What I Did This Weekend

Miss Marple 2

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!

Random

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.

ground hog

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!)

ground_hog-8220

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!

Savannah Rose

On Friday I went down and babysat Savannah Rose while Mandy had two doctor’s appointments. She had grown so much and changed too! No longer a little baby, she is now more aware and alert!

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We watched a little Sesame Street, rolled around on the floor and I played with her trying to get her to make vocalization noises. I would say “AHHHHHHH” and tap my mouth like and Indian. Then when she started to do it, I tapped lightly on her mouth so she made the sounds too! Oh she just loved that!

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She is totally beautiful and very sweet! You should have seen me, on the floor crawling around and then this little gal must be going through a growth spurt because she is just chugging her bottles!

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As you can see, her eyes are staying light blue and gorgeous! I am simply a sucker for blue eyes!

Well, this old Grandma needs to get a nighty on and go to bed.

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill Ins

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!

Thursday Thirteen

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First the free vacation contest is still underway. Please remember to go HERE and look for my funny face under Mcewan and vote for me. That would be terrific. And have your friends vote too! I sure could use a vacation! You can vote once per day until September 20th.

Here we are…another Thursday! There are days I feel pressured to try to come up with something that makes sense, and this weeks Thursday Thirteen is no exception. I think I am a little burnt out from the last week and all the writing I have done. So today I am winging it. Here goes!

Thirteen things that have been going on in my little town, and my life.

  1. We had the local election primaries on Tuesday.
  2. My friend won her primary for State Senate.
  3. Now it is on to the election in November!
  4. I was down another half a pound at Weight Watchers!
  5. The local paper printed a story about Hubby’s Orchard on Tuesday!
  6. There was even a picture of my guy holding an apple, with Fritz in the background.
  7. That picture is how I will always think of my sweet Hubby!
  8. He is truly a man of the land!
  9. I’m trying to get caught up with my laundry, but I keep getting side tracked!
  10. Today I go to have my tooth measured for a crown.
  11. Then Friday I get to go and see my Sweet Savannah Rose!
  12. Oh, I can hardly wait for that!
  13. Being a Grandma, is the best thing in the world!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL? The NFL is back in action along with all the college teams. Are you a fan? Who do you root for? If you’re not a fan what do you do while the rest of America watches Saturday, Sunday, Monday night, and now Thursday night games?

I’m not into it like most of my family is. So I read or write or cook while they watch. I do love the Super Bowl, and will usually have a team picked out.

2. What’s something I’ll always find in your closet?

Next years Christmas presents! Starting the day after Christmas I buy little trinkets for the next year. I also have my daughter to buy for in December, as her birthday is December 20th.

3. Share one of your earliest memories.

I remember having my appendix out. It was just before my fourth birthday. I vaguely remember the pain. I do remember watching Captain Kangaroo through the bars on the children’s crib they had me in, and I remember missing my sister a lot.

4. What circus act best describes your week so far?

A Juggler. I am so busy this week and I feel like I am juggling to keep everything going.

5. What’s a food you disliked as a child but you love now?

Creamed Herring. I hated it as a kid, but when I married Hubby and we went to Germany I learned all about good Creamed Herring! Hmmmmmm!

6. Describe your summer in three words.

Wet, wonderful, wild. (Wet because it rained a ton and ruined my garden. Wonderful because of Savannah Rose and Wild because it seems I just get busier and busier!)

7. Where were you on September 11, 2001? Will you do anything special to mark the day this year?

My post yesterday tells exactly where I was: the shower, and where I went later in the day: the dentist. I pray each year for the people who died that day, and for their families and then for all who have given their lives in defending our country.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

A woman I knew back in High School thinks we should just forget about 9/11 and go forward with no memorials for those who lost their lives that day.

I was pretty upset about this because I thought of all those police and firemen and women who lost their lives, and about all those innocent people! I thought of the families who sit down to dinner with an empty chair at their table. I know how it feels to lose someone so quickly, and senselessly.

Of course, Katie did not die due to a Terrorist, but how many of those men and women on 9/11 woke up that day thinking “today I will die?”

On 9/11/01 I was preparing to go to the Dentist. I was having two teeth capped. Jack pulled me out of the shower and we watched the after affects of the first plane hitting the first Tower. As we sat watching, the second plane came in and hit the second Tower. Hubby is a former Air Line Pilot and after the first plane went in, he turned to me and said, “That was a big plane, and that was no accident”.

I cried almost all day. I did actually get to the Dentist, and I discovered that everyone else had cancelled that day. But the thing I remember the most was that no one was on the road. The town was deserted as people stayed in to watch what was happening.

I hugged and held my husband, realizing that had he not retired a few years before, he would have been vulnerable to this sort of Terrorism.

No we must never forget what these people sacrificed.

God Bless them all.

What I Did This Past Weekend

I just found out that my entry is in the running for a free Princess Cruise. If you go to this page:

http://photocontest.brandmovers.net/gallery

and look for my funny face under Mcewan and vote for me that would be terrific. And have your friends vote too! I sure could use a vacation! You can vote once per day until September 20th.

