Category: My Life

Monday, Monday! What a day!

I was up as usual and just after breakfast went out to shop for the last items I needed for all my cooking. Carrots, peppers and fresh ground beef.

I made a double batch of my Chili recipe with the fresh tomatoes from the garden, and a batch of hearty Chicken and Vegetable Soup with the leftover chicken from our dinner last night and broth I had made with the bones. (It’s easy to use your crock pot, put the bones in with water, onion, carrots and celery and set at low for about 24 hours!

So here I am with 8 more quarts of meals to be put up for the winter. But after 5 hours of preparation, stirring, and simmering, I’m just a wee bit tired!

Tuesday finds me driving down to see my girls! Mandy and Savannah! I can hardly wait. I have to say, spending so much time with them, has been the highlight of my summer!

Happy Tuesday!

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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What a busy weekend we had. It was all homey stuff, but it kept us on the go. Everything from making pickles,

to doing laundry to clearing out the dead vines in the garden!

I’m not sure how the pickles have come out. I will put a jar in the fridge to chill and try them in a day or two. It would be nice if they came out well.

You know me. The weekend always finds we catching up with our laundry. We are either the dirtiest people I know, or the cleanest. I haven’t decided yet, but we certainly produce a lot of laundry!

We did manage to watch our fair share of movies. I amend that statement. I watched a lot of movies. I admit, they were chick flicks and I ended up crying at the end of every one!

I did work outside clearing the garden. I managed to scratch up my arms and even cut my hand, despite the fact that I had on gloves! Alas, the garden is clear and it looks good.

We made Spaghetti sauce, and froze more of that and the next batch of chili will be put up later this week.

See? Busy, busy, busy!!!

Saturday was like most Saturdays in my life. Cooking, laundry and dog walking. The sun was out, the grass is green and deep, as all the rain has prevented us from mowing it.

I did get the chance to clear out the zucchini, summer squash and some of the dead cucumber plants in the garden. It’s looking rather amazing in there right now. It’s so early in the summer for the garden to be so empty!

Unfortunately the squashes and some of the cucumber plants got powdery mildew, and that was the end of them!

Sunday we will be canning our batch of Dill Pickles. I sure hope they have come out well. remember we have 10 pounds of cucumbers pickling!

I made 4 quarts of tomato sauce on Friday and here I am cooking down more tomatoes. I think this batch will have to be for chili.

I’m looking forward to a slightly less hectic Sunday. Perhaps I can actually read the newspaper after we can the pickles!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

1. I included this quote (attributed to William H. Danforth) in my blog post yesterday… “The best cure for a sluggish mind is to disturb it’s routine.” When was the last time you ‘disturbed your routine’ and how’d you do it?

Becoming a Grandma has disturbed my mind and my routine, but only in the best of ways. I am driving to see Savannah and Mandy, spending time with them, talking to my daughter in new and exciting ways! Yes, being a grandmother is just the best!

2. What’s your favorite fried food indulgence?

Whole belly Clams! They are just the best! Of course you have to go to a place where they do it just right. Whole Belly Clams can be terrible if they are not cooked correctly!

3. Did you have an allowance as a kid? What did you do with it? Do you give your own kids an allowance?

No I didn ‘t. We did not have a lot of money growing up, so I just did my chores. When I was twelve years old I started to babysit, and that was my money!

4. What’s something you wish you knew more about?

Plant sciences. I have a real problem in my garden and I am not sure what to do. I need to read, to call the local Extension Service and find out what to do with my diseased garden!

5. Is there anything you feel too old to do anymore? If so, what?

I was thinking about this last night. I used to do gymnastics, but I am afraid my old body wouldn’t allow me to do a back flip anymore. In fact, I know it wouldn’t. I am going to try to practice and train, so I can show Savannah how to do a somersault. However, handstands, flips and splits are now out of the question!

6. What’s a song you think has a great first line?

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

7. Who are you writing to/for when you create a blog post? In other words…as you write, who is the audience in your head?

That’s a good question. During my breeding of dackel’s I wrote for the prospective puppy buyers. Over time, I started to write for family and friends, but now, now I write for me!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Today I am at Weight Watchers weighing in. I have really worked hard, writing down everything I eat and drink. I also have tried to make good selections as to what I am putting on the table, and weighing and measuring what I put in my mouth. So keep your fingers crossed that I have a good loss!

Last night I was lying in bed when it dawned on me that I had forgotten to write Dackel Princess! Since I’d had a rather bad day, I decided I would wait until morning, and write then.

I was very nervous about going to see the Endodontist. I wasn’t sure what he would do. He examined me, took x-rays and then we spoke at length. Mostly he told me that the current root canal looks good, but he says he did see infection under the tooth. Which leads him to think one of two things. Either there is another canal or two in the tooth, or there is a crack. For $1100.00 he can re-root canal the tooth, but he cannot guarantee that the tooth will be good. In fact he indicated that he thought the tooth was bad.
I am supposed to go back on Friday, but all the way home I kept thinking…$1100.00 is a lot of money. Should I spend it on a tooth that may not make it? Or should I have it pulled, get an implant and be done with it. Meanwhile, I am in pain, and not a happy girl!

Today I am planning to go out and work in my garden. I plan to pull all the zucchini and summer squash plants, as well as the bean, and pea vines. I also need to go through the cucumber plants and pull he ones that have died.

The garden has been terribly disappointing. I need to find out what to do to the dirt once the garden is clear, to remove the bacterial infection that killed my plants.

Tomorrow is my second full week back on the Weight Watchers program. I think I have done well, and I sure hope it is reflected on the scale.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

I know I write an awful lot about my weight, but the fact is, I like to eat. I also like to cook, so the combination is just deadly for my waistline!

