My Coca-Cola Kitchen…and My Wall of Shame…

About 4 years ago, my husband and I renovated our existing game house, added on to it, then made it our new home.  We took great pains to design and rebuild the home just the way we wanted it to be.  I think we enjoyed almost every minute of it–except the few times that my husband had to move a wall or a doorway–or when he had to move the entire hallway because our helper made it too wide… the words”if you want it done right, do it yourself” still come to mind… 

The kitchen turned out to be one of the most challenging rooms to do.  We ended up redesigning the entire room–which meant that my husband had to remove the old, then run new plumbing.  We used our existing cabinets and counters in an effort to cut costs, which limited our choice of design.  Believe me, we moved those cabinets and appliances all over that kitchen–on every wall–until we found the best place for everything! 

When all was said and done, I ended up with a huge blank wall at the end of my kitchen….Not a problem!  I am a collector of stuff, and it was not a problem to find enough “stuff” to fill up my wall.  I call it my “wall of shame”–because I have no shame when it comes to what I like! 

Kathy's kitchen wall of shame...

In case you can’t look at the wall and guess, I collect coca cola stuff.  We had the game house decorated in the coca cola theme, so we decided to use those items in our house as well.  I found most of my coke stuff on Ebay. 

The most interesting item on the wall is a “certificate of good taste” that belongs to my youngest son.  It’s from the coca cola company, and Brad received it after he called the 1-800 number listed on his Coke can,  and told them how much he enjoyed drinking their products. (he was bored and had nothing better to do)  I love it!  How many people can say they have a “certificate of good taste” on their wall? 

The oldest items on the wall are the giant spoon and fork.  Those belonged to my mother, and used to hang in her dining room…many years ago.  Notice the coca cola shelf in the top right side of the photo, it was made from an old wooden crate.  It’s my newest addition to the wall.  I have Coca Cola Merry Moos sitting on top of it. 

Here are a couple of other photos of the rest of the kitchen–just in case you are curious.  The first one shows off my Coca c Cola cookie jar collection on top of the cabinets.  

Kathy's coca cola kitchen...

The last photo shows the “picture window” that my hubby put in the kitchen wall for me.  It over-looks the woods next to our house.  Notice my “Kathy’s Diner” sign that I got off Ebay?  Those are Coca Cola canisters on top of the fridge–and a Coca Cola light switch cover on the wall…Ebay has it all. 

I do apologize for the “stuff” sitting all over the counters…the pics were taken at Christmas, just before a small party, and there was food sitting everywhere.  Well…that’s what kitchens are for, right? 

Coca cola Christmas kitchen...

Thanks for stopping by, and sharing my crazy Coca Cola kitchen with it’s wall of shame.  I really enjoy your visits, and your comments.  If you leave a comment,I’ll hop over and return the visit.  

Today is the last day to enter my cash drawing fo twenty dollars.  If you are new, I am celebrating my first year of blogging!  I’ll take entries up until midnight EST tonight.  I will announce the winner in my Six Word Saturday post tomorrow.  Good luck to all who have entered. 

For more interesting blogs, hop on over to Friday Follow hosted by One2Try, HeartsMakeFamilies, and MiddayEscapades.  I appreciate these ladies for doing this.  It’s a great chance to meet new blogging friends.  Have a great weekend everyone.  Kathy

Shelter Tales…The Five Letter Word Every Dog Lover Hates

I wonder how many people immediately knew the word when they read the title…Somehow I managed to live 45 years or more before I’d ever heard of the word.  Either it wasn’t around as much years ago, or we were just lucky and never encountered it.  Haven’t figured out the word yet?  It’s P A R V O…yes, the dreaded Parvo virus that puppies and young dogs get–which can so easily become a death sentence. 

Parvo is basically the equivalent of a stomach virus in dogs.  They can’t keep anything down.  They throw up, they get diarrhea, they get dehydrated, then die.  It comes on in a hurry, and it will kill a puppy quickly.  The sick puppy will look and feel just as miserable as humans do when we get a bad case of the stomach flu.

