VERY PINTERESTING . . .

When I think about adding a post to my blog I often stop and wonder if anyone really wants to read about my mundane life and all the trials therein. Every person alive has something with which to deal, so what makes my life different from anyone else's? We all have challenges and issues. Presently my challenges include having moved my mother into a care facility, dealing with her Alzheimer's, a recent move to an old colonial house in the country after living in one place for 32 years, the passing of my father-in-law, and three houses to clear, clean, and sell  - ours, my father-in-law's, and my mother's. Those are major concerns for my spouse and me but not terribly different from what others experience. The frustrating thing about the present challenges is that they all descended upon us in a very short period of time. The adage, "When it rains, it pours", comes to mind.

If I shared all the things I experience with my mother, I'd never stop typing. She hides things, gives away personal items, roams the halls at night, sets off alarms, packs her belongings every day, tries to leave the facility, thinks her mother and father are alive but won't tell her where they live, cries because she thinks my father, who passed 40 years ago, has run off to Florida with her car, and says she is working again and taking the bus home each night. She is quite a handful.

Our move to this wonderful old house in the country, while difficult, was a good thing. We're settled as far as living in the house, but we still have totes to purge and things to discard. Thank goodness for our big red barn! Things stored out there can be dealt with as time allows.

The passing of my father-in-law was not unexpected. He was 92 and had outlived all of his siblings and his wife. He'd been in frail health for years, so in many ways, his passing was a blessing. Glenn and I always knew we would be the ones to deal with his house so that wasn't a surprise to us. We're the only family living in Ohio. We're very thankful to Glenn's sister and her spouse for doing so much to help get the house ready to sell. It's been appraised and we have two interested parties.

Our former home is just about ready to list. Minor repairs have been done, the interior has been re-painted, and we have only a general cleaning left on the agenda, unless something unforeseen arises. A family has expressed interest in buying it but that will depend on whether or not they can sell theirs.

My mother's house isn't close to being ready to sell, but my sisters and I will begin  working on it after the other two are on the market. So far, we're not feeling stressed about it. (There will be time to stress-out later.)

Although my life is a series of ups and downs right now I do take time to de-stress. I'm a frequent visitor at a fairly new online site called PINTEREST. I'm sure many of you have heard of it or have "pinned" things from it. The photos below are just a few of the items I've found there. I probably spend way too much time browsing but it's relaxing and I don't have to think too hard about anything while I'm pinning recipes, decorating ideas, and household hints. When one "pins" something, she can click on the photo and be taken to a site where information about the pinned object can be found. I've acquired a large number of "pins", most of which I'll probably never use, but pinning is quick and fun. It allows me to daydream and push aside the challenges of the day, if only for a short time. It's like browsing through many magazines but not having the clutter of keeping them. I added a PINTEREST button to my sidebar. If you click on it, you'll be taken to my pin "boards". From there you can navigate any number of boards from hundreds of people. You can look through any of the boards listed. If you decide you'd like to "pin" something, you will need to join, but it's free and you can unsubscribe any time you wish. Try it, you might like it. Happy Pinning!