Another Beautiful Day

Good morning! Welcome to another visit to my blog. I am still stubbornly resisting paying for this blog, so it may have been difficult for you to find me, but I'm glad you're here.

My life is still a whirlwind, so I haven't been writing much more than this blog and my Facebook author page blog: Jean D. Johnson @ MyPoeticGarden. Unfortunately, the heading on it will come up this morning, but the posts appear to be gone! Vanished! Hopefully, they'll reappear later today.

Today will be a little bit cooler, so I'll be wearing jeans while, once again, wearing one of the blouses that my daughter and her girlfriend Neil helped to select for me recently. You see, my daughter has a master plan to beautify me (not that I'm not already beautiful, she says - she just wants to help to enhance that beauty - LOL). She, Neil, and I spent an afternoon at the Dress Barn where I felt truly waited on, because Shannon and Neil pulled clothes for me to try and returned clothes to their respective places in the store. I should write an article about this experience, shouldn't I? Do all young adult girls try to work their magic on their mothers?

At the end of a long afternoon (my daughter complained the next day that her arms hurt - probably from carrying so many clothes on hangers), I came away with two blouses - well, really one blouse in two different colors. Sleeveless. I asked, "What about this little bit of flab around my arms?" "Oh that," Neil answered, "All women have that." So I kept the blouses. One is a nice green that brings out the color of my eyes - probably my favorite of the two blouses. The other one is the same pattern in a light brown. I'll try to post a photo.

Aside from being treated like royalty in the dressing room (something I'd like to try again soon), I'm still busy running errands and taking my daughter to class and back most days. I'm able to substitute teach only on one day a week this semester, so I'll be subbing elementary school general music this week. Last week, I had a delightful half-day of subbing ESL (English as a Second Language).

My husband plans to have a yard sale this weekend, too. I'll probably set out a copy of each book I've written, along with my business cards, so people can look over my books. to decide if they're interested in them. My husband, of course, cares not about my books - cares more about selling his old executive desk that has taken up so much room in our home. He is trying to lighten up the load.

I've considered selling my doll collection or my doll houses, but I just can't bring myself to do it yet. Maybe for the next yard sale...

I haven't been writing much - except for blogs and other posts to Facebook, but I intend to return to my autobiography. Why would an ordinary person have an autobiography? Well, I've been places and learned a lot during my 61 years on this earth, so I figure it might help somebody else. I've experienced abuse as a child, understanding of it later in life, a break-up from a relationship where I was repeating the pattern of abuse, lots of therapy that pushed me to apply for (and get) a better-paying job and return to college to get my B.A. in English. I've been through the death of my mother and my subsequent reincarnation as a writer. And the story isn't over yet. So maybe - just maybe - my experiences can help people. We'll see.

I find it a little bit funny that my husband is having this yard sale and yet returned from the fair with tons of giveaway items that we can't actually use. However, they take up less space than an executive desk, so we'll consider ourselves fortunate if we sell only that.

I lost my pet hamster recently. I took him to the vet and was told that he had fluid on his lungs (pneumonia) and perhaps a small bump in his body (that made him cry out if touched), so I felt I had to let him go. The vet said that the heart medicine had it's own nasty side-effects, and he had only a few months to live at the most. I came away crying. Losing my pets is so hard on me that each time I debate whether or not to get another one. I peruse the hamster adoption pages, but so far I'm holding off. In the meantime, I lavish in my daughter's puppy dog's kisses and adoration. He loves to be chased, and he enjoys playing keep-away (because we're lousy throwers, so he ends up getting the toy and running away with it - LOL). This dog is half-cat; I swear! He can jump up over the back of the sofa onto the sofa cushion! He is my heart (as is my daughter).

Well, I have more to do before I go out today, so I hope all of my readers have a wonderful day today. The weather here will be a little bit cooler than yesterday and the day before, but still nice out. My husband is disappointed that Chippy (the chipmunk that would climb our bird feeder) is back, and he has to always keep an eye out for the neighbor's cat to keep his birds safe. I love all animals, so it's hard to select a winner or a loser in this menagerie. The cat is as beautiful as the birds, but I agree that I'd hate to see him eating one.

Take care. Love one another.