Miss Marple 2

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 always seems to speed by, and this last one was no exception.

Friday found me at the Dentist again, getting a temporary crown on the “bad” tooth. We are hoping that once the tooth is covered it will stop hurting. As of 11:30 AM on Sunday, it is not going well, and I fear that I may actually lose the tooth.

Saturday was the weirdest of days. It was so humid that you could have cut the air with a knife! I went out to do a few errands, and I saw the most beautiful eggplant at the grocery store for 99¢ a pound!

Since I had thawed my last spaghetti sauce from 2011 to use up, I thought this might be a good day to make Eggplant Lasagna. Only this time I omitted the sausage and just had a ground meat base along with the eggplant. It came out really well, and we will have some for lunch today (Sunday).

Of course on Saturday, we also had the wild weather, when the cold front blew on through. We did not have any Tornadoes, but we did have heavy rain and hard winds. Our lights blinked a few times, but luckily, we did not lose power.

Sunday morning found us waking early, as my face was hurting, and the dogs (read that Miss Greta), wanted to go out. So, up we got, and I grabbed a jacket (the temperature had dropped to 59 F or 15 C. And the air was dry!

Yes, I have opened my windows and I’m enjoying the fresh air!

The week ahead is a busy one. Hubby goes for his physical tomorrow, Tuesday I go to have my retinas checked, and also to vote in our State Primary’s. Wednesday is Weight Watchers, Thursday is back to the Dentist and Friday I go to babysit my darling Savannah Rose!

And then…it will be the weekend again!

My life is flying by!

How about you?

The Latest On My Tooth

Here is an update on my misbehaving tooth. On Friday I went in and had a temporary crown put on. This is to see if some of my side effects, ie: the sensitivity to hot and cold, to chewing, etc. disappear.

tooth

My dentist shot me up with Novocaine, (YAY!) and then finished the prep work. I felt nothing! (Double YAY) They finally put on the temporary crown, and I go back on Thursday, next week to be measured for the permanent crown. That is, if I have no pain between now and then.

Well, last night after the Novocaine wore off, I had a dull ache. It was in the jaw, so I’m thinking that it was from all the drilling and fitting that they did. I had trouble sleeping, but by morning, the pain seemed to be a little better.

Then I brushed my teeth and flossed the way the doctor showed me, and the silly tooth/jaw are not feeling great.

I am determined to keep this darn tooth though, and will do just about anything I can to do that. However, I admit to being a worrier, and I’m afraid this makes me a less than fabulous patient.

My dentist is so patient! In fact, I think he is close to being a saint! His first calling in life was as an Elementary School teacher. However, after a few years of teaching little ones, he went back to school and got his degree in Dentistry and Dental Surgery.

He is so wonderful to worry warts like me. I have never felt pain when sitting in his chair, nerves, yes, but pain, no.

So that is the latest!

The Garden

When I was growing up and thinking about what I wanted in life, I knew first and foremost, I wanted to be a mother. I loved children, and more than anything, I wanted children of my own.

I knew I wanted to be a stay at home Mom, as I didn’t really have any aspirations career wise. Just being a Mom, and raising our kids, was what I wanted.

But then, when I started looking further down the road, I began to think about what I wanted to do in life.

I’d always enjoyed gardening. Not flowers and such, but vegetables. When I was a teenager, I helped my Mom with her vegetable garden and really had enjoyed it. I wanted to learn all about gardening, and about canning the vegetables and fruits.

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When we settled in our house here in New Hampshire I began to learn all about canning. I make my own jellies, and I also make my own tomato sauces.

Granted, it is a lot of work, but it’s happy work!

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I think of my Grandmother when I cook. She loved to cook and she always made it happy work. Grandma Honey was one of those amazing women that had both a career and family, and made it all work.

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So now, in my midlife, I enjoy the cooking and canning, the fruits of my labor. Best of all, I look forward to next years garden!

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill Ins

And…here we go!

1. I am feeling really happy tonight. I spent the afternoon on Thursday making one of our favorite meals. Julia Child’s BOEUF BOURGUIGNON. It came out so well, and while I was cooking it, I felt really good! I realized then, that I do love to cook!!!
2. It seems that so many people do not stop to enjoy something as simple as a beautiful sunset. Tonight’s sunset was just amazing!
3. My dogs, makes me laugh.
4. Did you know that I am truly blessed in my life. I have the love of my family and friends, and my health is good. Yes, I am blessed!
5. I looked more closely and I saw a little face, with a pointy nose looking out at me. It seems that Anneliese enjoys waking me up doing the commando crawl from her spot under the covers, up to my face.
6. I’m so glad That my daughter and I have found a wonderful close place in each other’s lives. I like her, as much as LOVE her and now we have sweet Savannah Rose and a future of watching her grow!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to spending some time preparing for my appointment with my Retinal Surgeon on Tuesday, tomorrow my plans include cooking a rotisserie chicken and Sunday, I want to watch the last matches of Tennis for this years US Open!!!