Category: Life

And I am back! Finally. After feeling really truly ill, I am now over the worst of it and starting to feel human again. So here I go with my Thursday Thirteen List!

1. On Tuesday I was feeling pretty good, so I started the big job of cleaning every thing!
2. On Wednesday I even took apart the fridge and cleaned that!
3. The laundry is getting done now.
4. My Prime Rib is thawing for Easter!
5. The vegetables will be, mashed yukon gold potatoes, green beans, maybe a little asparagus, butternut squash, and some pearl onions.
6. My cousin Janet is making her special yeast rolls. These are totally amazing!
7. She is also making coconut cupcakes!
8. I went to Weight Watchers today. After being so ill, I did not lose anything! I told Hubby that my body is really good at self preservation! If I was somewhere and couldn’t get food, I’d last at least a year!
9. I came home and moved furniture. I was so careful, so I did not hurt my back. All is well!
10. I got my call to Jury Duty again. I will be called in May.
11. Mandy has her 3-D ultra sound tomorrow and I am really excited. I get to go with her, her half sister, and Matt’s Mom! We’re meeting for lunch before, and making a real party out of it!
12. My forsythia is starting to bloom. I sure hope we don’t have a hard frost!
13. I’m trying out a new recipe for salmon fillets.  If it  is good, I’ll post it!

1. What’s the last job you did that required elbow grease?

I burned a stainless steal pot with (oh gosh, can’t recall) and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get it clean. It’s one of my favorite pots, and I use it a lot when I make my jams and jellies. Anyway, I went online and found step by step instructions on how to clean it, and I was amazed that it cleaned so easily. I have saved the instructions, because I just know I will do it again.

2. March Madness, aka the men’s Division I basketball championship, is nearing an end. What sort of ‘madness’ has your house seen this month?

I’ve been so ill that everything has sort of fallen apart. I have fed husband and dogs, and done a little laundry, but I have done far more sleeping.

3. What’s your favorite shop for browsing?

I love Coldwater Creek. But I also love Macy’s. And now I’m going to be a Grammie, Carters!

4. Is there ever a time when giving up makes sense?

No. I can speak from experience. You never know what’s around the corner!

5. What’s a song you love that contains the name of a city, state or country in its title?

“God Bless The USA” by Lee Greenwood.

6. When did you first begin using a computer?

When we first moved down to Florida, back in 1993-94. Hubby would go off to work, and I was alone. Hubby’s college room mate would email me, and he would ask questions that required a response. Before I knew it, I was writing to a dachshund club, then making banners. Well, let’s put it this way, I was hooked!

7. Did you buy girl scout cookies this year? What’s your favorite?

No I did not. Why? Well, because I love them! People say I should freeze them. Well, I love thin mints frozen. And a serving size? One sleeve on thin mints is a serving size!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Okay. What happened to spring? Last week we had the most beautiful, warm, weather. The dogs, Hubby and I were enjoying the heat, I’d even started to think changing my closet around to some summer clothes. Now, overnight, we have freezing temperatures! All I can say is, C’mon, Mother Nature! I want springtime!!!

So, I am pulling my hair out! It seems that if I want to go back to Windows XP, it will cost somewhere over $200.00. And my little laptop doesn’t have enough RAM to accommodate an upgrade to Microsoft 7. So, what’s a girl to do? I may wait a little longer, and then my laptop will die, and I will get something else. I admit that I am thinking about switching to Apple. It seems that they have stayed loyal to their customers.

Here is the biggest Vista problem I have right now. I cannot get my computer to talk to the Network so that I can use either one of our printers! It’s like living in a vacuum!

I spent the morning and part of the afternoon trying to get it all working, but couldn’t. I switched gears later in the day, and wrote my report. I also made dinner, and cleaned it all up.

Now I need to walk away from this silly machine, read for a while, before going to bed. I drive down to visit with Mandy tomorrow, and Hubby and I also need to find a room for the night before the cruise. We called to make sure our friend remembered we were coming, only to find out that he didn’t! Yikes!

So now to find a nice room that will not bankrupt us, for the night.

Between now and the day we leave for our vacation, it sure will be a busy time. So glad that when I called our house sitter, she is all set to move in!

Recently an acquaintance of mine has been presented with a difficult situation. She has lost sleep, cried tears of sorrow and asked for God to ease her pain.

Not knowing exactly what to say, I began to think, quite deeply about the value of people in our lives. Sometimes it is difficult to see their value, and other times, it’s very ease.

Back when I was born, my other Grandmother thought my parents were quite reckless to have another child. Three children! Oh dear. In fact she saw so little value in my birth, that she did not tell her family back in Canada of my birth. My great aunt Mamie, and I met when I was 30 years old! Mamie was 92!

I was talking to my mother about it on Saturday and we agreed that the fact that she had my sister and me has been a real blessing to her in her old age.

You see, sometimes we can’t see the full value of the people in our lives when, perhaps we should.

My acquaintance, is finding that as much as she loves and cares, her feeling are not being returned. In fact, the people involved are being cruel and find no value in her at all.

I told her that God doesn’t make junk. There are times we are tested, and we have to persevere. After all, we ourselves know, we have VALUE.

For many years, I was angry at my mother for bitter words we had exchanged. I didn’t visit, I didn’t call. I was cruel.

But then, I began to see the value of my mother. She will be 83 this year. I’d better stop being so haughty, and start finding the love, because if I don’t she’ll be gone and I will never have the chance to tell her…

Mom, you have value to me in my life.