Currently two out of the four pairs of my jeans that I can actually zip, have a hole in the left knee. Yes both pairs have the hole on the left knee. I guess I kneel on that knee the most. Anyway, the point here is, I do not want to go out and buy new pants until I have lost the weight and I am back in my usual size.

That’s even funny because my usual size is actually the size I was a couple of years ago for about 5 minutes! As soon as I eat “normal” food or have a couple of drinks, the weight jumps back on me and it brings friends.

When I was younger, I used to be able to eat just about anything, and I didn’t gain weight. It didn’t seem that I was as consumed by thoughts of food back then. Perhaps because I was such a bad cook.

Then I married Hubby and found he liked to eat. Not just that, he didn’t mind being used as a Guinea Pig, while I learned to cook.

Julia Child video’s and I became good friends. Having her turn an omelet and miss the pan, somehow made the tuna roll I had tried to make, but that fell apart, easier for me to take.

Not everything a person cooks will turn out like a Master Chef. We all have our bad days, but over the last 25 years, I’ve actually improved.

Thus my weight problem, and my lifetime membership with Weight Watchers!

On Friday I saw my Dentist once again. He wants me to go down to the city and see the Endodontist about this tooth. The Endodontist will look to see if there is a crack or another canal in the tooth. Meanwhile, I’m afraid I am suffering quite a bit with this pain in my mouth.

Our peaches are coming in and so are the plums. Last night I made a batch of Plum Jam. But at the critical moment when Hubby was to add the pectin, he opened the packet and the pectin was more solid than liquid. Quite odd. I continued to cook it all, and then after filling 10 half pints, I processed the jars of jam. The Jam tastes fine and the consistency is good, but I went out today to buy more sugar and fresh pectin. My next batch of jam is the peach “Heavenly Jam” and I want all the correct and fresh pectin!

We were supposed to go out tonight for dinner, but I begged off at the last minute. I can not eat too much with this darn tooth and I’m afraid I am like a dog when they hurt. I just want to curl up and get ready to die!

I was making more spaghetti sauce from our tomatoes, so I fed that to Hubby and I was able to slurp down a little.

We’re just having the worst weather this weekend. Heavy rain and down in Massachusetts they even had a tornado! Wild summer weather!

Have a good weekend everyone!

And…here we go!

1. I picked peaches and plums today.
2. I spread freshly made plum jam on toast.
3. I heard the dogs barking at Hubby.
4. I wanted to eat more plum jam.
5. I wish that peace, health, and happiness surrounded those I love, all of the time.
6. I noticed a big gob of white dog fur, right after I got done vacuuming! Fritz just keeps on shedding.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to going out to dinner with my Janet & Dave and our friends, Robin and Jay, tomorrow my plans include enjoying breakfast with Janet and Dave, and then watching the Olympics and Sunday, I want to watch the closing ceremonies. After that I will be going through sports withdrawal!

Thirteen Things happening this week.

You may all remember that I am a “Pillow Princess”. I am one of those people that must have a pillow that is just right or I cannot sleep. You can go Here and read about my past problems with this. Anyway, this week I decided that I really needed a new pillow, as the last one had worn out!

1. I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought my new pillow.
2. I was filled with delight, and could hardly wait to get home to try it out.
3. This pillow is one of the best I have ever had! I sleep like a baby with it!
4. Savannah is getting so big! She is very long now, 23 inches…and growing!



5. She is also developing her personality. She watches everything, and smiles.
6. She is also starting to vocalize. (Not crying, but baby talking!)



7. I did lose some weight this week at Weight Watchers. Two and a half pounds!
8. On the way to class I hit a wild turkey.
9. I’ve never hit anything in my life and this scared the heck out of me!
10. I get my hair done on Thursday and more work on my teeth on Friday.
11. The garden has been a real disappointment this year.
12. I need to read up on disease resistant plants for next year.
13. My cousin Janet is coming up with her boyfriend, Dave on Friday, and the four of us will be getting together with our friends from Israel for dinner!

1. In an effort to combat obesity, the mayor of NYC has plans to ban the sale of large sugary drinks (anything over 16 oz.), initially in restaurants, movie theatres, and street carts. Corner stores would also be affected if they are defined as food service establishments. Your thoughts?

I think the government should butt out of what people eat or drink! We have freedom. Or at least we used to. Remember, “Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness”. Yes, butt out! It has to stop now or soon they will regulate what the grocery stores sell.

2. Art festival, music festival, food festival…which would you most like to attend?

I’d love all three, but the one I attend up here is an arts festival. They close off Main Street and Juried Craftspeople show off their work.

3. What are you irrational about?

I’m a worrier. I worry about everything. Rational or not. Worry, worry, worry!

4. Do you feel confident you’ll have a comfortable retirement?

I’m retired now, and it is a challenge. Living on a fixed income makes one really think about what one buys and how the family money is spent and when!

5. What’s been your favorite Olympic moment so far?
(Not ever, just in the 2012 Summer games)

The USA Team winning the Gold Medal in Gymnastics. I think the reason this is so important is that it was not one girl, it was a Team event and I loved seeing how these girls treated each other that night.

6. What would you label as the messiest room in your house?

Joyce, you are shaming me into getting into my Office and cleaning! Yep, that is still the room that is the messiest!

7. Do you follow your heart or your head?

I’d like to think I use both in my decisions, but my heart often leads me in a direction and then my head will correct if needed.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My sister’s childhood friend died in July. (We just learned about it today.) This fairly young woman, was a chubby child and teen, and her weight just kept going up and up. She died rather quickly, and it was due to her obesity. It made me think, once again, how important Weight Watchers is in my life. I weigh in on Wednesday morning, and I hope, this week I have had a good weight loss. I will never give up on my battle of the bulge. I want to live a long and healthy life.