Today is the eighty-first birthday of my husband Jack. It’s quite a milestone for him and for us. We met many years ago and were friends for a long time. We saw each other through many difficult times in life, and eventually, when we figured it all out, we got married and started our life together. That was thirty-one years ago. How the time has flown.
Today we celebrate Jack’s birth and here is hoping for not only a happy day but a healthy and wonderful year ahead!
People, here we are on the first Friday in May! I cannot believe how fast the year is going. The weirdest part is that we usually have nice warm temperatures now, but it has been cold and rainy. Go figure!
So, here are this weeks Friday Five!
Wednesday was a great day for catching a few pictures of this great area I live in. So here are some of my pictures and a small blurb about each one.
1. Yes, the fruit trees are starting to bud and once again life is returning to these parts!
2. My neighbor’s beautiful forsythia is about to blossom, and yes, that is the driveway leading down to my house. At the bottom of the drive to the right is my house!
3. This is one of the smaller rocks that Jack dug out of our driveway. The upper part of the driveway is dirt, and in it, we grow rocks every year! That’s why they call us the Granite State! LOL!
4. Here is another one. There is still another very large boulder, but we will need to hire a backhoe to pull that one out!
5. This is one of my favorite summer houses along the boulevard, at Weir’s Beach. The owners always keep it well painted and beautiful. Despite the somewhat funky colors, I love it!
6. This is a wide angle view of Weir’s Beach. It is on Lake Winnipesaukee. In the bygone era of the late 1800s and early 1900s, wealthy families owned these homes and came up from the city to escape the heat and enjoy the Lakes.
7. Another shot of The Weirs, showing the Railroad Tracks, that lead up from the city, and went even further into the Mountains. These tracks are still used during tourist season.
8. My own little lake, Lake Waukewan. We are called The Lakes Region, as 1/16 of New Hampshire is water, much of it in the Lakes Region. The largest lakes in the region include Lake Winnipesaukee with 72 square miles of water, more than 200 miles of shoreline, and 274 habitable islands; Squam Lake, where the movie “On Golden Pond” was filmed; Lake Winnisquam, Newfound Lake, and Ossipee Lake.
I found this great picture from when we hiked up Rattlesnake Mountain, and this was our view of Squam Lake in 2014. Arnie, Anneliese, Greta, and the White Shepherd is our old boy, Fritz.
9. There are nearly 1,000 lakes and ponds greater than 10 acres in the state with a total surface area of almost 165,000 acres (NH- DES, 2008a). With the exception of Lake Umbagog and Lake Sunapee, the largest lakes are in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region: Winnipesaukee, Squam, Winnisquam, and Newfound. But I really do love our little lake!
Lake Waukewan.
10. One of the nice things about living in the country is that we can allow the dogs to run. They are all older now and do not wander. In fact, they’re more company than I ever expected them to be. What wonderful companions!
Lili walking with me in front of our house.
11. We also share our area with some cute animals, like this Ground Hog who lives in our front yard.
12. Not to mention all the Wild Turkeys that traipse through our yard and eat the apples and drive the dogs insane!
And yes, I did take this picture!
13. Lastly, I love the deer that live all around the Lakes Region, as well as our State. Last year we had three families that came to our yards to live and to have their fawns. That was so special.
I also took this one!
Actually, I took them all. I hope, that you can see at least a few of the reasons that I love my beautiful New Hampshire!
I keep waiting for Spring to arrive. I woke up on Monday morning and it was 34 degrees! Although the ice is out of all the Lakes, there is still a nip in the air and it can be brisk at times.
At least today we actually saw blue skies and a little sunshine! However, more showers are due to arrive later on.
I had an exciting Amazon Delivery today. Over Easter, I had gotten some cheap plastic containers to put my Lime & Pear gelatin in. The containers had tops which I loved for stacking in the fridge. After Easter dinner, I washed them in the dishwasher and they melted! Ugh!
So I saw some glass ones with tops, made by Anchor Hocking. They’re dishwasher safe and actually quite lovely. They arrived and when I make the gelatin tomorrow I will use the new cups and tops!
The Lime Gelatin Salad is easy. Take a box of Lime Gelatin, and prepare. Drain a can of pear halves, get out some maraschino cherries. Put Pear half in the dish, put cherry in the center, and fill the dish with Lime Gelatin. Put in fridge until it sets. Serve with Cool Whip or Mayonnaise. I like Cool Whip and Jack like Mayonnaise. You choose. We also use sugar-free gelatin, and pears packed in their own juice.
We love this and eat it very often!
In the last few days, I have been presented with problems in the lives of people that I feel very close to and are dear to me. There is nothing I can do personally for them. Except, of course, pray. However, it has got me thinking about life in general and how very blessed I am.
First, I have a wonderful loving family. A beautiful and intelligent daughter and when she sees me she smiles and lets me know how important I am to her. Even if it is with a loving smile and a sparkle in her eyes.
Next, I have two happy and healthy grandchildren that I adore. I never expected this. I mean, I’d always hoped for grandchildren, but I was thinking that this might be a pleasure I would not have. Then, Savannah came along! What a blessing! Savannah is my little cuddle-bug and when she sees me, her face lights up and she runs into my arms! Oh, love!
Quinn is a tad shyer, but in the last year when I walk into the room, he gives me the cutest boy smile, with all sorts of charm, and he now hugs me before I leave to come home. Boys are so different from girls, something I had to learn.
Next, on my list of people I am thankful for is my husband of 31 years, Jack. I am so lucky to have had this man in my life, who has always been there for me and never given up on me, even when I have been hard to get along with. Trust me, I am no walk in the park.
