Category: My Life

1. When I walk around my neighborhood I see a lot of wet. Some trees are starting to turn, and the apples are ripe on the trees. But since it is raining and will be for the next week, I plan indoor activities.
2. A Thanksgiving turkey meal with all the trimmings is my favorite thing to cook.
3. Life is full of ups and downs, and if we are lucky, we find a kindred spirit to share it with.
4. My dachshunds make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
5. Butternut Squash is my favorite Autumn vegetable.
6. Life is better when it is shared with those you love.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to watching some new TV episodes, tomorrow my plans include making Julia’s Roasted Chicken and Sunday, I would like to watch some football, cook up a chicken soup and read the Sunday paper.

The picture above was taken in Bavaria many years ago. That is Shubi by my feet, as I walked with a dear friend of ours, Otto, who is not longer in this world. Otto and his wife were the owners, not only of the original Shubi, but of my Shubi’s brother, Toni. Follow that? Okay, here are 13 things on my mind today. Most of it are total random thoughts.

1. Hubby’s laptop got fried and he is in the process of having a new one installed. He also has viruses, and they will have to be removed before they can reinstall his programs.
2. Which makes me wonder if I also have viruses on my laptop. I have antivirus programming on my machine, but…
3. We are having lobster tonight, as my grocery store is having a big sale. Just $3.99 a pound! Woo-hoo!!
4. I’ve heard that there are big changes happening on Facebook, but it has not happened to me…yet. I imagine by tomorrow it will.
5. It’s apple season for us. Hubby brings in an apple or two a day and we share it with each other and the dackels! They love apples!
6. Hubby has started chopping wood for the winter. This means that I should clean out the green house so we can get it ready to store the wood.
7. Believe it or not I have several eggplants still growing in the garden!
8. Soon I will need to go and simply pull all of the plants that have died off in the garden and then turn the soil.
9. We’ve grown more Butternut Squash this year, than any other year. Last I counted it was 30!
10. Unfortunately, corn season is over up here. I got a couple of ears at a local farm stand and they were just terrible. Ah well, it was great while it lasted! Until next year!!
11. Did anyone watch the new Two and a Half Men the other night? Is it just me, or were you disappointed?
12. Hubby has been peeling the last few peaches each night and then sets them in the fridge for our breakfast the next morning.
13. I’m having lunch with a friend of mine today. I don’t get out too often with my friends, so I’m really looking forward to this.

Have a great Thursday everyone!

1. Do you like chili? Red or white? Beans or no beans? Spice or no spice? Toppings?

I make an awesome chili. Red beans, hamburger and just the right blend of spices. Do I like chili? Not really, but I love to make it.

2. Red~Orange~Gold…your favorite fall color?

Around here the leaves turn almost a coral color red and that is my favorite fall color.

3. Who did you idolize when you were growing up?

I loved Karen Carpenter. I loved her voice and how easy she made it look to sing such sad love songs.

4. When was the last time you did something ‘arts and craftsy’? Share please.

My sister is the talented one in the family. I don’t really do crafts anymore. The inventiveness I have seems to be with my cooking and writing.

5. What’s a place that makes you really nervous?

Any crowded gathering. I do not do well in crowds. They quite literally terrify me and I get so nervous and remain alert and stiff. Last time I traveled without Hubby I remained on the cell phone with him until they closed the door of the plane and we started to taxi. I’ve only been to one concert, as it was nearly impossible for me to be in that kind of crowd. I chalk it up to the fact that I was crushed in a car once for about 45 minutes, under a truck. I guess that’ll do it to you.

6. Horse back riding…yay or nay (neigh?)

I have ridden, but it has been may years. I love horses though, and think they are extremely smart.

7. What is your favorite cliche?

“Sometimes chickens, sometimes feathers” It sort of means sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you don’t. Like last night I made a shrimp stir fry and everything said that it should have been delicious, but it was terrible. So I told Hubby, “Sometimes chickens, sometimes feathers”.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Do you ever have nights when you have no idea what to make for dinner? That’s me, tonight. It has to be something easy, because I won’t get in until 6 PM and I need to eat quickly, so I won’t weigh in heavy at Weight Watchers. Maybe I’ll cook a steak and potato and some broccoli.

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 found me busy around the house. Somehow the Autumn temperatures and somewhat darker skies, put me in the mood to clean surfaces. I spent an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen, the bathroom, and yes, I even took everything out of the fridge, washed it all down with disinfectant, and checked all the labels for expiration dates! Hubby was amazed (as I am not a big fan of completely cleaning the fridge like that), but it was long overdue, and now I am ready to go grocery shopping on Wednesday.

I did laundry, changed the sheets on my bed, vacuumed and even washed the floors in the kitchen. Because the kitchen was so clean, I cooked two wonderful dinner meals, Grilled chicken one night and braised pork the next.

I also wrote my five page report and got it sent out via email. I worked most of Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning on that.

