Happiness

I've come through an exceptionally busy week with another busy week ahead. This has included some overnight travel. I don't do well on single overnights in hotel rooms. It takes me a day to get used to the bed and environs of a hotel. When you're only there for one night, I can be wide away at 3 a.m., fully aware that the alarm or wake-up call will be coming in 4 hours. That's not a lot of sleep if you have to drive anywhere in the morning. So, it's with much happiness that I returned home to this smiling face. How can I not feel gratitude for a flower greeting me? It will be exciting to see these go to seed and whether that will attract more birds. I am going to grow these again next year. They are perfect.

Beverage:  English Breakfast tea

Deb

Good Luck

In the box mom gave me back in March was a plastic bag containing these two items. Dad had these and, as she was cleaning, she stumbled across them. Dad kept a lot of things.

The bottom item is decorative. I don't remember seeing this up on a wall anywhere, but it's possible it was out in the garage. It's heavy metal and has a small bit of a green patina.

The horseshoe is a real horseshoe. I have no idea where he would have gotten it, but, with dad, he picked things up along the way and had a lot of friends who would have passed things along. It's worn on the bottom and edges so I'm guessing this had been used at some point. I do remember dad having a horseshoe over the side entrance to the garage when they lived in Marquette.

I think I have a horseshoe in the basement. I don't remember where I would have picked it up. From the Daily Wicca comes this note about horseshoes:

The belief that good luck will come from hanging a horseshoe above a door
originates from beliefs related to symbols of half-circles and crescents.
Early religions considered crescent shaped objects powerful and protective
signs. In ancient Yucatan and Peru, temples were built with arched doorways
because of this notion. In Spain the Moors designed their mosques in arch
formation. Ruins at Stonehenge, England, show that the religious grounds of the
sun-worshiping Druids were in semi-circles or horseshoe design. Down through the
Middle Ages churches and public buildings were built with arched windows and
doorways as a means of protection against evil.

It is thought that horseshoes originated with the Greeks during the 4th Century.
Horses were held sacred at that time, so their crescent-shaped shoes became
symbols of good luck. Added power came from the fact that the horseshoes were
made from iron, the metal that people believed guarded one from the power of
witches. Until recent years, horseshoes were made to hold seven nails, a mystic
and potent number. So its no wonder that the Greeks and Romans always kept a
horseshoe nailed to the wall for protection against almost anything.

There are two beliefs on how to hang your horseshoe. One is to hang your
horseshoe prong side up, so if the Devil should get too near, he will be sucked
in and destroyed. The other belief is that if you hang your horseshoe prong side
down, the good luck will pour out over your threshold, keeping the Devil from crossing it.

So, here's the thing, should I put the horseshoe prongs up or prongs down? Another superstition is that you want them prongs up to catch any good luck floating in the air. The opposite is to have them prongs down so all the good luck will spill out on people as they enter your house. If I really do have two of them, should I put one above each door or should I just mount it on the side of the house near the doors?Sigh. Decisions. Decisions.

I'll give the shoe a good washing first of all as it's kind of dirty and rusty and then see if I really do have another in the basement. If they are good luck, I should have them up on the outside. Lord knows I can use all the good luck I can get.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

Free!

Frequent buyer cards. Ho hum. I rarely get anything from using those little pieces of plastic I have on a separate key ring. I've mentioned before that really, it doesn't cost a company much to offer such a program. The percentage of people who will actually use the $10 off they get for frequenting the store is low so it doesn't hurt the bottom line to have it. (That reminds me. I have $10 off at The Bookstore to use up.)

I'm not quite on a first name basis with my pharmacist but it's getting there. Let's see: Prednisone, Folic Acid, Vitamin D and Methotrexate. All of those come up for renewal at odd times so last month, I was in CVS every week. I'll be needing the Folic Acid and the Methotrexate next week.

I need to check around to see what other places charge for the metho. That's the killer. I had my friend, Jon, figure out my medicine cost for the rest of the year. Assuming Dr. Francis doesn't change anything, it will cost me $390 to finish out the year. Fortunately, my health insurance, such as it is and don't get me started on THAT, will cover it. The other pills are a pittance. I got 90 Prednisone at the last refill for $3.47. I can handle that.

All of these little bottles on top of the microwave mean that I use my CVS frequent buy card a lot. Every script purchased means a swipe of the card. I think I've blogged before about the coupons they have at the bottom of the receipt. I almost never use those. They aren't useful to me.

But last month, one came up that was useful. I had accumulated enough points or whatever they track that I got $10 off my next purchase. I had to go back to get yet another script so what could I use it for? I went through the house looking. I didn't need groceries. I didn't need laundry detergent. I didn't need cat food. I didn't need shampoo. I wound up getting soda and a couple of birthday cards. I didn't need the soda either but free is wonderful.

In hindsight, I should have used the $10 to stock up on something I use. Toilet paper. Fabric softener. Package tape. Heck, I should have purchased a giant size bag of M&M's. At the time, those things didn't occur to me. It was the thrill of actually being able to use a $10 off coupon.

So, when I wander in this weekend, I wonder what will be at the bottom of this receipt. Free chocolate and Dr Pepper. Can't go wrong with that.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

Each Morning

I leave the house to this on the deck now.

How can that not make the day brighter? There are three buds on these sunflowers. They make me smile.

Beverage:  Water

Deb