I am thankful for my family and friends and for my home. So many people have none of these things, and so I remind myself constantly that in truth, I am blessed!
I wonder why people find it difficult to appreciate what they have and stop nitpicking their lives until they die.
Life will never be perfect. But it’s life! Living, breathing, wonderful life. If you are healthy, have a place to live, a few people you share your life with, perhaps a dog or cat, well, you’ve got it made! So many in this world have almost none of that.
Live, Laugh, Love!
(My sister and I made a heart with our hands over a memorial plaque for our parents.)
Saturday found me awake at 6:15 AM. I put the coffee on, walked the dogs in the rain, and then came in, stripped the bed, and started washing sheets, blankets, towels, etc. All in all, I did 9 loads of laundry. Washed, dried and put away. Not to mention remaking the beds.
I made a nice breakfast for us, which included my new favorite. A flaxseed (meal) muffin. It’s made in the microwave in a coffee mug and it really is good! The added bonus here is that the freshly ground flaxseed is good for lowering your cholesterol naturally.
I am posting the Flaxseed Muffin recipe on Saturday, so just scroll down for the recipe.
Lunch was interesting too. I made a cauliflower pizza crust and topped it with onions, peppers, mushrooms, and roasted eggplant. Topped off with a quarter of a cup of fat-free mozzarella cheese and baked for 20 minutes! Delish!
After that I cleaned the freezer in the kitchen out and organized it, as the last time I opened the freezer door, a pound of ground beef fell out, just missing my toes!
My new shoes arrived and they fit perfectly and I love them! The burgundy ones are for wearing with dressy slacks when I want to walk on the wild side, and the other pair is for me to use as slippers around the house. I have terrible feet and need arch supports all the time. What do you think of them?
I love the burgundy ones. The shape, the style and yes, I adore the color! It certainly perked me up to get the mail today!
I also stopped in at Walmart and found a DVD of the movie “Sully” for $5.00! Call me a very happy girl!
Flaxseed Muffin
3 WW Points
Ingredients:
¼ cup Flaxseed meal 1 Egg
½ tsp. Baking Powder 1 tsp. Splenda or Stevia
½ tsp Cinnamon 1 tsp sugar-free applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Spray a heavy coffee mug with PAM non-stick spray and add a beaten egg. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Microwave on high for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Loosen around the edges and turn out on a plate. I cut it into thirds and use a little Fat-Free margarine. Yum!
To make Flaxseed meal, place whole seeds into a coffee grinder or food processor and grind until meal consistency. Store all Flaxseed in the fridge in a covered container after opening the bag.
Tell me how this is happening. It’s already the end of April. In fact, this is the last weekend in April! Oh my goodness. I think I must quickly pass along this information…As you get older, Time Goes By Much Faster!
Thursday was a lovely Spring day and I tried some new things on my cell phone camera. So this week, here are the five pictures of life around my home.
2. Another pretty flower bulb, a Crocus, I planted years ago. It’s lovely. Only two sprouted this year. Time for me to get crackin’ and plant some new bulbs this year!
3. This is my first time using a special method to get a widescreen shot. That’s our stone wall and my neighbors home. The blur at the bottom of the picture in the middle is Arnie!
4. Our lake. I walked down the hill and stood across the street from the beach to take this shot.
5. Our home. Our shrubs haven’t woken up yet, and the grass is not a rich velvety green just yet, but this is our home.
We drove down and had Anneliese to the Canine Ophthalmologist on Wednesday. I’d been hoping for good news, but in the end, it really was just okay news.
Things have not gotten any worse, but they haven’t gotten any better either. In fact, the ulcer has not healed at all, and she actually had a new scratch on the eye.
Okay, I asked, I see that she is not moving around the way she once did. She is very careful and has begun to run into things.
He says her vision is like looking through dirty scratched plexiglass. In other words, she isn’t seeing much. The other eye is holding its own, so she has some vision, but not a lot.
So, my baby is slowly going blind. If she is lucky the process will be slow and she will not live to see the end of her sight.
The good news is she is happy and healthy and well loved. She is comfortable in her home, knows her way around here and we are watchful so that she is safe.
Always and forever, my sweet, sweet girl.
Tuesday was quite simply, the best Spring day. It started with a wonderful hot shower in the morning, and as I dressed, I heard a loud thump on my bedroom window. Bird!
I raced down the stairs and opened the door and there lay a Northern Flicker Woodpecker. He was lying completely still on his side and I feared he was dead!
I felt tears well up in my eyes, as I thought he was dead. But I inspected him a little more closely and he blinked at me!
I went to get my gloves and I carefully turned him right side up to inspect him and check for broken feet wings, or neck. He seemed to be in one piece, but I am sure he had one heck of a headache!
Isn’t he handsome? I looked up all about him and discovered that yes, this is a male. As I spoke to him I called him Woody, and I tried to soothe him.
I decided then to move him carefully to an area on our driveway under the briars where he would be safe from predators while he recovered. He never struggled as I moved him and when I set him down he winked at me again.
I left him there for an hour, watching intently from the window. After an hour or so, I went back out to see how Woody was doing and as I approached him, he jumped up and down and then…flew off!
I stood there watching, then jumped up and down waving my hands in the air! Go, Woody, Go!!!
After this, I checked our Lake and at 11:30 Tuesday morning, Lake Waukewan was iced out!
The big lake, Lake Winnipesaukee was still not clear, but it is expected by the morning to be free of ice as well. Ice Out is a big dear up here in New Hampshire!