Category: My Life

Monday was going so well. I’d actually gotten myself out of bed early, fixed a Weight Watchers breakfast for myself, and then Hubby and I drove to the local ski area, where, despite the cold temperatures and strong winds, we skied. I did not fall. No chair lift hit me in the head, and I enjoyed the bright blue skies.

The ski area was empty. Perhaps a couple dozen people at most, which meant that we felt that we had the entire mountain to ourselves! Just the way I like it!

After, we stopped to buy Fritz’s canned dog food, and then Hubby took me out for a nice Chinese food lunch. He had Garlic Shrimp and I had Sesame Shrimp. Delicious! It was all served with the best hot tea!

After, we stopped to buy the last few things we needed for dinner Monday night. The stores were empty and so we just went through, much as we had at the ski area, at our own pace.

We got home and I slowly started to prepare dinner. There were three crucial steps to my recipe. Then I got three phone calls in rapid succession.

The timer went off, and I opened the oven door, expecting perfection, and what did we find?

A burned to a crisp roast beef, potatoes, celery and carrots. It was burned so badly, that not even I could eat it! (The dogs, however, think it is great!)

I was shocked! This doesn’t happen to me, too often. Then I went back over and read my recipe sheet. Step 1,  check. Step 2, check. Step,3…oh my goodness! How could I have been so dumb!!!

I forgot to turn the oven down after the first 25 minutes, from 450 degrees to 350 degrees!

I have wrapped up the charred roast, and I am searching the Internet on what I can do to “salvage” the meat. I’m thinking perhaps a soup, one that you barely simmer for a long time. Something to soften the shoe leather of a roast that I have sitting in my fridge.

So there you have it. My confession of a poorly cooked meal. It doesn’t happen too often, but every once in a while, I totally mess up. Monday night was it!

Hubby was kind. He hasn’t said much. I asked if he wanted me to fix him something else and he said no. He will probably wait until I go to bed and then make himself something.

Aw, shoot! I just hate it when stuff like this happens!

On Saturday I got absolutely nothing done. I know, you can’t believe it! Frankly, neither can I, but I woke feeling tired and somewhat achy and extremely lazy. So…that’s exactly how I behaved all day. I was a lazy bum!

Oh I did feed Hubby and the pooches, and clean up the dishes and made the bed, but that is it. No laundry, no spring cleaning and no big deal. Just quiet, restful, nothingness.

Do you ever have those days? Days when you want to just mellow out and go with the flow? It’s not really often that I feel this way, so call me surprised.

I did do a little daydreaming though. Thinking ahead two years to our 25th wedding anniversary,  (Our Anniversary is in April) and how we will celebrate.

Just me and Hubby, off on our own. Celebrating the best 25 years of our lives!

And…here we go!

1. Why does it always seem that vacations never last long enough?

2. The love of my family and friends is equal to the love that my dogs have for me.

3. My favorite breakfast includes eggs, bacon and toast. As well as fresh papaya and lime.

4. The Time Traveler’s Wife was the last book I read but I hope to read more now that I’ve discovered the world of large print books.

5. I am SO glad that two of my friends came through very difficult surgeries this week.

6. A warm sandy beach with a lot of sunshine would make me feel better right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to making a new recipe with chicken, tomorrow my plans include the usual laundry and the spring cleaning of the guest room and Sunday, I want to have one day just for me.!

Friday Fill-Ins are sponsored by my cousin Janet. Come on and join the fun!

Here we are, another Thursday. I’m going to do a random list, as Wednesday was kind of a crazy day, and my thoughts are a bit scattered. So, here goes.

1. I lost 2 pounds this week at Weight Watchers. I was feeling very happy and was patting myself on the back. Yay me, right?
2. Then I found out that my dear friend, Carol is having trouble after her surgery, and it made me realize what is truly important.
3. I worked on some writing I needed to do, but my thoughts all day were with Carol.
4. Greta came up to me today and I realized she had some matted hair, so she got a little grooming. She wasn’t too happy, but looks so much better.
5. I made a new recipe for stuffed peppers and they actually came out well! Trust me, I was not thinking clearly, and just tossed stuff together and it worked.
6. Spring cleaning is going well! The house is really starting to look and smell fresh once again!
7. They have forecast for snow tomorrow. Oh, just a measly 2 or 3 inches. (Grrr!)
8. I sure hope that spring arrives soon! If not I’ll be off looking for Punxsutawney Phil! (He will have lied about there being an early spring!)
9. Isn’t it great to have more daylight now? I’m thinking that it’s super to have the sun setting later each day and actually to have brightness until nearly 7:30!
10. I think a hot shower or long hot bath are two of the best ways to pamper yourself!
11. I think tonight will be a chicken night. Not sure how I’ll fix it, but something fun, yet easy.
12. The weekend ahead of me, I hope to clean the guest room. Everything from curtains, bedspread, etc.
13. I hope my friend, Carol gets well soon, so I can go and see her.