When I was volunteering at the shelter, I quickly learned about Parvo.  Unfortunately, the first thing that I learned is that an outbreak of it at the shelter meant death for all dogs there.  As a general rule, all are put to sleep, the shelter is then disinfected with bleach from top to bottom, and is closed for a certain number of days.  Parvo is extremely contagious–especially vulnerable are young dogs and puppies.  Older dogs can get it, too, but it won’t kill them…however, they can spread the virus–which is very easy to spread.

In my early days of volunteering, I adopted 3 dogs, within a few weeks of each other.  The first one I brought home was the old collie, Hobbs, (who recently passed), then I adopted Ethan, a hound mix, and Freckles, a chow mix.  I hadn’t had all of them too long when Ethan became sick with Parvo.  By then, I’d learned all about it, and was devastated when I realized my puppy had it.

I loaded Ethan up in my car and took him to the vet.  I used the same vet that the shelter did, because he would give me discounts on vet care for all of my animals,  because they were shelter adoptees.  Dr. S, the vet, quickly told me what I already suspected…he told me that he could keep Ethan in the hospital and he might make it, but it would be expensive–or I could take him home, force-feed him pedialyte around the clock, and pray for the best.  Financially, I didn’t have a choice…I had to treat him at home. 

Dr. S also warned me that Freckles was vulnerable, and would most likely catch the virus if not vaccinated–so knowing that my hubby is a medical person, Dr. S sent the Parvo vaccination home with me so Ed could vaccinate Freckles–which he did.  Fortunately, neither Freckles or Hobbs caught the virus.

Unfortunately, Ethan was sick enough for three dogs…I have never seen anything like that in my life.  I kept him closed up in the bathroom off my bedroom.  I cleaned up the worst smelling, most vile body fluids I’ve ever seen–and I’ve raised 3 children AND worked at school for 15 years…Nothing beats Parvo!  I force-fed poor Ethan that Pedialyte every couple of hours.  Some of it stayed down, some did not.  Some even made it out the other end…After a couple of days of that,  I began to offer Ethan some chicken broth.  Slowly, he began to drink, then eat.  He was one pitiful-looking puppy when Parvo finished with him–but he made it!

Ethan...after parvo

To this day, Ethan is “skittish” of me.  He remembers those syringes of Pedialyte being shoved down his throat–then later in his life I had to treat him for red mange, which was also unpleasant.  Ethan loves me, but he doesn’t completely trust me, which is sad.  In fact, these days he spends most of his days over at my daughter’s house!  She lives where we used to live, and I think that will always feel like home to Ethan… remember the picture of Ethan on his back on her porch???

Ethan...today

I was prompted to write this story because yesterday my son, Brad, was telling me a story about his girlfriend, Jennifer, waking up and finding her new puppy sick–with Parvo.  They had a very eventful day because of that, but I’ll share that story on another day…until next time…Thanks for hopping by!

Don’t forget to comment and let me know if you’d like to be entered in Friday’s cash drawing for twenty dollars…I can’t wait to see who will win…It’s been a long month!   Kathy

Random Dozen…April 28

Welcome to Lid’s weekly Random Dozen meme.  It’s my weekly brain exercise.  Thanks Lid for hosting this meme for us.  I’ve met lots of new friends through it–most of whom give better answers than mine!  Want to join in?  Hop on over to http://www.2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com ,  copy and paste the questions, answer them, link up and join the fun!

1. Have you ever been so lost that you were really afraid?  Not really.  One time I convinced my oldest son to drive me to Savannah to Cracker Barrel so I could buy this frog fountain that I’d seen there.  We missed a turn or something.  We sort of got lost in a “not so good” section of town…the worst part was –it started to rain, the area was flooding, and I thought water was going to come inside my new car…Thankfully, we found our way out of there, and we stayed dry!

2. Have you ever been to an island?  We go to Tybee Island, Jeckyl Island, or St. Simon’s Island when we go to the beach….so the answer is yes!

3. Are you more of a thinker or feeler?  Can I choose both???  If not, then I will have to say  “a thinker”.  I spend a lot of time thinking…

4. Do you tend to see issues or situations in life as black and white or shades of gray?  definitely black and white.

5. If you were stuck on an island, what book would you hope to have with you (Let’s pretend the Bible is already there, so you can’t say that.)  The first thought that popped in my mind was…a phone book!  Silly me.  Really, I would want to have a journal so I could write my thoughts and experiences down–in case I didn’t make it off the island.

