in a GREAT.BIG.SEA.OF.BIG.THINGS...

it feels kind of 

strange

kind of

sad...

that there isn't 

a sydney project

lying around

or

waiting in the wings.

however,

after pressing,

folding,

packaging,

and 

boxing

dresses, bows, 

onesies, bloomers,

legwarmers,

bibs, tops,

leggings

and 

a tutu,

and sending that big box

of love on its way,

the #sydneycollection for 2014 

was complete.

~@~

what a sweet 

distraction 

(to a crazy year)

God sent my way!

just one of the little things

in a 

GREAT.BIG.SEA.OF.BIG.THINGS

i'm thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

she can't reach...

after giving katherine a bath

and washing her hair,

she insisted on wearing her

"boy clothes"

(cutoffs and a tee shirt).

i had just started combing

her hair

when my aunt knocked

on the door.

sue came in with a halloween

gift for katherine,

a darling, halloween sweatshirt.

katherine couldn't wait 

for me to take off the tags

and put it on her.

she was giddy!

after putting the sweatshirt

on her,

i finished combing her hair,

parted it,

pulled the top part 

over to the side,

and put a band in it.

like clockwork,  

katherine immediately

ran her hand up to where

i'd banded her hair.

katherine: mama, i need a bow,

one that matches!

i looked at sue

and just shook my head...

me: well, let me go get 

you one!

sue laughed.

katherine always wore

a bow...

boy clothes or girl clothes

and it had to match!

i returned and

clipped her bow through

the holder and katherine

twirled around

modeling for us.

abruptly, though,

she stopped twirling

and looked over at me

wide-eyed,

arching her eyebrows.

katherine: i'm going to go 

get mabel to show aunt sue.

we had just brought

our sweet, stripey 

"mabel kitty" home

to live with us. 

katherine was chomping

at the bit to show her 

off!

~@~

katherine was gone

for a few minutes. 

me: katherine, what are you doing?

katherine: i'm coming...

me: what's taking you so long?

katherine: i had to do something first!

in an instant,

there stood katherine

with mabel in tow.

sue: awwwweee, she's so cute,

katherine.

katherine grinned,

a big, proud, cheese-eating

grin.

i noticed the fur on mabel's

head was wet.

me: katherine, why is mabel's

hair wet?

katherine handed mabel to sue,

came over to me,

 cupped her hand

around my ear,

leaned into me,

and whispered in my ear...

katherine: i washed her hair.

me: 

(thinking for a second, 

i knew katherine couldn't

reach any of the 

water faucets in the house.)

with what?

katherine: ummm...

me: with what, katherine?

she leaned back into me

and whispered.

katherine: with my tongue...

i pulled my head away

and looked at katherine

like, WHAAAT???

katherine: she can't reach.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

perspective

the way i have maintained what little sanity i have left?

  i put all of what you're about to glean into perspective: 

on the lane, 

we have clean paper plates, plastic flatware, and 

running water (just not in the kitchen), 

 we are neither at war with isis nor ebola (yet), 

and we have a LOT for which to be thankful!

~@~

after having gone through 

nearly 6 months

of a remodel from hell...

(it.had.seriously.

been.a.nightmare.)

-from having to nearly

beg our contractor 

to do what we wanted

him to do...

-to him doing some 

of what we wanted 

him to do

 but only half-assed...

-to him (admittedly so) 

spending 

our replacement-window money

leaving us 

to pay for our windows 

twice

(in lieu of having a lien 

placed on our house),

-to my and my grandmother's

engagement rings, 

my and john's wedding bands,

my silver punch bowl,

and katherine's watch 

all being stolen...

-to my suffering through

7 weeks of 

"the worst case 

of shingles"

anyone had ever seen,

we were

more.than.ready

for

a bright spot!

~@~

a week ago yesterday

our quartz installers arrived

with our kitchen and vanity

counter tops.

i.was.SO.excited... 

 not only to be getting

the beautiful new tops

but, more importantly,

to finally have 

running water

in the kitchen 

after nearly 5 weeks

of not!

although

they were unable to install

the vanity top

because my bathroom 

sink needed

new shutoff valves,

they skipped the bathroom 

and installed the kitchen

counter tops.

installer: well, do you like it?

me: like it? i LOVE it;

it's BEAUTIFUL!

installer: great! 

so, all we have left to do

is drop in your sink.

where is it?

awkward silence...

me: uh, it was supposed

to come with the counter top?

he looked through his paperwork. 

installer: no, only your vanity top 

comes with a sink.

me: hmm, lowes told me 

this one was supposed 

to come with an under-mount?

installer: ma'am, that hole will

not support an under-mount;

it was cut for a drop-in sink.

