Category: Friday Five

The week flew by and now we are officially into March. Here are the five things occupying my mind as the week closes.

1. Arnie went in for his dental on Thursday. He lost three teeth. One was pretty bad, and I think it was causing him pain. It’s the reason I called for a dental cleaning. I simply had a gut feeling that he was in pain. Chalk one up for the old lady. Unfortunately, I was right.
2. On the way home from the Vets, Arnie howled the entire time. He also sat in my lap (Jack drove) and cuddled against me.

   Currently, he is asleep next to me.

3. The VA called today about my colonoscopy. They wanted to be sure I was still going to do it? Yes. Was I nervous in any way? Yes. I told them about not wanting general anesthesia and they said they would relay that to the doctor and get back to me. I’m not being a baby, I just got really afraid when I didn’t wake up correctly the last time I had surgery.
4. It’s Frost Heave Season in New Hampshire.
   For those of you that do not know about Frost Heaves, as soils freeze and thaw, ice layers can also form underground. The most common ice and soil feature that we see in New Hampshire is the ubiquitous Frost Heave. When water turns into ice, it expands. When it happens underground, it can cause the overlying material to lift upwards, which is known as a frost heave. Frost heaves can be strong enough to damage roads, bridges, buildings, foundations and railroad tracks. Today it was like trying to drive along the San Andreas Fault Line! OMG! It was a challenge to find parts of the road that were not heaved!
5.  This weekend will be a busy one for me. I’ve got a ton of laundry to do, a house to clean and a little doggy boy to spoil and take care of.

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy it!

The week flew by and although I wasn’t crazy busy, it certainly was a full week. It’s the last Friday of February, which also freaks me out. In any case, here is this week’s Friday Five.

1. It was my bi-yearly dental cleaning. I always have dental-anxiety due to a horrible dentist in my youth. My current dentist is very kind, but I still feel queazy when it’s my day to go in. I had no cavities, but my teeth in the back right have shifted causing me to have a pocket.
   
   They showed me the neatest soft gum picks, which I absolutely love!
2. Wednesday was WW Class. I knew I had done well, but I wasn’t sure how well. I am not dieting, I have worked hard to change my lifestyle.
   I am actually eating the foods that will help my liver problem as well as my slightly high cholesterol. If anyone tells you that losing weight is easy, they are not being honest. It takes time, strength and the ability to be honest with yourself at all times.
3. I am getting to be a real sleepyhead. It seems I cannot make it up past 9 PM. Two of my favorite shows are on at 9 o’clock and I’ve been falling asleep trying to stay up and watch them. Thankfully, “Homeland” shows the episode on Monday at 8 o’clock on Showtime and I can watch “This Is Us” on my computer the next morning.  I do get up at 5 AM with the dogs, so I am thinking that has something to do with it. In another week our clocks go forward an hour, and then I should be better.
4. After looking at Arnie’s teeth it’s pretty clear he needs a dental as well! I called his Vet and made an appointment. He goes in next Thursday, March 5th. Yes, March the fifth. Can you believe it’s going to be March on Sunday?
5. I decided to try a “Sweet and Sour Tuna” for lunch. Well, I took one bite and really didn’t like it! I actually put it down the garbage disposal. Why eat (and record points) for something you do not like? I made some turkey breast along with my roasted eggplant and I was happy. Guess what’s for dinner tonight? A turkey tenderloin. LOL. Thank goodness I love turkey!

Well, everyone, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. It is supposed to be very cold here, but I have two things on my list. 1. Crocheting again and 2. laundry. You know you will never be lonely because you will always have laundry!

This was a busy week. We had a snowstorm, doctor’s appointments and I got my hair done. Here are the highlights of this crazy week.

1. In December I found some pretty yarn and I thought I would make an afghan for a loved one as a gift. Unfortunately, the yarn had one very big problem. It pilled and shed. So, I bought a de-fuzz and de-pill machine and set off to fix the problem. Here is the before.