1. Sunday was the first day of spring. So they say. Ahem. What is your favorite outdoor springtime activity?

Getting my garden ready for planting. It will need to be weeded, fertilized and the Hubby will rototil it.

2. Who would you want to come into your kitchen to cook dinner for you?

Julia Child, but since she is no longer with us, I will say Jacques Pepin. It’s not that I prefer French cooking, I do, however, love the methods of preparation that both Jacques and Julia used in their recipes.

3. When did you last fly a kite?

I cannot even recall. I am thinking it has to be well over 30 years ago, or more.

4. What topic puts you to sleep faster than anything?

There are not many. I don’t like a lot of the political discussions going on these days, so perhaps I will say politics.

5. Which flowers do you associate with specific people, places, or events?

Lilacs are for the first house we lived in, on Clipper Lane in Falmouth, Massachusetts.Then again, lilacs for the first house Hubby and I lived in down in Southern New Hampshire.And then, when I was a little girl my Uncle Billy worked in a Rose Garden, and I remember wandering through the garden with the overwhelming aroma of roses surrounding me.

6. What significant historical events took place during your elementary school days?

President Kennedy was assassinated, the Vietnam War was started and fought, Free Love and Flower Power, and The Beatles changed music forever.

7. Do you swear? Do you pseudo-swear? (You know crap, shoot, friggin’?)

Ahem, well, yes. I try not to do it in public. Oh I might let rip a “holy crap” here or there, and “frickin” is another one, but the big ones, like the F-bomb, I do not use in mixed company. (And I only used it when I was in transitional labor before the spinal took hold!)

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Joanne is doing splendidly in her rehab. She was moved to the new one (more intensive) and will have her skull replaced later this week. Keep those prayers coming!

A dear local friend of mine is having her knee replaced today. Please keep Carol in your prayers.

Have you heard the news? Spring arrived here! Yes, and with it came more snow! Luckily, the ground is warmer now and so most of the drivable surfaces are free of measurable snow. Where we still have snow banks, in the yard, the snow stuck and sort of freshened, what a friend lovingly labeled, “SNIRT”!

Yes, Snow + DIRT = SNIRT.

The rawness sort of got to me by mid-afternoon, so we made a fire in the hearth and Greta has really been soaking up the heat. Lord, if I could lie down on the floor in front of the fireplace with a pillow and blanket I would, but I’m afraid that I would have all four dogs jumping on me and so, no rest for the weary.

Hubby did go skiing Monday morning and so is currently up to 48 days on the slopes! He is amazing! I really admire his stick-to-a-tive-ness!

I was thinking that I do have things that I love to do, that are joys for me. Some people don’t enjoy cooking big meals,

or caring for four crazy dogs, but that’s my passion.

It’s just a matter of finding what makes you happy, I guess, and I have been lucky to figure it out. Hubby as well.

We’re also both looking forward to spring when we can get back to working in our garden and on the fruit trees. Oh how lovely that will be!

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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Ah the weekend, when I plan to get all kinds of work done and enjoy the springtime! Saturday did prove to be a good working day for me. I got the curtains washed and rehung, the vacuuming done and the dusting done too. Do you know that the stones on the outside of my fireplace were dusty? I felt pretty good with what I’d accomplished.

Hubby was watching the March Madness Basketball (yuck) and I  sat down to write my entry for Dackel Princess. Once I finished I was cruising through my computer and saw “Solitaire”. Hmmmm. I turned on the game and got started.

Has anyone ever told you that this game is addicting?

Now, I have never been a gamer, but I definitely enjoyed playing Solitaire!

On Sunday everything was going well until about 9:30 in the morning when I went to check my email. Nothing! Then I got error messages and then more nothing! This was a really serious, not good!!!

Panic! And a rather sick feeling in my stomach.

It took me most of the day to go in through the back door (main files on my hard drive) and download the documents to back them up. I was able to get a hold of my address books, and then, since I was already backing things up, I decided to keep my inbox cleaner and more organized.