~@~

later that afternoon,

after a discussion with lowes,

i told them we would be willing 

to settle for a drop-in...

as we were past ready

to have running water

in our kitchen, right!!?!?

that evening

john and i went to lowes

to retrieve our sink

and purchase supplies 

for the plumber.

~@~

bright and early,

last wednesday morning,

mr. butts (our plumber) 

arrived.

he asked me to show him 

all we needed him to do.

i obliged.

after showing him 

the bathroom and 

he reassured me

that was going to be

no problem,

i lead him 

into our kitchen.

upon seeing 

the sink hole,

he told me the sink

was not going to fit.

me: are you sure?

mr. butts: i don't think it will,

but i'll try it.

when he dropped the sink 

into the hole and it looked

like it fit,

i breathed a sigh of relief.

however,

my relief was short-lived;

as the two of us lay

with our heads resting

respectively

on the cabinet base

looking up at the sink.

with his flashlight,

mr. butts directed

me to look at the 

three sides of the sink

which could be secured

to the counter top

and then 

to the fourth...

which could not.

boo.hiss.i.wanted.to.cry

~@~

30 minutes later, 

lowes' manager and staff,

mr. butts, and i stood

staring at the hole

in our new,

beautiful counter top.

the best solution

was to reorder the quartz,

which meant...

3 more weeks without 

kitchen plumbing.

after the lowes' folks

left, i walked into

the bathroom where mr. butts

lay with his head inside 

my vanity.

i sat down on the side

of the bathtub

at mr. butts' feet.

me: mr. butts, meester berrong

may be thinking,

"no news is good news,"

right about now,

but he'd be wrong

(no pun intended)."

i giggled...

~@~

a week later,

i don't know how this install

is going to go

(hopefully well).

however,

what i do know is...

 instead of the new tops

arriving in 2 weeks

(we are already

a week out from 

last week's debacle),

it's going to be at least

3 more

because as of monday

when the quartz company

called about the vanity

top,

the kitchen counter had

not yet been reordered...

ugh!

~@~

in case you were wondering...

we fired our contractor, 

have received no

compensation for our windows. 

filed a police report-

though none of our stolen items 

have been recovered, 

and

are still eating on paper plates

with plastic flatware.

stay tuned...

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

time capsule...

there is currently

a corner, pantry cabinet

occupying our kitchen.

on the inside,

it stretches from our countertop 

all the way up to above

our 8ft. ceiling.

it is 3ft. wide

and 3ft. deep.

it's always held

holiday, paper

napkins and plates

(on the 5th/top shelf),

a case or two

of sterno canisters

and plastic 

cups and dinnerware

(on the 4th shelf),

boxes of

pasta, rice, cereal,

and cake/brownie mixes

(on the 3rd shelf),

can goods

and jars of 

peanut butter, jellies,

relishes, chutney,

and 

special sauces

(on the 2nd shelf),

and

large containers of

sugars, flour, nuts,

oils, cooking sprays,

etc...

(on the 1st/bottom shelf).

(this cabinet,

though large,

has never been

very convenient...

as a matter of fact,

we have needed

to use a stepstool

in order 

to reach anything above

the third shelf.)

#ididntknowthatwasupthere

~@~

today...

it is empty.

~@~

today...

dale is going to take off

the door and frame,

replace them

with a large piece

of 

drywall,

and mud it closed.

~@~

today...

before dale performs

his magic,

we are going to place

items inside the cabinet

in order to create

a sort of time capsule.

in this time capsule,

we will place 

things

indicative of 

our life on the lane:

today's newspaper,

pictures,

low end currency (;-),

a can of die coke,

a bottle of wine,

one of katherine's baby blankets,

an old ball cap of johns,

a pair of my pajamas,

one of maggie's old collars,

a copy of this month's

kentucky monthly,

and

maybe a few other

odds and ends...

do you have any

ideas?

