Val's Needful Things!

Before I start, it goes without saying that I need God and my family above all else.  Without them, there is nothing else.

I need warm socks because my feet are always cold, even in summer.  People shouldn't have cold feet in the summer time.

I need orange in my wardrobe because it makes me feel cheerful when I wear it.  Orange is such a yummy color... it reminds me of Brach's orange slices and Fanta and summer and Halloween!

I need zombie dolls because their vacant eyes and crooked smiles are oddly cute.  The fact that I put them out at Halloween, which kicks off my favorite part of the year probably helps.

I need to have twinkle lights on SOMEWHERE all year long.  Each night, I turn them on and each morning, I turn them off.  They brighten up the room, just a little and make me feel young.  They remind me of stars and fairy dust and NeverLand....

I need hugs from my family because they make me feel warm inside.  Every morning we have "morning hugs." It was something I started when they were itty bitty babies.  It was an awesome day when my kids started to initiate the morning hug ritual!

I need to garden because I love green and growing things and having a beautiful yard.  I love seeing little green seedlings popping up out of the soil.

I need to say a prayer whenever we hear or see an ambulance or firetruck on it's way somewhere....or when we see a wreck.  I have my family doing it too.  If I was in a wreck, I would want someone to say a prayer for me too.

I need to crochet with lovely yarn because I can't sit still and creating helps me focus and slow down.  Okay, so I can crochet with crappy yarn too, but lovely yarn is SO MUCH BETTER.

I need to drink wine out of a pretty glass because after daddy died I realized that life really is too short to drink wine out of anything less.  Now I drink out of a pretty wine glass EVERY time I have wine...

I need polka dotted toadstools because they ALWAYS make me smile. They make me feel like a kid again.

I need Starbucks salted caramel hot cocoa because it is my favorite all time treat.  Even. In. Summer.  I'm not much of a sweets eater but this is one treat I've never turned down.  

I need to take care of my feet because I like having pretty feet.  I don't EVER want to have crusty "french bread" feet! That being said, no one is allowed to touch my feet except me or my sweet husband, Dean....he will rub them after a long day.  I'm lucky.

I need to go into yarn stores and just take it all in.  It is such a great need that if I am broke, I refuse to go into a yarn store.  I am not talking about general craft stores.  I'm talking about a REAL YARN STORE, the kind of store that has nothing but yarn everywhere, in all types and colors.  Yarn is my crack.  

I need to go into the library even if I'm not looking for a specific book.  I love the smell of the library.  When I was a kid, I would flip straight to the back of the book.    I knew it was a good book if the card had a lot of names on it. Then I'd take it home and read it. 

I need to cook and bake for my family because they enjoy what I make and that makes me happy. I grew up in a household of good cooks and grew up equating good food with good times.  Plus the process relaxes me.  Or maybe the wine relaxes me.  I cook with wine.  I drink it too....in a pretty glass, of course.

I need to take care of lost animals.  I've done it my whole life.  I bring them home and look for their owner.  If I find them out and about and they are sickly, I take them to the vet. If I can't get to them, I say a prayer.  Again, if my own pets were lost, I would want someone to do the same for them.

I need unique pieces of yard art in my garden because they look like jewelry in a sea of green.   I love it because I'll forget that something is there and when working in the yard, I rediscover it and it is like a gift, a little surprise hidden away. 

I need silly notepads because grocery shopping is a pain and using a cute notepad makes it better. I'm a bit oc because I have to rewrite lists before I go to the store if someone wrote something out of place....or if someone crossed something off the list.  The list has to be PERFECT before I use it.

I need song birds in the yard because they remind me of daddy and Peppy. I love that we are on a migratory path for many birds....we get some gorgeous ones here as they travel through.  I love to watch them play in the birdbaths or look for bugs in the yard.

I need to move turtles out of the road so no idiot runs it over....on purpose. I've been doing it since I was 9, by then I was old enough to harass my folks into pulling over so I could save them.
A few years ago, we pulled over so I could move a turtle out of the road.  Some jerk in a truck verred out of his lane and clipped the turtle on purpose, just a couple yards from me.  The poor turtle flung out like a slingshot and landed upside down in a rain filled culvert so I couldn't reach it.  I was so mad and upset.  It upset my whole family that someone could be so mean.  Needless to say, now everyone in my family moves turtles out of the road.  Except when it is too dangerous because it is on a merge lane or super busy road or something.  Then, sadly, poor Yertle is on his own, but I say a prayer.  I always say a prayer.