Category: This & That

Life is full of a series of this and that’s and so today I thought I would put together a Bulleted Entry of the weird things that are either going on, or I am thinking about. Trust me, these things, although not connected, are all spinning in my mind. Here goes.

• I was driving to the store today to buy a few items. I noted how really beautiful it’s getting to be.

  Autumn is certainly my favorite time of year.

• After all the negative crap on Facebook, I joined two lists. One is for Wire-haired Dackel owners who want to share their pictures of their beloved pups.

  My Anneliese.

  Every day I am deluged with adorable dog faces! It has made my day every day! The other is a list for Air Fryer Owners. People share recipes and tips for using Air Fryers.

• I have purposely unfollowed anything political on Facebook. It all started when I did read things people were posting. They were hateful and horrible and I do not need that in my life. I did not unfriend one person, but I did snooze a few for 30 days. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t people I actually knew who wrote the hateful things, it was forwards.
• The French Open Tennis is now being played. Usually, it is played in the Spring, when Paris is lovely. Not in Autumn when it is cold and rainy. It’s a challenge for the players.
• We have a Foliage Train that goes by our house for six weeks in the Fall. I always know their schedules so I can keep my dogs in and away from the train tracks. Sadly, we have not had one train. I think between Covid and the cost, people have opted out. And this year is going to be such a splendid year!
• I hit a plateau with losing weight. So, I decided to get back to basics. I started on Saturday to really watch that I was eating and I hope that either this week or next I will get going again.
• I have just 14 pounds left to lose. I know that the last few pounds are often the hardest to lose.
• Today I decided that I had stared at the Dust Bunnies long enough and I got out my vacuum.

  I did the kitchen and family room before putting it all away. My back and shoulders do not do well for long stretches of vacuuming. But today, I did get that much done!

• With the wildfires on the West Coast of the USA, we have been having very odd skies. Even though it has been very dry, with no rain, we have had this haze over us. The light is very different than it usually is. Strange.
• We had a large bowl of peaches in our fridge. Yesterday I cleaned and sliced them up. They are so delicious! It was a small crop this year, but at least we got a good number to make Jam and enjoy it!
• I’ve really been enjoying watching The Dog Whisperer in the morning with Cesar Milan. He is such an amazing man and has so many tips on how to handle problems with pooches!
• I have a new grand-puppy.

  Her name is Winter Molly and she is almost 12 weeks old!

  She is a sweet and cuddly little American Eskimo puppy!

• I ordered several things from my Pampered Chef party. The Air Fryer is fun, and I am getting used to it, and I do like the oven rack covers, so I am not burning myself, but the two things I’m loving the most is the set of glass mixing bowls and the wire whisk. Both are things I use daily and I just love them.
• I will say that the items I got from Pampered Chef are all really good quality items. After thirty-three years of marriage, I really needed to upgrade a few things.
• Lastly, I am planning on getting out a bunch of yarn that I have and make a lapghan. A Lapghan is a small throw blanket for your legs in the winter. Some people use them while sitting in their chairs in the evening, some use them in their car. I shall report in as I go.

There is nothing so sweet as when you sit down at your computer, turn it on, and it works perfectly. It’s acting normally, and wonderfully fast! Actually it is working better than when I first got it. I suspect that I put too much of my backed up files onto the machine.

Since I have a wonderful external hard drive, I’ve decided to use that to store my info and only keep what I need on the hard drive of this machine.

That was a good decision! I think I simply overloaded things in no order and things got all twisted. Now my hard drive is clean, my current files are organized and my old files are organized on the external drive.

My Saturday was not so bad. I worked on two sewing projects. The first found me having to wind a bobbin. I tried and tried and had no luck. I had my operation manual, and I followed step by step, and finally, it said, be sure to use Bobbin XYZ or this will not work. Yeah, that’s where I went wrong. I had Bobbin Z and as soon as I got the right one it all worked. I will not confess how long it took me to figure that one out.

By the time all was said and done with the sewing, I felt tired and with no desire to do much of anything. Leftovers to the rescue!

Have a wonderful Sunday and take a little time to enjoy the day!

Yesterday I was busy, busy, busy, and in the end, all I really got done was three loads of laundry, one bed changed, and three meals. I did attempt to get more done, but between my back (slightly sore right now) and helping Jack with a few things, I just was not accomplishing that much.

Well, okay, I admit. I was on the computer a lot as I was helping to co-host my Pampered Chef Party. You know that is actually a fun thing. And I have enjoyed every minute.