Here is the after. Well at least almost after. I still have the last half of the second side to work.

The afghan will not be given away. I will be putting it on the back of my sofa. This sure taught me that sometimes a deal isn’t really such a good deal!

2. We had more snow. Ugh. Yeah, I think we are all over the snow.

3. Jack had his Orthopaedic appointment and we drove through the snow to get there, and then back home in pretty darn slippery conditions.

4. The next morning, I went to WW. This was only interesting because our plowman hadn’t been. I put the Highlander in position and it pulled me right up the drive in about 5-6 inches of snow. What a great car.

5. Today Jack returns to the Orthopaedist to have his finger/hand-manipulated. We hope that the membrane holding the finger stiffly bent, will snap and his finger will work normally.

Here is a picture looking up our long steep driveway. It’s always beautiful, except when you need to be somewhere in the middle of a blizzard!

Here we are. Another week has gone by. It’s still amazing to me how fast life is going now. I remember as a child thinking each day was an eternity. Now they slip by faster than I care to think. I am not ready for life to simply slide by and soon I will find myself an old lady, whose pantyhose bags around her ankles.  In any case, enough of that so here is this week’s Friday Five.

1. This was one crazy busy week. I was supposed to get my hair done but begged off as I don’t like driving in the snow. Hopefully, next week she can squeeze me in.
2. I’m still infuriated about the Insurance Company denying my doctor’s prescription for eye drops. Imagine some Clerk sitting at a computer who thinks they know better than my doctor! Yeah, that really irked me.
3. Tonight I am making fresh Green Beans and Roasted Turkey Tenderloin. One of my favorite meals. Tomorrow it’s fish. I’m taking my WW meal planning very seriously.
4. We did get snow on Thursday, but not near as much as they forecast.
5. Today is Valentine’s Day. I’m so lucky to have my family who love me very much.
   

Most especially my grandchildren.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Here we are, the first Friday of the month of February! We all know that February is a quick month and I know it will go fast because it is filled with appointments. Anyway, here goes for this week.

1. This week was not overwhelming. Probably because this week the only appointment I had was to go to my WW Class.
2. Speaking of WW Class, I am really enjoying it. I simply adore the ladies in my class. They are so supportive and caring and each week I feel they are cheering me on!
3. So, here is how I am doing on the WW Green Plan.
   
   I like the “Green” plan because it has forced me to plan out my meals and count my points. As you can see I am doing very well.
4. I have been doing some Spring cleaning. I deep cleaned the kitchen recently and bought new carpets. Well, that spurred me on and I ordered new carpets for the master bath. They arrived today and I deep cleaned the bathroom. Twice a year I wash down the walls as well as the usual stuff. With the new rugs, it looks rather splendid!
5. We had snow on Thursday and it appears today we will have a combination of snow and ice. Ugh. Truly, I am ready for Spring!

It’s funny, but after doing a Thursday Thirteen, doing a Friday Five is a tad tricky! Since this is the last Friday in January, here we go!

1. I have found a group of ladies who do Vlogs on Youtube. Mostly they are focusing on the Harry and Meghan situation, but they also cover various other things happening in England and Canada. Call me intrigued. I listen to their entries nearly every day.
2. A friend mailed us a Christmas gift from Hamburg Germany in the middle of December for Christmas. The package, with a beautiful teacup and teapot, arrived today! And people say our Postal Service is bad. In any case, the tea set is beautiful!
3. I made another batch of Vegetable and Chicken Soup. This is so easy and so good. And only 1 point a serving!
4. I watched a little TV, but then noticed that in less than one week the dust I worked so hard to rid my house of, was back! Out came the dust cloth and my house is once again dust free. Well, for another few days!
5. My new prescription came back in my much-loved glasses frames. It’s amazing how much better I can see! Call me one very happy lady!

So that is all for this week. I am off to see Savannah and Quinn over the weekend and I can hardly wait. It’s been far too long!

My beloved, Mr. Arnie!

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.