Strange Dreams & Cooking

Lately, I feel like I have been accomplishing a lot. I wake up with steely determination and I set about a task and get it done.

Monday I woke up after a very weird dream. Anyone who knows me and has visited our home, knows we have a challenging driveway. It is very steep more so in front of the house.

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In the dream, I was looking out our bedroom window and there was a large box van truck in our driveway. It had turned around and was trying to head up the driveway, but it kept slipping down! And then after a few attempts, the truck slid into my house and I could feel the house moving under me. I tried to run but the house began to fall away. Then I woke up. Does anyone want to guess what that dream was all about?

I decided to make a big pot of spaghetti sauce for Jack. Oddly enough I am really not a spaghetti fan, I make great sauce and Jack loves it. So I tend to make big pots of the sauce and then divide them for freezing for future meals. Thus, there was a lot of chopping and sauteing and this is what Jack will be eating for dinner. I think I’m going to do chicken.

Our Christmas tree came down and is put away for another year. It’s so sad because the lights are no longer glowing in the family room. Now I need to pack up my wrapping paper and Christmas cards and wait another year.

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Jack Ryan

People have been telling me for some time that I should binge-watch Amazon’s “Jack Ryan“. Since I have enjoyed all the Hollywood movies to do with Tom Clancy’s hero Jack Ryan, I decided to take the plunge.

I asked Jack if he’d be interested and he said that he would. So starting on Saturday and ending the first season binge-fest on Sunday. We both thought that it was really well done. The script was awesome and interesting, the acting was superb and I would recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed Tom Clancy’s books.

imagesJohn Krasinski as John Ryan was really an excellent casting. He is bold, likable and thoughtful. It’s interesting to see how Jack evolved, met his wife and, well, became the unstoppable Jack Ryan!

If you haven’t watched, give it a try!

7 Things I Love ~ January 5

I was driving around town this morning on the way to get our mail, and I began thinking of all the little things that bring me joy. So, I thought I would start a new meme. I will jot down a few things each Sunday and hope that perhaps, these are some of your favorite things as well.

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Puppies! Here are Arnie and Anneliese. They were the sweetest puppies ever! But I do love puppies and dogs and feel the purity of their love.

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Lobster! Need I say more!

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Fresh summer Butter & Sugar Corn on the Cob!

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Walks in the Bavarian forests.

This is me with a dear friend. He is no longer with us, but I think of him so often and the walks we took in the forest and also going to hunt mushrooms!

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Sunset on my Lake Waukewan.

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A phone call from someone I love.

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Beer. German Beer!

My favorite German beer is Andechs! That is what I am drinking in this stein.

Stay tuned each Saturday for new loves and pictures. Have a wonderful weekend!

Saturday This & That

I started to de-Christmas the house. That’s probably my least favorite thing to do. I didn’t decorate a lot, but the house did look a little merry and bright.  I am dragging my feet about taking down our little tree because I love Christmas tree lights. Sometimes I sit in the morning darkness with only the tree lights on. There is something so peaceful when I do that.

Soon I will take my little tree, engulf it in a giant plastic trashbag and store it for another year. One day I will have a big tree again, but while we have “Leaping Lili”, I just cannot take the chance.

Anneliese did not have the kind of day I’d wanted for her. She was fussing and not comfortable. So, I am hoping that Saturday will bring her relief!

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My daughter sent me this picture of my grandchildren. When I look at those beautiful happy faces, I smile and I can just feel the love.

Happy Saturday, Everyone!

27643294581_6c024a9b1b copyThe handsome Mr. Arnie.

The Friday Five ~ January 3, 2020

The Friday Five
Welcome to 2020! Here we are the very first Friday of this calendar year. Here is what happened in my world on Thursday.

1. It was the morning of January 2nd and I was getting progressively worried about Anneliese. I knew she had some sort of fungal infection, but suddenly she is pacing around, crying and acting really strange.

I knew her Vets were off last week and I wasn’t sure they would be in today, but at 8:45 I called and explained what was going on. I got an appointment for both Anneliese and Arnie for 1 PM.

It’s that time of the year when they both need their shots, anyway. So doing a two-for only made sense.

2. Arnie was great, just slightly underweight. He is just like his Daddy and very picky about his food. So I need to pay a little more attention to feeding him. He had all his shots, which included his Rabies shot, and he was done.

Anneliese took a lot longer. She is ill. She has another UTI and also a fungus infection on her skin. They decided to look at her blood and although her vital organs look good, they could tell she was a sick little girl. They did not want to do her shots today, as they’re reluctant to overload her immune system while she is ill.

3. She is home now and after two hours she has finally settled in her little doggy bed. I had washed it this morning and dried it, so it is all fresh and clean for her.

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4. On our way home, I stopped to get a few things at the grocery, and also stopped at the Post Office to get our mail. I had two drivers who just blew my mind for being rude.

The first was a young man who looked pretty tough in a pick-up truck. He had blocked the public parking with his big truck. I motioned that I wanted to get in and he flipped me the finger. Okay, not feeling comfortable getting out of my car and addressing him, so I had to go all the way around the block and approach the Post Office from another direction.

Next, as I put my blinker on and went to pull into a space in front of the Post Office, a man pulled in front of me and then stopped. Leaving one place in front of him open, and then there was another car. Parallel parking was never my strong suit. Well, this time I hopped out of the car and tapped on his window and with my nicest voice, and a big smile, I asked if he could pull forward, so I could legally park.

Well, he looked at me like I had six heads, but put his window back up and screeched his tires, but he did pull forward. I waved and smiled but he continued to grimace.

There are two things I would like to point out, first, please do not block public parking. I mean, please, just don’t do it. Also flipping off an old woman like me is also not cool.