Arnie and Anneliese are doing much better, although neither of them enjoys the heat and then the loud and heavy thunderstorms that come along with that. Needless to say, Poor Lili hates any sort of weather except cool, clear, and quiet weather! Currently, she is pacing during this noisy thunderstorm we have going, complete with pea-size hail!

I am now down 46.4 pounds! Call me thrilled! I have lost 5 and a half inches off my waist! Yay!

And if anyone would like to join my Pampered Chef Party you can follow me HERE to join the party! Sadly I cannot ship out of the USA, but join in the fun if you are Stateside!

My cousins, Janet and Dave, recommended a Facebook page for Bird Watchers/Lovers. Well, I subscribed and I love it.

I have really enjoyed watching my own back yard birds and to hear about and see these other birds is a thrill.

My only fear is that I will become like the “Old Bird Woman” in Mary Poppins!

Someone, please stop me if this begins to happen. Meanwhile I will enjoy my backyard flock.

Last night I boiled up three small hard-shell Lobsters for dinner. We each had one, and I shelled the third to make Lobster Salads for our lunches today.

Here’s the thing. These hard-shells were really hard. One claw was like cement and I ended up getting out a hammer to crack the shell!

The Lobster was great and we enjoyed it a great deal, but this morning my right thumb is very sore. Score: Lobster 1, Maribeth 0!

I was up early today and I was looking around the satellite for something to watch. I found a wonderful documentary by Natasha Gregson Wagner. “Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind” (2020).

It was so well done and I was so pleased that Robert Wagner’s daughters, all rallied around their father, and not one of them ever doubted him for a minute.  Natalie’s death at the age of 43 was a terrible accident, and nothing more. For those of us that remember Natalie Wood, it is a must-see.

The orchard is in bloom and it is beautiful. I think I will wander outside today and get some new pictures.

Enjoy your day!

 

On Wednesday I decided to download the pictures from my Cell Phone onto my computer. From here I will back them up on my external hard drive. Already I have noticed that my phone is working better. I do not back things up to a cloud, as I find that a nuisance.

I also attempted to do my hair and I have reached the point where my “Covid-19 Hair” is just one massive mess.

They have opened our salons, but I’m not ready to commit to going in. I so wish I could have my hairstylist put the color on in the parking lot, and then have me drive home and wash it out myself. Alas, that is not to be.

My allergies have returned. But here is the funny thing. After lunch, I told Jack I wasn’t feeling well. He immediately began questioning me.

1. Do you have a fever? (No, my temperature was 97.7)
2. Do you have a headache? (Yes, a bad one)
3. Was that a sneeze I heard? (Yes, Ah-choo)
4. Do you have chills? (Yes, where’s my blanket)
5. You look tired? (I am. I think I will lay back and nap)

So, I’m pretty sure it’s not the Virus, but I do blame my allergies for this, as my eyes have also felt scratchy.

I didn’t sleep for too long because the phone kept ringing. Junk calls!

Bedtime will be early and I hope that by tomorrow I will be feeling a bit perkier.

Monday dawned rainy and cold. Thank goodness it was not snowing! Our trees all have buds on them and heavy snow would kill the fruit to come.

I watched “Homeland’s” series end episode and all I will say is wow! Once again, the writing and the acting was amazing! Still, it is very sad, because now the show is over and I can only visit the characters in reruns.

To occupy myself today I whipped out a bunch of vegetables and the hamburger and Italian sausage and made Jack a wonderful rich Spaghetti sauce.

I do this by making a really big batch, and then freezing a container for another meal.

Naturally, there is laundry to do and dogs to feed and walk, and people to catch up with. So far, we’ve been lucky and our friends and family have remained well.

I downloaded the book “The Descendants” onto my tablet and I think I will read that again. It’s an easy read and I love the lessons learned in the story.

Anneliese is doing so much better.

They switched her to Bactrim Chewable antibiotics and this seems to have taken control of the infection. She is once again bouncing around like a puppy!

Aside from all that, life is quiet and calm and there really is not much happening. I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy!

I thought today I would just keep myself busy and everything would be okay. I started the day by continuing to program my computer and eventually I solved the big problem of getting the new machine to talk to our Main Computer, which handles all important things, like Printers.

Oh my goodness, I worked so hard to remember all that my friend Brad had taught me, and in the end, I think I can say he would be proud of me.

