Category: Happiness

My life changed a few months ago. I was in the grocery store and I saw an Apple called “Koru”. Now I love apples anyway, so I decided to get a couple and try them.

I am over the moon in love with this apple. I probably eat two a day and they taste that good each time and for every bite! Yum!

Since Jack (AKA Apple Jack) knew nothing about this apple I decided to find out what I could about it. What type of apple was it related to? It certainly didn’t taste like anything I’d ever eaten.

So here we go. A little bit about my favorite Apple.

“Bringing KORU Apple to you is a story beginning with pure chance. From a little seedling, we have established an international commercial production over two decades. We hope you enjoy the journey…

Geoff Plunkett discovered Koru as a chance seedling in 1998 near Nelson, New Zealand. Plunkett and his family believed the seedling grew from an apple his wife’s mother threw into the garden. They began to be commercially available in 2013. Today, about 85% of the Koru apples in the US are imported from New Zealand. However, they also grow in the Northwest and Northeast of the United States. The number of Koru apples available to market has steadily grown over the past few years, as more people have discovered them. Some growers think it has the potential to have a larger presence on grocery shelves, much like the modern variety Honeycrisp.”

This week our local grocery store had a sale on Koru apples. I bought 10 pounds! (Remember, apples are heavy!)

So, give them a try. Their juicy, sweetness will win you over. At WW many of my Classmates have been convinced and were also going shopping to take advantage of the sale.

As the weekend neared, our temperatures began to moderate some. we actually had some melting in the drive and on our back patio. Jack decided to clean up the yard a bit and make the doggy run area a bit wider.

My work was washing the master bedroom and family room. Since I’ve been laid up for a while the dust was deep. So out came the Clorox Wipes and everything got wiped down. Tomorrow will be vacuuming day. Both the family room and the bedroom, and probably the kitchen too.

I expect that we will watch another marathon viewing of Homeland. We’ve really enjoyed watching the older episodes as we wait for the new ones.

The birds have been busy at the feeders, and I really enjoy watching them. I find such peace with that.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

As you all know, I returned to WW Class on January 1st, 2020. My New Years Resolution was to stick to the plan and lose the weight I need to so that I can get my health back.

In the three weeks, I have stuck to the plan 100%. No cheating, no overeating, and I have done very well. In fact, I am so encouraged that it is actually making it easier to stay on plan, and I feel I have fallen into a good routine.

Here is what I have done since January 1st!

I’m feeling good and I started to anticipate things in my mind. For instance, if I can lose 15 pounds a month…

But, I quickly reined in my thoughts and said to myself, “Not so fast, Maribeth. I need to simply take it one day at a time”.

I’m also thinking about things differently. I’m making these changes in my eating because it is healthier for me.

Really I feel pretty good about the whole thing. No, I feel very good! This is working out nicely. I will keep you all posted!

Thursday night was pretty cold up here. When I woke at 6 AM it was 38 degrees (F). I looked outside and there was a heavy dew on the ground. I decided that it was time for me to bring in my Christmas Cactus Plants.

Last Spring, after I was sure that the frosts were over, I put all three of them outside. They all looked pretty bad and if they died, they died.

We had a lot of rain in the Spring and I was worried they wouldn’t do well because of all the moisture. Then I read all about Christmas Cactus’s and learned that they are not Cactus! They are succulents! They are also, three different varieties of Christmas Cactus!

So I left them alone. Out in the warm rain with both sunshine and rain and they came back! So I repotted all three of them, putting them in nice mossy soil with good drainage, and they continued to thrive.

This is my oldest Christmas Cactus. It’s looking so much better now.

This is my second Christmas Cactus and I thought I could pull this one back and I did.

And lastly, this one I thought for sure was a goner! I predicted that I would be throwing it in the compost pile! But if you look at all the lighter color leaves, you will note all the new growth!

So the Christmas Cactus plants were all moved inside today and now all I need to do is remember to water them daily and mist them once a week.

I think I can handle that! Have a great weekend everyone!

Coming home found me doing all the things that had not gotten done in my absence. I spent the day doing laundry, hanging it out to dry and going to the grocery store.

The weather was lovely and surprisingly, the traffic was not too bad. It’s actually Motorcycle week here, but I suspect the beautiful weather had the motorcyclists were all down at Weirs Beach or at some other lakeside venue.

It felt good to be home again, and Jack teased that I seemed happier. I told him that a week away had recharged my batteries! Just what the doctor ordered.

Certainly, all the dogs are happy with my return. As I wandered from room to room cleaning and changing sheets, I had three little beings following me! Here is Mr. Arnie and I all cuddled up!

I desperately need a manicure, but I think I will have to do it myself. My nails are so long (I cannot believe I wrote that!), and I need to shorten them before I break them working around the house!

Happy Thursday!

On Friday I mentioned to Jack that they were having a President’s Day Sale at our local furniture store. It’s a family owned business and I’ve been buying from them for many years.

In fact, the daughter of one of the Owners helped deliver Greta’s second litter of puppies, all those years ago.

So after getting the mail, and picking up a part for our snow blower, we went to Ippolito’s Furniture. We were paired up with a nice young man, Josh, who went with us up to the recliner section of the store.

I knew I wanted a small loveseat with recliners on both sides. This is a prerequisite due to the two dackels who like to sit with me in my chair. And I wanted a mechanism that would not break as my last chair did.

I looked at a few, which had sale prices, but quite honestly, they were ugly! I was trying to convince myself that I would be happy with one of those (cheaper) ones when I accidentally sat down on a small cream colored loveseat. I say accidentally because I never sit down on anything that I am not planning to buy, and this seat was not on my list. But as I sat there, it felt so comfortable. The reclining mechanism is electric and it moves smoothly and it even has an adjustment for the neck!

It was an “as is”, floor sample that was half price! Be still my heart. It was made in the USA from a company called Southern Motion in Pontotoc, Mississippi.

The leather is as soft as butter and when I sit on the loveseat my neck and back felt gently supported.

It still cost more than I had wanted to spend, even with the discount, but I could not walk away from it. I decided that I didn’t just want this loveseat, I needed it!

They were not sure when they could deliver, despite the fact that we live a mile from the store, but I mentioned this and also how I knew the family. Papers were signed, my SkyMiles card was used for the purchase, and off we drove.

This morning at 8:45 AM the delivery team called and at 9:30 AM the guys arrived with my new seat! Between their call and their arrival, I managed a shower and I did a quick vacuuming.

They removed my old, broken down loveseat and brought the new one in, placed it for me, and plugged her in!

Arnie jumped right up after I put on the blanket to protect the seat from dackel nails and he wholeheartedly approves. The only thing that freaks him out is the electronic part. Every time I put my feet up or down, Arnie stops, watches and looks at me quizzically.

I am thrilled though and have enjoyed the comfort that this seat has provided me off and on during the day. Yay!

And since this is my Birthday – Christmas -Valentine’s Day gift I say Thank You to my dear Jack!