cozy christmas morning with my two youngest:

my silly matt imitating his new fireman nutcracker ... think jaw dropping up and down. heh heh

"new year's resolution: to tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time."~~ james agate