Then I set about cooking. I wanted to get the Corned Beef in the oven on a low heat early. It requires you to just about cook it to death. Unfortunately, when I checked it recently, I’m not sure it’s a score. The vegetables will be okay, but we may have to search for different meat to eat. I’m disappointed.

Meanwhile, I boned a chicken and I am making my own Chicken Stock, and I will make a Cabbage and Chicken Soup. It’s yummy with a mixture of vegetables and it is a low point meal for me.

The stock is coming out well and smells so good. I will let it simmer in the crockpot overnight, then make the soup tomorrow.

I also decided to wash all my kitchen potholders. Why? Well, because I thought they needed it and why not?

Lili celebrated her birthday with a Doggy Cookie Cake and a new toy. Lili loves her stuffed animal toys so we bought her a new one. A fuzzy little Bunny. She loves it.

Arnie is feeling better since his tooth extraction and although he isn’t eating crunchy food yet, he is eating and is happy.

Anneliese was thrilled to find snow had fallen this morning and she ran outside with such glee! Yes, I said that we had snow, just a dusting really, on St. Patrick’s Day!

I weighed in a day early and I have lost another 1.2 pounds. Usually, I weigh in on Wednesday at WW Class, but they have been canceled until further notice.

Fortunately, I have a good scale at home and decided that I will not quit despite the stress I feel right now.

I will not give up!

So, that’s about it from the northern climes. Life is going on, quietly so. But we are blessed as we have managed not to get sick. nock on wood!

Take care, Gentle Readers.

PS: I was able to write this entire post without interruption! How I love this new computer!

Today Arnie is off to the Vets to have his teeth cleaned. He gets terrible tartar on his teeth, and after he has a dental they look so much better and his breath is manageable. For whatever reason, Arnie has always had tuna-breath!

They will also trim his nails for me, as his nails grow longer, faster than the girls do. He also hates to have them clipped.

I did very well again this week at WW.

But I found myself in an odd position. We are having a substitute leader that I have always liked and enjoyed, but the last few times she has filled in, she will ask questions and when I raise my hand, she will call on anyone else but me. Perhaps I am being overly sensitive about this, but today I felt like Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter books.

Hermione always knew the answers and yet Professor Snape refused to call on her because she was a know-it-all.

I just feel that I finally get it (understanding what to do to make the WW program work for you) but I was unable to share. A little frustrating.

After class, I came home and made lunch for Jack and me. Shortly after I was unlucky enough to get a headache. I decided to lie down in my bedroom to get rid of it. All I wanted was an hour of stretching out and resting.

First Jack let Anneliese in. He closed the door, and of course, Anneliese did not want to take a nap, so up I got! Next, the phone rang, and then I got a cramp in my foot and jumped off the bed!  So much for a little nap. I gave up and got up and made myself a cup of tea.

Friday I go for bloodwork and to meet with the Anesthesiologist for my upcoming colonoscopy. They put me down for general anesthesia and I do not want that. I have a lot of trouble coming out of anesthesia, so twilight sleep is much better for me.

Happy Thursday!

The other day when I did my grocery shopping, I stopped in and looked at some yarn. I love having busy work for my fingers and I was itching to start a new project.

I found the prettiest yarn, and in my mind, I knew what I wanted to do with it. So I made up the pattern in my head and then wrote it down and started.

The first time, I got three rows in and it was curling. So I ripped it out and started again. Nope, that wasn’t quite right. The third time was a home-run, and the project is progressing nicely! And once again, my hands are full.

Since this is for someone else, who I don’t believe reads my blog, but just might, I will say no more.

My laptop is acting funky. This weekend I plan to do a full backup of the hard drive, and then I plan to start looking at computers. Aside from Apple, does anyone have a Solid State Drive laptop that they love?

Believe it or not, it has been many years since I got a new one. This machine is a 2012 model.

I would like to really upgrade my system and get a really nice one. Fast, with good graphics and lots of memory!

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the sunshine (if you can) wherever you are!

I finished de-pilling the Afghan today. I washed the sofa cover and then placed the new Afghan on the back

It’s really beautiful. Especially if you stand at a distance and don’t see all the little mini pills that cannot be pulled out or shaved.

I guess that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for me, this lovely Afghan will be a lesson. Never use yarn that says “Tweed”, as it will have little bits of yarn supposedly “woven” in, but actually causing madness and mayhem!

On the healthcare front, Jack’s finger/hand did not come out as hoped. He still has a few weeks of working with the finger/hand but will need to go back in three weeks if he is no better. He’s pretty disappointed.

The weekend is here! Make it a good one!