Chats on the farmhouse porch

1. Are you a morning person, someone who does best in the middle of the day, or a night owl?
2. Do you take vitamins or supplements?
3. If you were a dog, would you be a) a Poodle, b) a Retriever, c) a Sheep Dog, or a d)Chihuahua?
4. Please tell us about what you're reading now.
5. Okay, here I go with that magic wand! If I came to your house and could fix up one room with the wave of my wand, what would you have me renovate/redecorate/refurnish? (BTW- If I only could! That would be such fun. Then we'd sit on your porch and visit.)

My answers:

1. I guess I'm definitely a morning person. I'm always at work an hour and a half early so I can get things done and even have a hard time sleeping late on the weekends. I think it comes from the 8 years I spent working a weekend job as well as my full time job. I would open the local convenience store at 4:30 a.m. As soon as my daughter graduated college I said "enough" and quit, but I still get up early.
2. I only take supplements if I'm trying to lose weight - which is scheduled to begin again next week.
3. I'd be a sheep dog - just because I have always loved them.
4. The only thing I have time to read these days in textbooks - right now that includes "Riding the Waves of Culture" and "Management." For pleasure reading my favorite author is Sharon McCrumb. Her ballad series is set in the Appalachian Mountains, right around where I'm from originally.
5. I'd have you redo the bathroom. I have 2 rooms left to do in my house and it is one of them; at this point, I'm not real sure what direction to take so it's all yours!

Check out Patrice's porch to see everybody answers.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

1. What do you do at the first sign of a cold? Will you get a flu shot this year?

It doesn't usually matter what I do - if a get one sniffle, I can pretty much count on two weeks of misery. I will definitely get a flu shot.

2. What advice can you give about how to conquer fear?

I usually just jump in with both feet - sink or swim.

3. Share two good things about your life right now.

I'm going to be a grandma!!!!!!!!!

and

I have a job - whenever I have a bad day at work, I try to think back to when I was unemployed 

and didn't know what the future held.

4. A hot fall fashion trend for 2011 is a return to sixties style...tunics with pants, shift dresses, pencil skirts, cinched waists, bold prints, high necklines and short lengths to name a few. How does this fashion trend fit with your wardrobe and personal sense of style?

I don't do short short anymore either but I absolutely love tunics, especially the ones that help 

hide your midsection (if you know what I mean).

5. Were you involved in scouting as a kid? How about as an adult?

I did Brownies for one year when I was a kid. My only involvement 

as an adult came from my kids' participation.

6. Apple, pear, plum, pumpkin...your favorite fall flavor?

Pumpkin, although I do love apples, and pears, and plums.

7. What characteristics do you think are essential in a good teacher?

I think teachers should actually like children. I've seen some people get their teaching degrees and decide they just couldn't deal with the kids.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Fall is here! Temperatures in the 60's, lows in the upper 30's. The leaves will soon be turning to beautiful colors, then they'll all turn brown and fall to the ground, and we'll have to rake them up.:(

Head on over to Joyce's to see the rest.

Flagpole

 Just in time for the anniversary of 9-11-2001.

Flagpole went up last weekend and the light went up today.

Porch lights

 These are the porch lights that were on the house when I bought it. I tried to clean this one and gave up on it.

 They both looked like this. As you can see I got quite a bit of the crud off of the other one - just not enough.

 Gone!

Side bar - does anyone know how I should go about cleaning this roof. It's made of those fiberglass-like panels that people used to use in barns around here. I'm afraid to get up there because I think they would break if I put any weight on them.

 I found these at a yard sale back in May. Paid $5 for two of them. Biz took them apart and painted them - they were white and the paint was chipped off in a lot of places.

 Now they look like this.

And this. Big improvement!
I asked MULTIPLE times through the summer for these to be put up. Last weekend he decided to paint them - without me saying a word - and this weekend he put them up! Guess he was just waiting for me to give up on it.

Busy

 I took these pictures yesterday before I went in to work. We are finally getting some rain here - of course right at the time the farmers are needing to get into the fields.

 This is the building I work in.

 I've been pretty busy the past couple of days. Lots of homework with the two classes I'm taking this semester.

Stopped last night and bought this. Think I'll go back and get a bunch more while they're on sale. I like Mums, they're pretty low maintenance and that's definitely what I need.

Background

For those of you who have just started following this little blog - which is pretty much everybody since even though I've had this blog for 2 years, I have just started really getting into it - I thought I'd give you a little background. I am what I call a "displaced" Tennesseean. My father was a contractor so we moved around a lot when I was  a kid but home was always Tennessee. I graduated from high school in IL, went to college for 3 years and then got married and went to work in a factory where I stayed for 13 years until they shut down - the same year I got divorced. My kids were 5 and 7 at the time and I decided to go back to school, which I did - got my Associates and then went to work in the office of another factory.  I was there for another 12 years before they too, shut down and I was once again without a job. I did manage during those 12 years to take some more college classes and  get both of the kids through high school and beyond. My daughter got her Bachelors and my son went to a Tech school then joined the Air Force. They are both doing wonderfully. Raising them has been the most important thing I have ever done in my life. I did  manage to get a job after 9 long months of looking. I am now working in the office of a university here in IL where I can take classes for free! I will soon have my Masters in Computer Science. It's been a long journey and I've changed directions a lot of times - from way back when I studied Medical Technology right out of high school, to Office Systems Technology after I lost my job the first time to Computer Science now. It's been quite a ride but that's life. You just keep going and if you meet a roadblock, you have to change directions.