Category: This & That

I keep waiting for Spring to arrive. I woke up on Monday morning and it was 34 degrees! Although the ice is out of all the Lakes, there is still a nip in the air and it can be brisk at times.

At least today we actually saw blue skies and a little sunshine! However, more showers are due to arrive later on.

I had an exciting Amazon Delivery today. Over Easter, I had gotten some cheap plastic containers to put my Lime & Pear gelatin in. The containers had tops which I loved for stacking in the fridge. After Easter dinner, I washed them in the dishwasher and they melted! Ugh!

So I saw some glass ones with tops, made by Anchor Hocking. They’re dishwasher safe and actually quite lovely. They arrived and when I make the gelatin tomorrow I will use the new cups and tops!

The Lime Gelatin Salad is easy. Take a box of Lime Gelatin, and prepare. Drain a can of pear halves, get out some maraschino cherries. Put Pear half in the dish, put cherry in the center, and fill the dish with Lime Gelatin. Put in fridge until it sets. Serve with Cool Whip or Mayonnaise. I like Cool Whip and Jack like Mayonnaise. You choose. We also use sugar-free gelatin, and pears packed in their own juice.

We love this and eat it very often!

Good Morning Everyone.

As I sit here writing, I am reflecting on a rather beautiful day weather-wise. The sun was bright, there were no clouds and the temperatures were close to 50 degrees! Needless to say, we had a lot of melting and some of our snowbanks are not nearly as big as they were.

I needed to run errands today and I was getting ready and Jack volunteered to drive me all around. We eventually got to the grocery store, and found a nice piece of brisket and a beautiful cabbage, for St. Patrick’s Day. I always make Jack this meal. It’s one of his favorites but we don’t eat it often due to the high sodium levels!

I’m thinking that Anneliese’s eye does look better. I could be wrong, but I hope when she returns to the Ophthalmologist in April, he will tell us that there has been healing!

Our darling Lili will be turning 5 years old on Sunday! Yes, she is a St.Patrick’s Day baby!

I simply cannot believe that we have had Lili for nearly 5 years! In so many ways she is still a pup. She runs and leaps and acts like a much younger dog. And since we discovered her inability to digest grains and switched her food to all grain free, she is a happy and healthy girl!

And of course, I still refer to her as my savior after our house was broken into during the day, when I was home alone, back in January. Yes, Lili alerted me and then fiercely protected me! What a girl!

Maribeth

 

Saturday was Quinn’s Birthday Party. It was so much fun! The kids raced around playing, we ate copious amounts of pizza, and then watched Quinn open his gifts!
He got some really cute items which you will see in a moment, but as soon as he opened gifts he wanted cake!

He could hardly wait until the cake was cut, and you can see how he helped himself!

Yep, the kid loves his cake!

Now back to the toys. He got the chicken toy from Moana, called Heihei! Silly chicken, but he LOVED it!

This is Quinn and his cousin in the fire truck that was also a gift. Madi loved that fire engine and she played with it all afternoon!

But then things settled down a little bit and the kids all played with the Magnatiles. I got down on the floor with them too. Those magnetized building tiles are so much fun!

It was a great group of close friends and family, and it was wonderful to see our little guy have such a great day! This was such a fun, yet relaxing party! I had a great time.

After a beautiful sunrise on Sunday morning,

we had more snow! Yes, you read that right 4+ more inches of that flakey white stuff!

Ah well, in the end, it was fine. While Jack worked his snow blower, I made us a nice rotisserie chicken!

And yes, we remembered to change our clocks.

Do any of you have Amazon Prime? Not just for deliveries of your packages from Amazon, but for watching videos?

Well, we do and I seem to go for long periods where I don’t watch any content at all, and then there are times, like this weekend, where I have used it a lot.

Not only is great for binge-watching some shows, but it also has documentaries, biographies, and both old and new movies. I can also plug in Youtube and watch music videos.

Yesterday was one of those days. I was bored to tears in the afternoon with nothing on the tube. I watched an Amazon Prime video on The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, a comedy routine by Jeanne Robertson, a very funny lady from North Carolina, and then while preparing dinner I put on Youtube and watched/listened to Queen at Wembley Stadium. I love it!

I have a few other things bookmarked to watch later, including more of “Victoria” from PBS, which is also available.

I did watch one series on the satellite. “The Disappearance of Maura Murray ” was on the Oxygen TV Station, and it was extremely well done.

For those not from this area, Maura Murray disappeared in 2004 after a car accident on a back road here in New Hampshire. She has never been found. This show presented all the theories behind her disappearance.  The linked website will have clips and episodes of this show.

Not too much else happening today. We are expecting more snow, (UGH!) and I told Jack I would make him another pizza. Pictures to follow.

Maribeth

I woke up early on Wednesday and decided to go to Weight Watchers. Not because I expected to lose any weight, but because I needed to see my friends. My support system. And get plenty of good, warm, hugs.  It was amazingly wonderful seeing everyone and collecting hugs!

As we went and did a big grocery shopping yesterday Our fridge is full and I am planning a nice normal meal for our dinner. Roasted Porkloin I think, with Broccoli and mashed potatoes for Jack.

A book I ordered (A real paper book!) arrived today and since Wednesday is a crappy night for TV, I plan to sit and read this evening. Quietly, peacefully, until I am ready for bed.

The best news of the day is that Anneliese’s eye is so much better. It is healing nicely, and she no longer seems to be in pain. I think we caught it just in time!

Jack finished chipping the ice from our lower driveway today. This is almost amusing, as tonight we are due for more snowy, icy, sloppy, weather.

I discovered, much to my dismay, that the Shingles Vaccine hurts like a son of a gun! Owch!

And lastly, I am thinking back to my trip with the kids to Disney. Here is a picture of Savannah and me the day she got her Fairy Princess make-over!

Sunday was rainy, cold and slow.  Although a few people stopped by to see Candy, thankfully she had a lot of time to rest.

Everyone at church signed a giant poster for her, which now adorns the wall in her room.

I worked on repacking my big suitcase and while doing so, I realized how many things I brought that I could have left at home. Next time I will pack a third of what I did!

Candy’s sister has the sweetest dog ever. He is a ten year old long haired Chihauha named Peanut! He loves pats and belly rubs and he purrs.

Isn’t he the cutest baby ever? So despite the fact I miss my crew, Peanut has kept me company!

The sky was bright, but despite that, the trees are now all bare, there is snow on the ground, and it is cold. Saturday was one of those ho-hum mid-winter days. But wait…it’s not mid-winter yet! In fact, technically, winter has not even begun.

Saturday had me thinking about so many things.

When I woke up it was still dark. I came out and put the Christmas Tree lights on. We may only have a small tree, but when it is dark, and the lights are sparkling in the dark, it is magic!

Our darling Shubi, who was our first wire-haired dachshund, would have been 23 years old. We got her on a whim while visiting our friends, