Category: Friday Five

Well, here we are, the fourth Friday in January. This is one long month as we will have a fifth Friday next week! It’s been a busy week for me. I had to do a lot of driving, and the saving grace to it all was that we had a beautiful sunny day. So here we go. This week’s Friday Five!

1. Have I mentioned that I have a Raven that lives in my yard? He arrived last Spring and has stayed. He has been a calming influence in the yard. When I get to the point of changing the suet feeders I toss the smaller pieces on the ground for him.
2. New Hampshire has quite a bit of snow right now and I doubt it will be going anywhere. We’ve had exceptionally cold days and nights. In fact, we will need our oil tank filled again pretty soon.
3. Anneliese had her Ophthalmologist appointment on Wednesday. He told me what I pretty much knew. She doesn’t see much in the way of objects anymore. She sees light and dark. Large objects have only a rough shape and no real definition. The only good news is that what is wrong with her is not something that would be passed to her children. Arnie has great eyesight and so far I have not heard from the puppy owners of any problems. Anneliese’s were caused by injury and then infection. In any case, Anneliese is a happy girl and she runs around like a puppy. I just work to keep my eyes on her, to keep her from bumping into something.
4. About a year ago a friend of mine gave me a Tervis Tumbler mug. I started using it in the evening when I wanted a smaller cup of tea. Then I noticed that they had a 20-ounce mug with the Dunkin’ Donuts logo on it. So I bought that because, why keep using styrofoam cups when I can reuse the Tervis Tumbler mug? The coffee stays hot for a long time and I’m doing my part for conservation.
   
   I like it so much that I bought a second one to use solely for tea during the day. Another 20-ounce mug. It is my go-to drink container now.
5. I decided to catch up with my laundry on Thursday. I was doing so well, and then when I was eating lunch, I spilled tomato sauce all down the front of my nice clean shirt! I raced to the laundry room and hit the front of my shirt with Dawn dishwashing liquid and tossed it in to wash. Did you know that using a good dishwashing liquid will take out almost any spill/stain from your clothes? Seems that it helps break down the protein and other elements. I swear, it works well. At least my tomato sauce stain is gone!

So that’s it as far as what’s been up with me. I am planning a nice quiet weekend and a few nice meals. All WW approved!

Here we go. January is slipping by rather quickly, and I know in the blink of an eye February will be upon us. I know, this week alone, just sped by me. Here’s what’s happening!

1. Well, we all know I had my eyes examined. Now I could not find a new frame that I liked, so I gave them my current frames to make the new glasses and I brought with me my last pair of glasses.

   Me and my much-loved frames! I will be so happy when they are back!

   I didn’t realize just how much I dislike these frames. (below)

   These are the old frames and even though they are small, they just do not sit well on my nose. They never really did.

   They are so uncomfortable. I will be happy when I have my glasses back!

2. After WW Class on Wednesday, I went to see one of my doctors down in Portsmouth, NH. All went well, and I am good for another 6 months. The ride down was so nice and pleasant and the sun was shining. I had packed a lunch for myself and as I drove home, I nibbled on it. Truly a nice day!
3. Then on Thursday, I was supposed to bring Anneliese in for a recheck of her urinary tract infection. However, when I woke we had our first major snowstorm going on.

   Pretty,  Yes?

   

   The schools were closed, the roads messy and there were many accidents. So, I called my Veterinarian and postponed the appointment until Friday. So, we hunkered down and enjoyed the bright whiteness of the snow.

4. If you have never spent time in the snow like this, you will not be aware of the magic. My favorite thing to do is go outside alone, stand in the middle of my yard and listen to the absolute silence! There is such peace.

   My Downey Woodpecker came to the feeders on Thursday and he hung around long enough for me to get this picture.

5. I’d hoped to see Mandy, Matt & the kids this weekend, but tomorrow we are due for another 8 inches of the white stuff. When we take Anneliese to the Vet’s, later on, I will stop at the grocery and pick up a few things to help me bear getting snowed in over the weekend!

Another week has gone by and here I sit thinking of all that has been happening. There is so much going on worldwide, but for simplicity, I will just keep my list to things that are happening here.

1. Anneliese seems to be getting better. After months of having itchy skin, it seems the anti-fungal is healing her skin up! Yay!
2. However, Anneliese’s vision is getting worse. I don’t think she sees much any more. She still smiles and cuddles and I am very lucky.
   At night, however, she startles easily if it is too dark, and she walks about slowly. I came out of the bathroom and walked toward her and scared her as she didn’t see me in the dark. She gave out a little yelp and I felt quite bad. I immediately bent down and stroked her and told her it was okay.
3. The other day the wonderful weatherman said we would have flurries. Well, 5+ inches later, it finally stopped. Having flurries means light snow that doesn’t amount to more than an inch or so. It snowed so hard that we even had a weather alert sound on my phone from the National Weather Service!
   Two days later, we got three inches more. This is all adding up and make things messy as far as getting around. Tomorrow we are due to have warmer weather and this will me huge puddles.
4. I am still looking for good winter boots. Oh, I have seen beautiful leather boots, but I would never wear anything like that into the snow. Meanwhile, until I find a pair that meets my specifications, I am wearing a very old pair of “snow-sneakers”. They’ll do, I guess.
5. After a very long time, both Jack and I found some things we needed for the house. Jack found new shop lights for the basement and kitchen, and I found four new area rugs for the kitchen. He is installing the lights now and the rugs will be here later this afternoon.

So that’s it for now. I plan some crocheting this weekend and of course the usual laundry. I’m planning my meals and enjoying them. I will make this diet work…I will.

I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy the weather, wherever you are!

Welcome to 2020! Here we are the very first Friday of this calendar year. Here is what happened in my world on Thursday.

1. It was the morning of January 2nd and I was getting progressively worried about Anneliese. I knew she had some sort of fungal infection, but suddenly she is pacing around, crying and acting really strange.

I knew her Vets were off last week and I wasn’t sure they would be in today, but at 8:45 I called and explained what was going on. I got an appointment for both Anneliese and Arnie for 1 PM.

It’s that time of the year when they both need their shots, anyway. So doing a two-for only made sense.

2. Arnie was great, just slightly underweight. He is just like his Daddy and very picky about his food. So I need to pay a little more attention to feeding him. He had all his shots, which included his Rabies shot, and he was done.

Anneliese took a lot longer. She is ill. She has another UTI and also a fungus infection on her skin. They decided to look at her blood and although her vital organs look good, they could tell she was a sick little girl. They did not want to do her shots today, as they’re reluctant to overload her immune system while she is ill.

3. She is home now and after two hours she has finally settled in her little doggy bed. I had washed it this morning and dried it, so it is all fresh and clean for her.

4. On our way home, I stopped to get a few things at the grocery, and also stopped at the Post Office to get our mail. I had two drivers who just blew my mind for being rude.

The first was a young man who looked pretty tough in a pick-up truck. He had blocked the public parking with his big truck. I motioned that I wanted to get in and he flipped me the finger. Okay, not feeling comfortable getting out of my car and addressing him, so I had to go all the way around the block and approach the Post Office from another direction.

Next, as I put my blinker on and went to pull into a space in front of the Post Office, a man pulled in front of me and then stopped. Leaving one place in front of him open, and then there was another car. Parallel parking was never my strong suit. Well, this time I hopped out of the car and tapped on his window and with my nicest voice, and a big smile, I asked if he could pull forward, so I could legally park.

Well, he looked at me like I had six heads, but put his window back up and screeched his tires, but he did pull forward. I waved and smiled but he continued to grimace.

There are two things I would like to point out, first, please do not block public parking. I mean, please, just don’t do it. Also flipping off an old woman like me is also not cool.

Second, please do not pull into the first parking place and stop. In this situation, parallel parking stinks for anyone in a larger vehicle. Right now our Main Street is really narrow due to all the snow.

Okay, that’s the end of my little parking rant. And that really was my only gripe for the drive I took.

5. The drive to my Vet’s Office, which is 23 miles away, was a beautiful one. There was snow all around the side of the road, (the roads are clear) and glistening fresh snow in the mountains, making everything look splendidly white and beautiful. The two pups really enjoyed the ride too. Well, at least Arnie did.

It’s my hope that by tomorrow morning, Anneliese will be feeling so much better.

Usually, I begin writing the Friday Five lamenting on how fast time is slipping by. This week I will start by saying that I am once again in the land of the living! After 4 weeks of illness, I am on the mend thanks to antibiotics, an inhaler and a cough pill that has helped me control the cough while my lungs got rid of the congestion. So without further ado, here is this week’s Friday Five.

1. Before going to the doctor I was fretting about Christmas. Gifts especially. So I sat down with my laptop computer and watched the deals and sales and found just the right things for everyone. Aside from one small gift, I am done with my shopping. I have missed going out and being immersed in Christmas music, but actually I think this is much healthier for me in the long run!
2. During my convalescence, certain things began to nag at me. Case in point, a kitchen cabinet hinge that was broken and the door was literally hanging there. It made me crazy. So since I was cruising Amazon.com, I went looking for our cabinet door hinge. And I found it! It arrived and the cabinet hinge was replaced and now once again, works correctly! Yes, I am proud of my do-it-yourself skills!
3. I refuse to go out to any store shopping right now. I have never really been a germaphobe, but being so sick for so long has me cringing in terror every time I hear someone cough or sneeze! So shopping online has been my thing.
   
   My daughter’s back yard lighted tree in the snow they got last week. I borrowed her picture! Thanks, Mandy!
   
4. I have pretty much finished writing Christmas cards and now the biggest thing on my list is to wrap all the gifts that have been arriving via USPS and UPS. Fortunately, I am a Christmas Wrapping Paper hoarder, so all I need to do is sit down and wrap!
5. One good thing about shopping at Amazon is that I have gotten credits to use in the Music Download store. Can we all say Christmas Carols? I have been able to find my favorite songs by Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and The Carpenters. And a few others as well. And because of these credits, the music has been free! Merry Christmas to me!

So gentle readers, I hope this weekend finds you enjoying the season and having a warm and wonderful time!

I know I say this often, but where the heck is the time going? Here we are on the first Friday of December, we’ve had our first big snowstorm, and Christmas shopping has begun. AT least Cyber-Shopping for me! Crazy isn’t it? Well, here are this week’s Friday Five.

1. Although I am feeling so much better I have Laryngitis and still have a cough. I am so sick of not being 100%. There is so much I want to do and places I want to go! Be gone throat illness!
2. I am back to making most meals. even though I don’t have much of an appetite. I burnt the taco shells tonight, so something tells me my cooking skills are rusty!
3. I needed to go out today to get the mail and some groceries, and the two dachshunds wanted to go. Well it was chilly and they both acted cold, so I put their little sweaters on. Goodness, they looked adorable. They also enjoyed their car ride.
4. I have not seen the kids since my birthday due to this dratted flu! The last time I was down Savi came into my room in the morning and we had the nicest cuddle!

   I can hardly wait to see Savi and Quinn again!

5. This weekend I really need to do some housework! It’s been a while since I ran the vacuum around and mopped a floor. I also need to disinfect every shelf I can. It sounds like fun! Not!

Have a great weekend everyone!

For me, it has been a very long week. Almost all of it was spent in bed, except for the last two days. Here is this week’s Friday Five!

1. I think this is the longest I have ever had the Flu. At least the fever is gone now, and I just have the cough. This makes me crazy, but I am sure it will leave soon.
   
   My nurses, Anneliese and Arnie.
2. Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and although I canceled most of my plans with my cousins, Jack insisted that we should have a special meal and he really helped out a lot.
3. I managed to make the stuffing on Wednesday and get it cooked and chilled down so I could stuff the turkey on Thursday. Meanwhile, Jack did almost all the other prep work.
4. I got the turkey stuffed and in the oven yesterday morning and we ended up having dinner about 2:30 PM. Turkey, chestnut stuffing, mashed potato, gravy, cranberry sauce, butternut squash, and pearl onions. I was able to eat a small serving of each and God Bless Jack, he took care of the dishes while I went back to bed. Apple pie was served in the evening.
5. Today I was feeling even better, although I still don’t have much of a voice and I still have this dratted cough! But, I was able to change the sheets on my bed, and also chop up veggies and make turkey vegetable soup, which we will have for dinner. I spent a lot of the day up doing things before crashing for a nap.

So there we are. the five things I have been up to this week. It may not sound like much, but after being in bed the entire week last week, this is real progress!

This week seemed to fly by. Probably because I slept so much of it away. But as we wrap up the week here is this weeks Friday Five.

1. Getting sick is not what I had planned on. But I have caught up on my favorite TV shows and learned how to use Amazon Prime Videos!

2. I also think that I have found a way to lose weight. I have eaten very little since coming down with this virus.

3. A friend in the know suggested that what I have is the Flu. But I have had the flu shot. Turns out you can still contract a different strain of the flu if you are unlucky. Isn’t “unlucky” my middle name.

4. I hope tomorrow to be able to be out of bed more. I am still coughing a lot and I don’t want to get Jack sick.

5. I need to make out my grocery list and my plan for Thanksgiving.  I know by then I shall be completely well!

So that’s the week. It can only get better!

Well, here we are. November first! It’s hard to believe that in a couple of weeks I will be 61, and in just over a month Arnie and Anneliese will be 13!

The year has flown by and I am not quite sure I am ready to leap into the year 2020. But leap I will and somehow, I hope and pray that 2020 is a better year.

So, here is this week’s Friday Five.

1. I came back home on Monday after helping my daughter get ready to move. We’ve had nothing but wet weather and I’ve been holing my breath that they could get the move completed under sunny skies.
2. Well, quite happily, the clouds cleared and the skies brightened on Wednesday and Mandy, Matt and the kids made their move under dry skies.
3. I decided to try a new recipe. It’s a WW recipe for banana bread. And an entire mini loaf has just 2 points! It was fabulous. (Recipe Below)
4. I was late getting out the suet feeders today and as I walked outside there was my Downy Woodpecker scolding me vocalizing at me for being late! Despite today’s rain, the birds have been out at the feeders.
5. Today my plans include laundry, a little cooking, and some Christmas Craftwork.

Here is:

WW Banana Bread Recipe

Preheat oven 400 degrees (F)

Mini Loaf pan 5 x 3 x 1

Ingredients:

• 1 large banana.
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup Kodiak Flapjack Mix (buttermilk flavor)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp Splenda

1. In medium bowl mash banana with a fork.
2. Add egg and beat together and until well blended
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing until thoroughly blended
4. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and then pour batter into pan.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

2 Smart points for the entire mini loaf