The Grieving Insomniac

My dad died almost a year 1/2 ago.  Prior to his death I had lost many other people who had been close to me including my grandparents, my piano teacher/mentor, my sister, my cousin, two aunts, and assortment of other friends and family members.  Most of these deaths happened quickly.  We just got that phone call saying that they died, or had that rush to the hospital and they died on the way.  My sister had leukemia for 2 years before she died.  My dad had multiple myeloma for 2 years before he died.  With my sister I don't remember a whole lot.  She was 21 years older than me and I was only 9 when she died.  My parents kept me very sheltered from everything.  I didn't even attend the funeral.  That was back in a time when children didn't go everywhere with their parents like they do now. When my dad died he was at home.  He had been on hospice for one week.  During that week I was at work except for that Friday, the day bef...

Dear Readers, Today has been eventful :)  This morning I heard my lovebird Tweety making noise and I said something to her.  Her cage is by the bay window at the front of the house.  I was in our bedroom at the back of the house.  Next thing I hear is flapping.  Tweety had opened her cage door!  She landed on the bed just as I was ready to make it.  I grabbed a towel from the linen closet and then the fun began!  Tweety did not want to be caught so she flew from my dresser to my head to the linen closet door to my head then to the picture screen and back to the dresser.  She even landed on my jewelry box which has a mirror and proceeded to squawk at the bird in the mirror!  Finally I caught her on the dresser and brought her back to her cage.  She's been playing "Tweety ball" ever since.  She has two small cat toy balls in her cage that she slings around and then tosses into her water bowl. After all that excitement and get...

Dear Readers, There is so much to pray for in Japan that it is overwhelming, but these seem to be the things that are sticking out:      Pray for the 50 workers at the nuclear plant.  They are there risking their lives. Pray for the women and children who are spending the night outside in 20 degree weather with little to protect them from the elements. Pray that it isn't true that the 4th reactor has no water...this can make a bad situation even worse. Pray for the missing and those who have missing friends and relatives that they are found safe and sound. Pray that the weather clears up so the relief helicopters can get into Sendai to give the people much needed supplies and food. Blessings upon you, Jenn

I actually enjoy doing laundry! I learned how to do my own when I was in jr. High. As the years have gone by I've found certain detergents, settings, and ways to sort that I prefer. I'm allergic to everything so I only use free detergent. I prefer All or Tide. Tide now has a free with Oxyclean! I also use Tide Free Coldwater and Woolight for darks. Woolight is not free, but I only use it on pants and my husbands work shirts. My washer and dryer used to belong to my mom. They are not HE's which I prefer. I like the old fashioned knob kind. On the washer I can choose hand wash as a setting which I love! I wash all underwear, socks, hankies, and nighties in warm water. I always do a second rinse and dry on delicate. All towels, sheets, blankets, etc. are washed on hot with a second rinse and dried on high. Everything else is washed in cold and dried on delicate or medium. Cold keeps our nice clothes from looking worn out. I do hang dry some shirts and other delicates. ...