6. What are you most afraid of? Having to watch my husband die.

7. Would you rather lose all of your old memories or never be able to make new ones? I’d rather never be able to make new ones.  I treasure my old memories…especially of meeting and marrying my hubby, then having and raising our children.

8. Pretend I’m looking at a scrapbook page about you. There are three spaces for you to drop in individual pictures. What are those pictures of, and why did you select them?  My wedding day, a picture with my first baby, then a picture with my first grandchild, because those are very important milestones in my life…each represents a new chapter of my life.

9. If you were re-doing your wedding, what would you do differently? (If you’re single, tell me one thing you would do if you were planning a wedding OR huge party.)  I would wear a veil or some flowers in my hair, and I would have the wedding reception at my husband’s parents’ house.

10. Tell me one thing you know/believe about forgiveness. Forgiveness…It’s a very hard thing for me to give…I tend to hold a grudge for a long time–but I am working on that!

11. You’re waiting in a doctor’s office. What is your favorite way to pass that time? I always take along a book…my doctor is so slow, I can read half of it while I am there…

12. If there were a clone of you in a parallel universe what is one way you hope she/he would be the same as you and one way you hope she/he would be better?   Same…compassionate and loyal   Different…healthier and more forgiving

Here are those 3 pics depicting some of the chapters of my life…

Happy Newlyweds

birth of first child, a daughter

with my first grandchild

Hey everybody!  Don’t be shy!  Let me know if you’d like your name entered in Friday’s drawing for twenty dollars in cash…Somebody’s going to win it on April 30, it could be you…

Feel Good Photos

I’m glad Brent Riggs themed blog hop is back on line.  I missed it last week.  His was the first blog hop that I ever joined, so it will always be special to me.  The theme for this week is photos that make us feel good.  Wow, I could put my entire collection of six thousand photos on here–but I won’t!  Here are just a few that I like…

Boys will be boys…here is a photograph of my grown sons–enjoying a few moments of fun on some go carts.  Look at the joy on their faces.  Just call them Gordon and Kane…In their minds they were driving in a NASCAR race!

Sitting pretty...

I like this photograph of my granddaughter, Madison, because it reminds me of myself as a child.   Nothing was more fun that getting to ride in the back of my grandpa’s truck…Some things never change.

Children can find joy in the strangest things…My grandson, Caden, was having a great time wearing my mopping bucket on his head…We played “peek a boo” …and he would hide under the bucket!

this yard needs work,,,

I love this photograph of Caden…He looks like he’s doing yardwork–especially since that little cart is in the background.  His shirt also says “If you think I’m cool…you should see my dad”…Funny!

How do you do?

Sometimes this is the kind of photograph that you end up with when you and  hubby are all alone and have to rely on the camera timer to take the photo…Old people and modern technology don’t always get along …

Well…like I said, sometimes old people and technology don’t get along.  I couldn’t get this post to link up to the blog hop.  Brent is doing something new…a thumbnail mclinky or something…anyway, I can’t get it to work for me…Oh well, enjoy my photos anyway.  I tried!  Have a great day!  Oh, wait!  I almost forgot…Time is getting close for the cash drawing on April 30…don’t forget to let me know if you want to be entered…You could win twenty dollars!

Believe It Or Not!

About a month ago I was looking through an old box of photographs that belonged to my mother.  For some reason, there was an old electric bill nestled among all of those old pictures.  I looked at the date and it was from the year 1965!  Then I looked at the amount due…fourteen dollars and fifty-nine cents–and that was for TWO MONTHS of service!  Can you believe it?  It’s true….and here is the proof!

Six Word Saturday…

It’s the weekend again…yes!  I’ve been waiting all week to tell my six words because I think they are so funny…Ready? 

Here they are:  “DO YOU HAVE ANY BLINKER FLUID?”These are the six words that my youngest son convinced his girlfriend to ask the clerk at Wal-mart! 

Yes, Brad convinced Jennifer that the reason her blinker wasn’t working correctly was because she was low on blinker fluid! 

