Category: My Life

1. It’s a brand new month…share one thing you’re looking forward to in October.

Cool, crisp, air, with the changing of the leaves!

2. Is chivalry dead? Explain.

Yes and no. Hubby is such a gentleman, and so are most of the men his age or older, but those in their early 30’s or younger, have no idea. Funny you asked about this. The other day I was going into a shop and a man with a walker, rushed to open the door for me! It blew my mind, as most of the time, the younger men, open the door for themselves and then just let the heavy thing shut heavily behind them!

3. On October 2, 1950 the Peanuts comic strip made its debut. Which character is your favorite? Which character is most like you? (Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Shroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, or Pig Pen)

Snoopy. I love Snoopy! Greta is so much like him in her character, that it is funny! She even carries her dish in her mouth to show she is waiting for her dinner!

4. What’s something you’re competitive about?

I’m really not competitive at all. However, if someone cooks something I think I can cook better I will try it out, over and over, until I perfect it. So yes, I guess I am a competitive cook.

5. October is National Popcorn Popping Month…are you a fan? How do you like your popcorn?

I love popcorn! I love it hot with butter and salt! I could make a meal out of it! Kettle Corn is also good, but movie theater, buttered popcorn is the best!

6. When did you first realize the world is small?

I think when I started to travel around Europe with Hubby. I saw the homes, the families and people going to and from work. I also was on a flight to Frankfurt, Germany and was on my way to the Lavatory, and there sat a man whose children I babysat so long ago!

7. In terms of architecture, what’s the most beautiful building you’ve seen up close and in person?

There was a beautiful church in Bavaria. The Wieskirche located in Steingaden in the Weilheim-Schongau district, Bavaria.  You can go HERE and view some of the pictures of this Church. You can also go HERE and learn more about this beautiful church.

There is a little side story here. Our dear friend, Otto, took us on a ride through the countryside despite his failing health. He wanted to share this most beautiful church with us. I’m so happy he got to see this church again, through our eyes, before he died.

So, forever, this church will hold a very special place in my heart!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Tuesday found us going to a Fly-In. It’s a day when retired Pilots and their families get together to share stories and cook-out. It was so much fun, as many of them flew in their own planes to get there.

Here is our friend and his plane. He was just getting ready to take off to return home.

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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It was a nice, albeit wet, weekend. Since it was wet and cold we had our first fire in the hearth! I loved it! The way a fire smells, and the warmth and the look. Yes, I hope that I can have a fireplace where I live for the rest of my life. There is something about it that warms my heart and soul.

We watched movies, and of course The New England Patriots Football Game on Sunday, and now that the normal referees are back and allowing the players to play, (unlike the temporary referees, who tried to micromanage games), the game was actually interesting.

We attending a “Chowder Festival”, and sampled clam chowders from several different restaurants in our area. Then we got to vote for the best one. Naturally, my favorite one, did not win, but oh well.

I enjoyed my visit with Mandy and Savannah on Friday, and despite the rain then too, I managed the drive, and enjoyed every moment.

I will simply be happier when we have a return to cool, crisp and dry weather.

PS: I got no laundry done and I’m still working on the chicken soup. I simply ran out of energy and ambition, so everything can wait until Monday!

And…here we go!

1. The tale is told of holidays past.
2. My Sauer Braten recipe is something that always makes me think of my ancestors.
3. To ensure Savannah knows me well, I try to visit as often as possible.
4. Weight Watchers Triple Chocolate ice cream pop is a fine thing.
5. It’s never too late to learn something new.
6. I have often made lists on the back of an old receipt.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to an early bedtime, tomorrow my plans include the weekend laundry and Sunday, I want to go to the Chowder Fest up here!

1. The Wednesday Hodgepodge this week falls on John Chapman’s birth date. He’s more famously known as Johnny Appleseed…what’s your favorite variety of apple?

Oh I love “Snow Apples” and “Winter Banana“. You can go HERE to read about antique varieties of apples. They are hard to find now that we don’t have our 65 acre farm. We grew 45 different varieties of apples, and there are even more out there being grown! A good “Macoun” or “MacIntosh” are both terrific, but I had a “Jonathan” the other day that was so good!

2. When did you last say ‘ick’?

Yesterday, when Greta came in for the second time, after she rolled in some kind of wild animal poop!

3. Do you think there’s a generation gap? Explain.

When Hubby and I were first married we had a retired Air Line Pilot living with us. He was 20 years older than Hubby, who is 20 years older than me. We also had Hubby’s daughter living with us, who was 20 years younger than me. Got all that? Okay, I can assure you that there is definitely a generation gap, as we all had very different opinions on the same issues.