So, my advice to my acquaintance was to give the worries to God. Let the Lord handle it. You cannot make someone like you, even if your feelings for them are pure. Some people will, sadly, never know the value of those who love them.

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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The weekend started with icy, sleety, rainy, snow. Hubby was busy keeping the drive clear, and also slipping away to ski. Since I do not like the conditions mentioned above, I stayed home. I just do not do cold and wet when I am trying to ski, and ice? Forget about it!

On Saturday our temperatures started off cold and then began dropping. By noon to become colder. By the time we were ready for bed, it was already below 0 (F).

However the temperature made no difference to us, because I’d made a terrific turkey dinner for Hubby and me, AND the New England Patriots won their playoff game!!! I mean, how good is that? You just have to love Tom Brady. Not only is he drop dead gorgeous, but he is one heck of a Quarterback!

Sunday found us just trying to stay warm. It is all of 6 degrees right now and falling once again. We’re watching more football, to see who will play the Patriots next week, (Baltimore) and it has actually been fun, even though I don’t know much about Baltimore and Houston.

My daughter has her next ultra sound on Tuesday. I am so excited, because we will find out then what they are having!!! Matt’s Mom and I are so happy to become first time Grammies! Not to mention how excited and thrilled Mandy and Matt are!!!

Happy Monday, Everyone!!!

It is cold! Yep, right now (Saturday afternoon) it is seven degrees (F) and expected to drop down below zero tonight. On Sunday we expect that it will not get any warmer than 9 or 10 degrees (F)! My hands are cold, my toes are cold, and the dackels look at me with disgust when I put them outside to do their business. Poor babies! They really freeze. I think I need to put their little sweaters on.

Fritz, however, loves this! He runs around like a wild deer, and I swear I see a smile on his face! Of course, with that heavy white fur coat on, he probably doesn’t feel the cold at all.

On Saturday I cooked the turkey that was hiding in my deep freezer. It sure smells good in here, as the turkey nears being done. We’ll have a regular turkey dinner tonight, and then I will bone the bird, cook the bones, and then make soup and little pot pies and slices of turkey for sandwiches. Hubby and I are trying to really buckle down and eat economically.

We’re trying….I must say, because after Christmas there was a tremendous jump in food prices around here! I told Hubby we will need to plant a nice bigger garden this year, to help supplement our groceries.

Not too much else happened on Saturday. I think I will ask Hubby to make a fire in the hearth, just to take the chill off the house.

Then we will watch the New England Patriots play the Denver Broncos!

PS: The turkey was great! I think I have discovered a secret. One our mothers and grandmothers already knew. Always use a covered roasting pan for the turkey and the bird will stay nice and moist! For some reason I thought an open roasting pan would be good, but my turkey was coming out dry. Went back to using Hubby’s mother’s roasting pan & cover and the turkey was perfect!

When I woke up on Saturday morning, I asked Hubby what he might like to do. He answered that he didn’t have any big plans. Great. In the last few days we’d been talking about replacing my chair, as I have previously mentioned, at 10 years of age, the thing is quite literally falling apart. We also wanted to do two things. Buy local (no chain stores) and buy made in the USA. I really want to support people in this country, their families and the furniture industry.

All that being said, off we went to a store where I’d gotten my “Snuggler” 10 years ago. A “Snuggler” is a chair and a half, thus giving me and the dackels plenty of room to sit together. The store is family owned, and has been in Plymouth, New Hampshire for over 50 years. Unfortunately, after looking at what they had, and pricing things, we left. I really felt bad. I wanted to buy from them!

We went and had lunch at a Chinese Restaurant, and the food was fine, but gave me terrible heartburn. Yes, I am getting old!

Then we were off to the next place. Also a family own business. There was a big sign outside saying that they were having a big sale on ALL their recliners. We walked through, but I saw nothing that even came close to what we both wanted or needed.

So, we left. We took the back roads home, and during the trip I mentioned that we should stop at the furniture store in our town (also family run). Hubby wasn’t too sure, because he has been in there before over the years and not seen anything. I, however, mentioned to Hubby that they were carrying several new lines of reclining furniture.

I guess I was convincing, because Hubby stopped and we went in to look. I knew where they kept the reclining furniture, but we picked up the salesman, and off we went.

I entered the room, walked about ten steps and there it was!

It is a loveseat, but a small one. Both sides do recline, but I doubt that Greta will care. It is made in the USA, and is so comfortable! Tennessee you make a comfortable seat! Since they order everything, I asked if I could get custom material. I am getting a light, leather “look” covering. This materiel is very durable, and should hold up well with the dogs. But this is the style.

Best of all Hubby found a new chair too, and because we bought the furniture together, we got a very good deal!

Hubby’s is a blue color and very nice. In the weave there is the same color as my light brown faux leather, so they do go together. The two chairs should be into our home in about six weeks!

I ended my day feeling happy. I was able to do what I really wanted to do. I bought from local merchants, and I bought items that are made in the USA!

Every day we hear about another factory closing and people losing their jobs. So, I think the next year I will “try to buy” USA made products unless there just isn’t anything offered.

And…here we go!

1. Discussions abound for our upcoming trip!.
2. It’s so hard for me to say goodbye.
3. I think it’s time for me to ORGANIZE!.
4. The ultrasound pictures of my grand-baby puts a smile on my face.
5. Maybe sometime I will finally deal with my weight issues permanently.
6. God gives me strength.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to a fire in the hearth, tomorrow my plans include taking down the Christmas tree and putting all the holiday boxes away and Sunday, I want to read, and relax!!