That little smart butt…Jennifer says that she questioned Brad on this, but he thoroughly convinced her that she needed blinker fluid!

So while Brad stood in the background at Wal-mart– and smiled, Jennifer went up to the clerk and asked “Do you have any blinker fluid?”, to which the man replied “Huh?” 

She repeated herself, then the clerk caught the eyes of my Brad, and realized that a joke was being  played…

Oh “payback” is going to be hell for Brad…Go for it Jennifer, that was just so wrong!

Have a great weekend everyone…don’t forget to tell me if you would like to be entered in the cash drawing on April 30…Kathy

Jennifer and Brad... who is doing an impersonation of ????

You Might Be From Gooseneck If…

If you are here from Friday Follow, welcome to my place.  I’ll be sure to return your visit if you let me know that you were here…I am also having a  drawing for a cash give away on April 30–in celebration of my first blogiversary this month.  Just let me know if you’d like to be entered in the drawing–it’s for twenty dollars in cash…Enter as often as you like. 

Since today is Friday, I chose to do a “light-hearted” post.  I hope you enjoy it.

We live in the community of “Gooseneck”…That’s a funny name, huh?  I’ve lived here for 33 years, and I still don’t know why it’s called “Gooseneck”. 

We used to have our own country grocery store, many years ago, but it’s been closed for a long time.  The couple who built it and ran it together have both passed away.  Those were the days…he was the butcher, stock man, bagboy…while she was the cashier and bookkeeper.  In those days, people could actually  buy groceries on credit, and pay their bill when they got paid.  Imagine that!    

  We  still have our gas station– Gooseneck Gas and Tire.  We love that store!  It’s been passed down from father to son to grandson through the years.  It’s been here for as long as I can remember.  A few years ago, the station was renovated and  the owners actually began making and selling pizzas…Woah, the community was thrilled!!!   No more driving 7 miles to town to get food!  The owners even added some tables and chairs… Every day a small group of retired men from our community gathers at the station to visit and kill time..Biscuits and coffee in the morning, pizza for lunch… 

There are two other businesses in our community of Gooseneck.  One is Gooseneck Nurseries–which sells plants and flowers, the other is DC Durrence Farms.  The owner of DC Durrence Farms is our neighbor, and his land joins ours.  I’ll tell you more about him in a minute.

Now that you have a “feel” for the community that I live in…let’s take a “light-hearted” look at a few things around here…

You might be from Gooseneck if…your old hound dog sleeps upside down on the porch…and ours does.  He has a bad hip from being injured when he decided to wander up and play on the highway…a car hit him.  Most of the time, Ethan sleeps on his back–with his feet in the air.

Our old hound, Ethan...he sleeps like this a lot...

You might be from Gooseneck if….your closest neighbors are cows…Our neighbor raises Black Angus bulls and sells them.  He also raises chickens for the market, and grows produce.  At this particular time,  his strawberries are ready, yum yum!  Later he will have other kinds of berries, watermelons, corn, and tomatoes, among other things…Mooovelous!

our neighbors...the cows

You might be from Gooseneck if …you ride with your daddy– in your great-grandpa’s old 1991 pick-up truck– while your grandpa is driving down the dirt lane leading from the garden…and your grandma is following behind the truck with a digital camera…and your grandpa is watching her in the rear-view mirror…That’s just how we roll around here…

on the way home from the garden...

You might also be from Gooseneck if… you spend your weekends wading around in a nasty goldfish pond while your granddaughter looks at you like you have lost your mind…”You’re doing what, MiMi?”  Sure was glad I didn’t see a snake or a turtle in there…just a lot of nasty fish poop and algae…lots of algae.

now that's what I call fishing...

Thanks for stopping by and sharing a little “Gooseneck” humor…Laughter is good for the soul…Ya’ll come back ya’ hear?

To the hostesses of Friday Follow…One2Try, HeartsMakeFamilies, and Midday Escapades.  Thanks so much for hosting this hop, and giving us the chance to meet new bloggers.

This Bear Looks Like I’ve Been Feeling Lately…

"I've fallen...and I can't get up"

 

When I made up my bed this morning–for the first time in a week, I might add–I carelessly threw my giant old teddy bear on the bed.  As a result, he just sprawled out on the bed.  I looked at him and thought–that old bear looks just like I feel! 