4. What’s on your computer screen saver? Do you leave it alone or change it often?

What do you think? It’s a lot of pictures of my Sweet Savannah Rose!

5. If you had the attention of the entire world for two minutes, what would you say?

Wake up! If we don’t all work together to make the world a good and safe place, we will be annihilate in a Third World War!

6. Four fashion trends to try this fall are-brocade/jacquard (fancy printed fabrics), peplum, lace, and printed pants…which of these four would you be most likely to wear?

I get teased all the time, but I wear, what I call, “New Hampshire Chic”! Jeans, turtlenecks and sweaters. It’s so cold and wet, that it doesn’t make much sense to wear fancy clothes.

7. What can make your bad day better?

Any day I see Mandy and Savannah makes my day that much better. But then, being with Hubby and the doggies makes me very happy too. Actually, I would say, I am blessed.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I have been working on getting my couponing up and running. This past week I had over $10.00 in coupons at the grocery store. I am amazed at the web sites where you can clip coupons. I also joined a testing group, that does taste tests of new products. I love that because I actually got two cans of Progresso Soup in the mail! Every little bit I can save, helps.

Do you clip coupons?

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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I hate to say, this weekend was a nice one. It was relaxed, included a trip to the movie theater to see “Trouble With The Curve“, and found me eating apples, freshly picked off of our trees! Does it get any better than that?

I also enjoyed cooking some nice meals for Hubby. A Pot Roast, Pork Chops and Chicken Breasts sauteed with mushrooms! There are times I really enjoy cooking more than others, and this weekend was one of those.

I also watched more than my fair share of movies on the movie channels. I watched a cute “Chick-Flick” called “Love Actually“, which had just about every British actor currently making films in it! I also watched “Red” for about the millionth time and “Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban“!

I read parts of the “Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” on my Kindle and played more games of Solitaire, and losing, than I thought possible.

I also gave the dackels a shower, which was tons of fun! Just picture three wiggling dackels in a shower with me! It was very funny!

So now the week begins and at the end of it, I’ll be seeing my girls!

Happy Monday, Everyone!

1. What’s the best and worst thing thing about growing older?

The best thing is knowing so much more than you did in your twenties. What is important, what’s not. Knowing yourself. The worst thing…that’s easy…”Hot Flashes”!

2. Autumn arrives this week in the Northern Hemisphere…what one thing do you love most about the fall season?

Soups and stews. I don’t make these in the summer, it’s just too hot, but in the winter, I love to make beef stew, chicken soup, or butternut squash soup, etc. You name it, I soup or stew it!

3. Speaking of fall…pumpkin seems to be flavoring everything these days-are you a fan? What’s your favorite pumpkin flavored food or beverage?

This is funny. Although I love pumpkin pie, bread, and muffins, I do not care to drink pumpkin anything, with coffee being at the top of my list!

4. Since we’re on the subject of fall…what’s the worst fall you’ve ever taken?

I’ve had two bad falls in my life. Last year I fell down the cement steps on the side of our house. I was black and blue all over. Thankfully I did not break anything!

The other bad fall was six years ago when I was skiing and took a really bad tumble. I injured my Meniscus, and had a Medial Collateral Ligament injury. I was laid up for some time and worst of all…I had Greta’s 5 puppies that I needed to tend to each day! (That was the litter of pups with Arnie & Anneliese in it!)

5. If you could own a prop from any film what would you choose?

The “Ruby Slippers” from “The Wizard of Oz”.

6. What’s the most interesting word you’ve read or learned in the past week?

Okay the word is “chuffed”. Which means blissful, glad [British], delighted, gratified, happy, joyful, joyous, pleased, satisfied, thankful, tickled. Using it in a sentence “I was feeling rather chuffed with myself, having competed in a cricket tournament with some of England’s best.”

7. When was the last time you locked yourself out of your house, car, or office? Was it a big deal?

A few years back. Thankfully our neighbor and I exchanged keys a few years back and so we can each get into our houses should we need to.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I looked out across our lake yesterday, and it is starting to pop with orange colors on the trees. Yes, Autumn is upon us, and soon the trees will be turning yellow and red and the leaves will be falling. I love this time of year. I love fires in the hearth in the evening, to take the chill off the house. I love the smell of a fresh apple pie baking in the oven and beef stew simmering on the stove. Oh yes, and I love the fact that my birthday creeps in mid November! I never mind birthdays. They remind me that I am alive!