First I removed my email program from the hard drive. Then I went back and used an older version of the program. You see, about 3 months ago I had gotten a notice to upgrade to the new and improved program! Ha! So that new program is now off my computer, and the old reliable one is back on!

I am so glad I saved the downloaded program!

It did take me most of the afternoon to get everything set up again, but it is up and running now and I am relieved. I think for this evening I might just sit down and relax and play a few more rounds of Solitaire!

As you know, I have been spring cleaning my home. I have also been “spring cleaning” my computer. You know, backing up pictures, documents and such. During this process, I came across a file with a post I had written last year when we were on our way back from our cruise.

It was December 20th, and we flew from San Juan Puerto Rico to Atlanta, Georgia, where we proceeded to get stuck, as there was a blizzard in Boston, our final destination.

As most of you will remember, ( HERE & HERE ) this is the trip where my retina detached at the airport in Atlanta and Hubby had to drive me back north, dropping me with my sister in Connecticut who brought me the rest of the way to the hospital.

Anyway, I digress.

Before the retina detached, while we sat waiting for a plane to take off out of Atlanta for Boston, I was sitting in the terminal with my trusty laptop writing my next entry of Dackel Princess, and it was this entry that I forgot all about until I was “spring cleaning my computer. Gosh, this is a long winded explanation!

Here is that entry:

We are on our way home from Paradise! Our trip was so relaxing and both Hubby and I had a good time. I am still worried about his foot, but I was able to call the doctor from St. Thomas and arrange an appointment for the 24th at 10 AM. The consensus on the ship is that it may be a bone spur, but we shall see. (It wasn’t he had a small piece of metel in his foot!)
We were so lucky to have excellent table-mates for dinner. They were a couple from California. He is an ex-Marine and she is the former editor and chief of McCalls, who is currently freelance writing for food magazines. We got along so well.
I was quite careful when I was out in the sun and only just got a wee bit. Enough so I look healthy, but no sunburn at all.
We had a bit of a go round with the customer service when we were trying to arrange to get off the ship early so we could make our flight. Everyone said it could not be done, but….my young German Purser told us where to go this morning to await the early disembarking. We were there, and sure enough we were able to go ashore before anyone else, and get to the airport for the early flight to Atlanta. Currently, both New York and Boston airports are closed, but I am hopeful that they will open later and we can get home. If not then we will spend the night in Atlanta and try to get up to Boston tomorrow.
Okay, now down to my favorite things about this trip. First I loved the linen shops. I bought several new embroidered table clothes, with matching napkins. They are quite lovely and were very inexpensive!
Tortola was a truly impoverished country and that made it a bit tough to see. If you have money then your house is nice and you have hired help. If you have little or no money then you live in a lean-to shack. Tortola is quite mountainous with more hairpin turns than I have seen in a while.
Antigua was interesting and we learned quite a bit about it. We had a wonderful tour guide who told us all about the history of the island as well as showed us around. For those of you who follow rock music, we got to see Eric Clapton’s home, as well as the rehab facility that he built to help his music and acting friends. Our guide Christine told us all about Christmas on Antigua and that was quite interesting, too. The Antiguans are very family oriented and their celebrations are centered around that.
Antigua was also a major area for ship repair for the British. The interesting thing for us was that the trees cut down in the New England area would be brought to Antigua and made into masts for the British ships.
St. Lucia, although not my favorite island, offered us a chance to go to see an inactive volcano. It is still steaming and bubbling, but has not erupted in hundreds of years. We also observed two spherical cone mountains. The Botanical gardens were beautiful and I took the time to snap a lot of pictures of the flowers there.
But my favorite island continues to be Barbados. In Barbados, the Bajans work hard and their island is clean and tidy. Buildings are freshly painted and there is no begging. They are a friendly and polite people and I truly love it there. We did not take a formal tour there because we have visited the island before and driven all around it. This time we simply walked the downtown area of Bridgetown and observed Bajan life. I was not disappointed.
Our day at sea afforded us time to kick back and relax, pack our bags and even go for a swim. Then we went to bed early and got up in time to eat breakfast before leaving the ship.
Of course, currently the airports up north are closed due to the snow, but sometime in the next 24 hours we will get home.
Meanwhile I will read magazines, type some stories and generally try to kill time until I can send off a few emails.

Now, after I wrote that, we ate lunch, and then as we walked through the terminal, my retina detached and our plans changed. Looking back, I am so very lucky, that the doctor could repair my retina and that I have vision.

I guess if it had to have happened, after the cruise was better than at the start!