It’s now the fourth week since I stopped taking that Effexor.  I can’t believe that I am still trying to get back to normal after taking that crap.  Just when I think things are getting normal(maybe for a couple of days…) wham!  Something else pops up!  This is “I hate everything week”!  The least little thing makes me mad.  Things that I normally shrug off, are getting under my skin!  The best way I can describe it is “It feels like a HUGE hormone imbalance.”  I know most ladies understand that term… no fun! 

I’ve been trying to stay busy doing all sorts of projects around the house…anything to keep my mind off how crappy my body is feeling.  Some days keeping busy works–some days it doesn’t.  On Friday, I stayed busy and felt pretty good.  Saturday was good also, but I should’ve known that things were about to go downhill again on Saturday night when I didn’t sleep well… 

Sunday morning I woke up with another of those horrible migraine headaches, plus I was nauseated.  Now bear in mind, I NEVER had a migraine before taking Effexor…Since getting off, I’ve had at least a half a dozen of the awful things.  I didn’t make it to church, obviously, and I wasn’t even able to finish cooking lunch.  I spent the entire afternoon on the couch–in the dark– with a blinding headache, and pains shooting through my entire body.  What a day! 

Monday I woke up feeling lousy, and mad because I was feeling that way…again!  My husband had taken a vacation day off–a rare occasion–and I was feeling lousy!  I tried to busy myself in a few projects, but I just didn’t feel like doing much. I did manage to paint the bird bath, paint the back porch door,  and finish painting the front porch–in spite of feeling lousy.  

Meanwhile, instead of helping me get something accomplished, or better yet,  just spending  sometime with me, my hubby was working like some madman painting his “manhouse”–which has been unpainted for an entire year!  I was pissed off the entire day.  Now don’t get me wrong…I didn’t complain when he spent the entire day  Saturday painting that stupid “manhouse”, but I was not hoping for more if the same on Monday…I mean, it’s been unpainted for a year–what’s the rush?  Normally, I would’ve shrugged this off, but this week I was mad! 

I don’t know how much of what I am experiencing is due to Effexor withdrawal, and how much is due to the fibromyalgia…I suspect it’s a 50/50 thing.  I’m just ready to get back to feeling  normal and enjoy life again.   I have come to loathe the day that I ever heard the word Effexor.  I was normal before I took that crap, but at this point, I am beginning to wonder if I will ever feel normal again…  

The good news is this…I am getting a lot accomplished while trying to stay busy–in between migraine headaches, nightmares, body aches and sleepless nights–Here’s a picture of one of my projects.  Maybe something good is coming out of this misery… 

porch chairs...before

 

new tables, planters, and porch chairs…after

Yes, I painted those ugly brown chairs black!  My granddaughter, Madison had stepped on a rocker to one of them and broke it.  Ed repaired the rocker, so the chair had to be painted…The newly painted chairs looked lonely, so I decided to add some side tables and planters.  In addition, I painted the porch banisters,  the deck boards, and washed down the front of the house…Now you know why I feel like the Teddy Bear looks….Thanks for letting me vent.  I feel better now…I still have one more painting project awaiting my attention! 

Random Dozen…April 21

1. Ever had any run-ins with the “library police?” No, I can’t say that I have.  I used to work in the high school library, so I am sort of “library-minded”…take care of those books, get them back on time, etc…That’s me…a little on the “nerdy side”.

2. Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts?  I keep a small amount of supplies on hand for most occasions–tissue paper, ribbon, wrapping paper, and a gift bag or two.  Doesn’t everyone?  Always be prepared!

3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster?  Yes.  Once a tornadoe came through our backyard while I was home alone (I was pregnant at the time) I hid inside of the smallest room in the house, and prayed.  The house shook and  it sounded like a train coming through.  Fortunately, the only damage sustained was a large tree was uprooted in the backyard.  A good friend of mine lost her  home, plus the homes of her neighbors on both sides of her were destroyed in a tornado.  There was NOTHING left standing of any of the three homes.  My friend had her hand on the outside door knob when the tornado hit…miraculously nobody died.