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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My weekend began on Friday with a trip down to see my girls, Mandy and Savannah! Mandy had two doctor’s appointments, and so Grandma got to play with Savannah and take pictures, and even work with her to vocalize.

Yes, I know babies cry, but this is different. I would make a noise like “Ahhhhhhh” and then tap my mouth like a little Indian. At first Savannah was curious about this, and then when I stopped, she would go “Ahhhhhh” and I tapped her lips so she made the noise too! This made her laugh! What fun!

After I left, I went grocery shopping and home, where my day ended nice and early.

Saturday I decided to really kick back and relax. I think some days you just have to say, “Okay, I need a break!” I watched movies, I watched the Carly Simon Concert I had ordered from Amazon.com,

and made Hubby a thick spaghetti sauce to top his pasta for dinner.

I really am enjoying the Carly Simon music. So much of it brings me back to when I was a teenager and it seemed I related my feelings of the moment to a song. Her songs always touched me.

Sunday we were lazy again, just watching TV and reading the newspapers. I changed the sheets and walked dogs, and did a little house work before we went out to a cook-out (barbecue) honoring a friend, who is running for State office.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

In the last few days I have been thinking about some things and I thought I would share them with you. One of those things just happened a minute ago. Hubby’s cell phone rang, and it was a wrong number. I said to the man, who was looking for Tony, “I’m sorry, but you have the wrong number.”

Then the man just hung up! Just like that…he hung up. No apologies, just hung up!

Where are people’s manners? Tell me, if you get a wrong number, don’t you say, “I’m sorry.” for bothering that person, or is it just me?

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Then there was yesterday. I’m still not sure if I should be speaking to Hubby. Here is what he did to me!

I’d been with Mandy and Savannah all day, and when I headed home I needed to stop at the grocery store.  I was just exhausted, and it took me an hour to do the shopping. I was just getting onto the highway when my cell phone rang and it was Jack.
He said, “Where are you?”
I said “Just getting on the highway, why?”
and he said, “Oh I am in Isle 6 in the grocery store!”
I said, “WHAT!”
and then he said, “Just teasing! I am at home!!!

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Although I think of myself as being a shy person, it sort of dawned on me that, given the right situation, I am an incredibly social person.

Take yesterday in the grocery store. The place was not mobbed at all. The summer crowds are gone, so as I wended my way through the store I kept seeing the same people, over and over. Of course the ones with babies drew me instantly and heard all about our Savannah. But there were other people, and each time we passed each other, we spoke.

I realized then, that I was actually enjoying the little conversations. Are you the type to rush in and out of the grocery store, or do you talk to strangers as well as the employees?

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I know this picture is small, but currently we have three Ground Hogs living at the top of our driveway! I took this picture with my cell phone.

Rotten little rodents! In case you live in a country where you have escaped them, here is a little background on these beasts.

The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the woodchuck is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in North America and common in the northeastern and central United States. Groundhogs are found as far north as Alaska, with their habitat extending southeast to Georgia.
Mostly herbivorous, groundhogs primarily eat wild grasses and other vegetation, including berries and agricultural crops, when available. The groundhog is the largest sciurid in its geographical range, typically measuring 40 to 65 cm (16 to 26 in) long (including a 15 cm (6 in) tail) and weighing 2 to 4 kg (4 to 9 lb).. (Read this as, my garden and our fruit trees are it’s favorite eating place! Our Ground Hogs are very large, as they eat very well!)

I borrowed this, so you can see in detail, what they look like!

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I have several items in the fridge that need to be used up. Chicken, tomatoes, and some broccoli. I’m thinking if I chop up some onions, peppers, and saute it up, and serve it over noodles, that this might be a nice and easy meal!

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Happy Sunday!

And…here we go!

1. Sunshine, blue skies, and a life of good things.
2. “That is a great story in the newspaper”, is the last thing I overheard someone say.
3. I found a recipe for meatloaf and it really tasted good!
4. I’m looking forward going down to see Mandy and the lovely Savannah Rose! I haven’t been down in two weeks and I have really missed them.
5. Right now the dishes are done, the dogs have been walked and I am waiting for the “Big Bang Theory” to start.
6. Gurgling, laughing, smiling, babies make me smile makes me smile!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to putting my feet up and watching a movie or two, tomorrow my plans include going out to the movies and Sunday, I want to go to a party for my friend, Jeanie!