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

chronic shingles...

shingles (herpes zoster)

two weeks ago yesterday 

i noticed i was getting 

a new case of shingles 

(4th case since the first of the year)

on my chin.

as you know 

if you follow me,

i have chronic shingles 

(and have had since i was 14),

which occur more 

and more often 

the older i get.

at first 

this case was no different...

itchy, burny, fevery,

achy.

THEN

a few days later,

i noticed i had several 

shingle blisters on my belly!

ON.BOTH.SIDES.

i had already started taking 

valtrex,

which was drying up the ones

on my face.

however,

it was not touching the ones

spreading all over my stomach.

~@~

i called my doctor's office 

but could not get an appointment. 

then i called my dermatologist's office. 

unable to get in for nearly week,

i went ahead 

and made an appointment.

frustrated and miserable, 

i called a local naturopathic physician.

he squeezed me in that afternoon.

when i arrived,

he took me right back 

to an examining room.

doctor: (looking at my chin) 

what have you done 

to get so stressed?

me: i'm not here about the 

shingles on my face.

i'm here about these.

i raised my shirt.

doctor: oh, my God!

(he stared at my rash.)

i need to get my 

magnifying glasses.

(i got a little nervous.)

the doctor returned

wearing said glasses.

he put on a pair of 

latex gloves,

turned on the glasses'

light,

and studied 

my blisters.

as he backed away,

he took off his gloves

and 

removed his glasses.

doctor: well,

i have bad news...

you're too late;

i cannot do anything for you.

you have blisters,

which have already popped.

me: but they ARE shingles?

doctor: yes, they are definitely

shingles.

(i breathed a sigh of relief.)

the naturopath took 

time to talk to me 

about my general health.

he gave me pointers about

a vitamin regiment 

i should try to

so i might be able to keep

the shingles at bay.

vitamin.b.

and

chicken.liver.

~@~

for days

my shingles continued

to divide and multiply;

they spread up to just below

my neck

and down

to just above my belly button.

i shared the above picture

with the 2 d's

to see what they thought.

dana, the nurse,

asked if i was sure they were

shingles

as they had crossed 

my center line.

(honestly, i was still wondering 

the same thing.)

i told her my naturopath 

said they were. 

~@~

i thought my derm appointment

time would never get here.

but, finally,

it did.

the nurse called my name,

and i followed her back 

to an examining room.

nurse: how are you today,

dani.

me: actually, i feel terrible;

i'm miserable!

nurse: oh, no what's the matter?

i proceeded to tell her.

after i told her,

she handed me a gown

and told me she'd get my derm

and would soon return.

when the two came in,

i was gowned and waiting

in the examining chair.

derm: hi, dani, i hear you have a rash...

i.told.her.THE.story.

derm: let's raise your gown 

and have a look at it.

as i started raising my gown,

i heard my derm gasp

(oh, yes, she did),

which caused the nurse

to turn around and take notice.

she gasped too

(oh, yes, she did).

i looked quickly at the derm 

and turned toward her nurse.

me: i told you.

i wasn't kidding.

nurse: (still staring at my torso)

no, you weren't.

the derm asked me to tell

her the whole story again.

she asked the nurse to get her

what she needed to do

 viral and bacterial 

cultures.

after taking the cultures,

the derm asked her nurse 

to take pictures.

when she'd gotten all

the images she needed,

my derm left the room

and was gone for some time.

when she returned,

she told me she'd never

personally seen what i had

on my trunk.

she went on to tell me

the shingles virus

i had on my chin

had apparently settled in

a small heat rash i had

on my stomach...

and spread

in.ALL.directions

and

was still spreading!

she prescribed a very

aggressive treatment of

valacyclovir

and a topical antiviral

(which, thankfully, my dear pharmacist 

was able to compound for me!).

three days in,

i think i'm finally getting this

thing under control!

thank.You.GOD!

~@~

hopefully,

THIS will NEVER happen again!

hopefully,

the vitamin b complex

and weekly chicken liver meal 

will keep my shingles 

at bay.

hopefully,

if you are reading this

because you've happened

onto my blog because 

you, too, have chronic shingles

the vitamin b and chicken liver

thing will help

you too!

if it does,

SHARE!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

remodel: chapter III; slowly but surely...

slowly but surely

our lane transformation

is taking place!!!