4. What’s your favorite Barry Manilow song?  I’ll bet there are some who are saying…”Barry who?” LOL  So long ago…what did he sing?  I guess I’ll go with “I Write The Songs” or maybe “Looks Like We Made It”  I actually had to google him to see what he sang…

5. What’s the best costume you’ve ever worn?  My hubby and I dressed up as Mustard and Ketchup this past Halloween–I was Ketchup!

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?  I don’t use either one much, but probably use the dictionary the most.

7. What’s your favorite breakfast food? It’s a tie between scrambled eggs/bacon and french toast/bacon.

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial? Once I bought this pan that cooked several things at once.  I can’t remember the name of it, but it didn’t work for me like it did on television!  I think it was called a Turbo Cooker.

9. Have you ever crawled through a window? I can’t remember ever crawling through a window…I’m a bit of a clutz.

10. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes, I am a romantic at heart.

11. How man pairs of jeans do you own?  None…I haven’t worn jeans since the late 70’s.  I don’t understand the fascination with them..they don’t wear good, and most people don’t look good in them….but that’s just my opinion.  I do have one pair of denimn shorts.

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on “Ace of Cakes.”) What kind of question is that?  I don’t have an answer so I will just tell you about the funniest birthday cake that I ever received.  It was almost my birthday and I had found a red mini van that I wanted REALLY bad… I told my hubby that I wanted a red mini van for my birthday…He had a birthday cake made with a red mini van drawn on top of it…HA HA  I did get that red mini van eventually though!

Thanks to Lid at http://www.2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com for hosting this week’s Random Dozen…Maybe it was just me, but these questions were a challenge this week.

Ms. Ketchup and Mr. Mustard

Shelter Tales…”Socks” aka “Big Red”

"Big Red" and "Mr. Big" sharing a "morning sniff...while "helping" me paint

How many cats does it take to help paint???  That is the question I was asking myself yesterday when I was trying to paint the door to my little back porch.  For some reason, whenever I am trying to do something, “Big Red” is usually in the way.  Yesterday was no exception, but this time, “Big Red” had a friend–“Mr. Big”– tagging along.  I finally had to get ugly with the two of them, and resorted to the spray bottle of water…it was either that or have cat hair mixed in the wet paint! 

I adopted “Socks” back in 2004, along with his sister, “Bobette”.  Both kittens were dropped off at the shelter together, so that’s how I adopted them…together.  Remember, that 2004 was the first summer that I volunteered at our local shelter, and cats were everywhere…  

I don’t know how two cats could look so different, and be litter mates.  “Bobette” was a gray tabby bob-tailed cat, and “Socks” was bright orange with a long tail, and  four white feet, which made him look like he was wearing socks!   “Socks” has strange markings on his sides, and it you look closely, it seems to spell “Todd”… 

 Much to the dismay of my hubby, my “brood” of cats was steadily growing.  The picture below was taken during that summer–and all of the cats that I adopted were not in that picture…FYI The cat with 1/2 of a tail was born that way. 

Bottom to top: Cali-girl, Socks, Mr. Big, Stubby, Bobbette

I didn’t have “Bobette” for very many months before she disappeared.  She disappeared during the time when our neighborhood bald eagle was swooping in and stealing my cats!  I lost several cats to that darn eagle!  Bobette was one of my smaller cats–the ones that the bird seemed to prey on.  Unfortunately, some of the smaller cats were also my favorites… 

“Socks” loves to eat–he always has.  The more he ate, the bigger he got.  Eventually he got so big, we began calling him “Big Red”.  The name “Socks” no longer seemed appropriate. 

"Big Red" participating in his favorite activity...can you tell how fat he is?

“Big Red” could be a force to be reckoned with, due to his size, but instead he’s a gentle  giant.  Maybe it was growing up with the name “Socks”???  Just yesterday  afternoon, I watched another tom cat half  “Big Red’s” size, jump on him and  run him off.   

If “Big Red”  hadn’t been neutered, he’d probably be a lover–not a fighter, too!  We’ll never know…  He just sprawls out in the yard, and enjoys himself–waiting for his next meal–or the next chance to “help” me do a painting project!  It’s a crazy life…but it’s his life!