Second, please do not pull into the first parking place and stop. In this situation, parallel parking stinks for anyone in a larger vehicle. Right now our Main Street is really narrow due to all the snow.

Okay, that’s the end of my little parking rant. And that really was my only gripe for the drive I took.

Arnie & Anneliese

5. The drive to my Vet’s Office, which is 23 miles away, was a beautiful one. There was snow all around the side of the road, (the roads are clear) and glistening fresh snow in the mountains, making everything look splendidly white and beautiful. The two pups really enjoyed the ride too. Well, at least Arnie did.

It’s my hope that by tomorrow morning, Anneliese will be feeling so much better.

A Crazy, Lazy, Day

Well, welcome to 2020! Did any of you make it up until midnight? Not me. I went to bed at 9 PM and when Jack came in to take the dogs for their last commune with nature at 12:30 I was completely asleep and never heard him or woke when the dogs returned. And on the flip side, I didn’t wake until 7 AM! So we are talking a very long winter’s nap!

I watched part of the Tournament of Roses Parade, but eventually turned it off and switched over to The Incredible Dr. Pol. The Parade is not what I recall from my youth. There was a lot of hip-hop music, and rap music. Neither of which are my favorites. I like the Bands and the Floats made of flowers.

I love The Incredible Dr. Pol, as I am in awe of Veterinarians and their ability to take care of man’s best friend. But Dr. Pol goes further. He takes care of all the farm animals as well.

After that, I turned on Amazon Prime and watched a few episodes of What Not to Wear. Another old show that I love. With Prime, I can watch the first few seasons of the series, which I’ve never seen.

All through this, I worked crocheting. Tonight’s dinner is a series of leftovers from the last few days. I need to clear out my fridge!

The birds have been out a lot today pecking away at the suet feeders. With all the snow/ice, there is nowhere else for them to eat.

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Ah yes, these little creatures are my joy!

Happy New Year!

Can it be New Years already?

Here is how I spent New Year’s Eve!

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We went driving through the snow on Tuesday, December 31st. We both had appointments with the Dermatologist for skin cancer checks. The roads were really bad up here in my little town. This Officer was on his way to a crash we saw.

20191231_084618Jack call roads that have been plowed some, and then had dirt and salt tossed on them “Greased Owl Poop”. Slippery as all get out.

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It’s always tough to get these appointments so, despite the snow, we soldiered on and made the usually 1-hour trip in 90 minutes.

I went first and had a small area removed. Nothing major or worrisome. Jack was fine and passed his check with flying colors. Recheck in six months.

I did ask for a referral because I have painful scar tissue from the surgeries I had 7 years ago. Not to worry.

We had lunch and then came home in time to meet up with our Snowplow Man. He is such a nice young man and I am glad we made it home in time as I had Peach Jam for him as a Christmas/New Year gift!

I have steaks, potatoes, and broccoli for our dinner and apple tartlets for dessert. Champagne has been purchased!

So I wish you all, my dear, gentle, readers, A Very Happy and Healthy New Year!

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Winter

And it keeps on snowing, sleeting and icing!

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Monday found us waking to about 6 plus inches of snow, with pellets of ice shooting down. Unbeknownst to be, we had icefall in the night leaving a layer of snow, a layer of ice and then more snow on top and then more ice.

I had nowhere to go on Monday, so we waited for our plow guy to come. He arrived just before noon and I sat in the window watching him plow through this slop.

I am always impressed by how these guys can move their blades around for a really good close plow. (Very much like a man shaves.)

Then it happened. As the plowman pushed the sloppy mess forward in the yard, he got stuck. He tried rocking it, but the wheels would not grip. Oh, I had so much sympathy for him, as I had done something similar when Jack and I were first married. He still mentions it.

His boss (brother) arrived and after finishing our drive, he got out his chain and pulled his brother out. The drove off.

But here we are on Monday night and it is still snow/sleeting out! I’m rather worried as I have a doctor’s appointment some 60 miles away. And unless we are totally snowed in, we will go tomorrow. It’s my annual skin cancer screening.

Oh, I do hope the precipitation stops.

Keeping Busy

I was not feeling strong. I was not feeling ambitious. That being said, I knew I had to vacuum and wipe down counters, if for no other reason than to keep the Department of Health from condemning my home!

All this being said, I will tell you that I had to take breaks during this cleaning frenzy, and once I finished that and changed my sheets, I was done for the day. At least with the heavy stuff.

It’s been three years since I did a major overhaul of my Address-book.  So I sat down with my computer, all my Christmas card return envelopes, and notations that I had made in the book I have currently.

I made sure my alphabetizing was correct and organized with the last name first. I will wait a day or two before printing it up. So, if I do not have a current address for you, please PM or Email me.

The sad part of my day was deleting the names of loved ones who have now passed. And then I would remember a happy memory and smile.

We’re due for bad weather tomorrow and Tuesday so I think I will get into another project that will consume me.

It’s almost New Year’s Eve! Get ready to say good-bye to 2019. I hope that 2020 will be a really wonderful year!

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Plans

Well, yesterday I just plain felt lazy about writing. We went out to dinner with my sister and brother in law, and when I looked at the pictures of my sister and me, well, I cried.

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You see, on Christmas, a few pictures were taken and I looked terrible. How come some people get sick and lose ten pounds and I get sick and gain?

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My face is puffy and swollen and I look like Porky Pig’s sister. It made me pretty upset and also angry with myself.

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Now I’ve been reading all the information on the new WW programs. I know I have to crack down and get serious, so day one of my rededication to losing weight is January 1st.

But I’m not happy with myself, and I want to run away and hide. I keep talking to myself, trying to be gentle and give myself all the encouragement that I need.

I want 2020 to be the year I actually make losing weight a priority!

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