I did see two movies on HBO, “Hereafter”, which I still recommend, and “The Switch” with Jennifer Aniston and Justin Bateman. It’s a really cute fluffy chick flick. “Hereafter” is more intense, and an intriguing movie.

The weekend ended with me taking a long hot bath after dinner.

The other day Hubby pointed out that there was a piece of foam rubber on the carpet. He picked it up and did an examination. Where had this come from? The great mystery began.

He looked all over the place, convinced that the dackels were shredding something important like their little beds. I, however knew the real problem.

It was my recliner chair.

The poor thing is 11 years old, and literally falling apart. Two springs have fallen out, as well as various amounts of stuffing, but until now, no actual foam rubber.

So yesterday, when Hubby was outside the dackels and I broke out the vacuum and decided to get under the recliner. Now this is tough because the chair is very big and very heavy, but what I did was tip it on it’s back so I could see under it.

Oh my goodness! I didn’t just find dust bunnies, but a dust “Pitbull”,  as well as plenty of foam rubber.

I vacuumed quickly, afraid that the dust pitbulls would jump out and get me! The dackels barked at them and I gasped at their size.

Unfortunately this means that I really do need to get a new chair, and I love my chair! It’s a chair and a half and I can sit here with all three dackels. They do not make my chair any more. *SOB*

The company now makes “pleather” ones. You know “pleather” = fake leather.

Anyway, Hubby and I will need to start shopping now so I can find something I like before I sit down in the chair and hit the floor.

Funny how attached we become to our favorite chairs.

And…here we go!

1. Why do I seem to be falling down so much lately?.

2. There have been times I wanted to go, but I have so much to stay for.

3. By far the most important part of my life, is my loving family.

4. Proud American.

5. But when the going gets tough, the tough, make jelly!.

6. Happiness has been with me for the longest time. How lucky I am!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to having the grape jelling made and in jars, tomorrow my plans include taking my blankets to the laundromat to wash and Sunday, I want to catch up on a few housework things and take a nap too!

I just woke up and looked outside and there is a rainbow outside. We really do not see too many up here, but down on Cape Cod, where I grew up, we saw them a lot.

I’ve always loved them. There is something so mystical and magical about them. Especially because they last such a short time, and yet their beauty has inspired so many songs, poems and dreams.

As much as I love rainbows, I don’t think I have ever seen one in a dream. Just in person, which makes me feel that I much be totally devoid of magical imagination! lol!

In some ways this rainbow happened on a morning after I dreamt of a few people that are no longer with me. So perhaps my affinity for rainbows does have something to do with dreams.

I’ll be posting the Friday Fill-Ins later in the day.

1. What do you do at the first sign of a cold? Will you get a flu shot this year?

I’m the Queen of Denial! LOL!

I do drink lots of juice and ginger ale, and chicken noodle soup. Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. To me, that is what I want when I’m feeling bad.

I have already had my flu shot. Did you know they are vaccinating for three separate strains of flu this year? It’s all in one shot, but apparently they expect a bad year.

2. What advice can you give about how to conquer fear?

Take a deep breath, and just go forward. Things will come in your life and there is nothing you can do to stop it. So get a grip and go forward and don’t look back! (Of course, I fall apart afterward, but I do get through the actual event.)

3. Share two good things about your life right now.

Mandy and Matt’s engagement, and the fact that we have had such a large peach crop!

4. A hot fall fashion trend in 2011 is a return to sixties style…tunics with pants, shift dresses, pencil skirts, cinched waists, bold prints, high necklines and short lengths to name a few. How does this fashion trend fit with your wardrobe and personal sense of style?

I tend to live in a vacuum. Unless I have somewhere to go, I don’t really shop. So, I will wear my cords and jeans, and sweaters and just be comfortable.

5. Were you involved in scouting as a kid? How about as an adult?

As a kid, yes. But when we moved when I was in fourth grade to a new school, I quit Scouts.

6. Apple, pear, plum, pumpkin…your favorite fall flavor?

To snack on, apple. But I simply love pies, and my favorite is pumpkin.

7. What characteristics do you think are essential in a good teacher?

Patience and organizational skills. My niece, Jinny is an Elementary School teacher, and she also has a great love for kids.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The apples are starting to come in, and once we have enough Macintosh and Cortland’s, we will be making apple sauce. I’m nearly out of my frozen apple sauce and really need to put some up. There is nothing like homemade applesauce in the Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer!

It’s been a long week and I am tired. Still! I plan to do quiet things over the course of the weekend, like read, or perhaps try a new recipe, and write to a few people that I haven’t heard from in a while.

If I get up the energy, I want to clean my garden of all the plants in it, with the exception of the eggplants, and butternut squash, which for some odd reason, are still growing.

I also need to go through a bunch of paperwork for the Library, so I am prepared for our meeting on Tuesday. And trust me, there is a l lot of paper work to go through.

Perhaps somewhere in there, I can sneak in a nice walk, and a soak in the tub. That is total spoiling of me time!

What do you have planned for this weekend?