(a sneak peak;)

come friday,

phase I of our remodel

should be completed.

phase I has involved

the building

of two new closets

in our master bedroom,

an update of our master bath,

and a conversion

of our master walk-in closet

to a new laundry room.

all this phase

lacks at this point

is another day

of laying floor tile

in our bedroom

and the utility room

and the installation of

shoe molding,

washer/dryer,

shower hardware,

and 

new shower doors.

~@~

i'm starting to get really 

excited about phase II!

phase II will entail a complete 

remodel of our den.

currently, our utility room

is right off our den.

however,

once our washer/dryer

are moved to the new

laundry room

(off our master suite),

we will tear out those two walls

increasing the size

of our existing den.

we are

not only going to tear

out those two walls;

we are also

going to tear out 

an exterior wall where

a french door unit

currently exists.

further, 

we will replace the french door unit

with a new fireplace

and

ceiling-to-floor windows

on each side of it.

after

a new paint job,

flooring,

and

furniture,

it will be time to move

to phase III...

the.kitchen...

stay tuned!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

remodel: chapter II; shorty...

i heard dale's, 

big, old, red truck

as he pulled it into our driveway.

i was excited to get our

lane remodel started!

when john and i first met

with dale to discuss our plans,

dale indicated he would be

working alone.

however,

as i sat at my dining room

table sewing that first morning,

i heard dale talking to someone

as he made his way up to 

our house.

i walked out onto the front porch

and greeted them.

me: good morning!

dale: mornin'!

me: how are y'all?

dale: awe, we're good.

me: (looking past dale) who've 
you got with you?

dale: awe, this is...

shorty: shorty, they call me shorty.

(shorty talked so fast i only caught

part of what he said.)

me: your name is shorty?

shorty: well, everybody calls me shorty,

but i don't like it much.

(he laughed.)

me: what's your real name then?

shorty: it's terry.

dale: (under his breath) it's shorty;

just call him shorty.

i offered terry my hand 

to shake.

he reciprocated.

me: it's nice to meet you,

terry:)

shorty: uh, you can call me shorty.

me: okay, it's nice to meet you,

shorty.

(i giggled.)

~@~

there,

on my front porch...

 stood a skinny burt reynolds 
and a straight michael jeter.

think 

evening shade:

dale standing no less than 6"

weighing no more than 150 lbs.

and

shorty standing no more than 4"10'

weighing no more than 105 lbs...

"tall and lanky"

and

"shorty"

would quickly become 
my new best friends

for the summer;)

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

familiarity...

if you keep up with

my life on the lane,

you know meester berrong

and

i

have been contemplating 

leveling our house 

and rebuilding 

here on our lot.

after writing this post,

i began to dream

by way of my pinterest.

i found ideas, 

shared them with john, 

and began to plan what each room 

would look like...

high-pitched, exposed ceilings,

beautiful light fixtures,

bright paint,

colorful furnishings and decor,

the fireplace.

appliances,

cabinets,

counter tops,

sinks,

innovative showers 

and

tubs,

walk-in closets,

hidden outlets,

and tile flooring.

from ceiling to floor,

i was making plans 

with john,

and he liked them:)

~@~

then...

a few days later,

i awoke to an empty house.

half-asleep

i made my way 

from my bed 

to my bedroom door,

opened it,

and took one barefooted

step out

onto the cool, hardwood 

that is our living room
floor.

the floor creaked

(just like it always has/

just like it always does);

this time though...

the sound was deafening:

it may have even echoed.

i immediately experienced

the raw emotion of

familiarity.

~@~

that experience 

was apparently 

a pivotal point

in my plan-making

for i quickly found myself

looking at ways 

to.bloom.where.we're.planted

instead of pinning

large country chic

kitchen plans,

i began to look

at galley kitchen plans

and pin 

ways to renovate 

our kitchen.

instead of pinning 

exposed ceiling ideas,

i began to look at and pin

new metal roofing

to cover the 9' ceilings

we already have.

instead of pinning

furnishings for 

an open-concept den,

i began to look at and pin

den furniture 

for the den we already have,

which could be made

much larger by moving

our utility room

and knocking out

a couple of walls.

just.like.that

i began weighing 

our options.

meester berrong

was good with that too.

~@~

(a few photos of "before")

so,
tomorrow will mark
the first day of our
lane makeover:)

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx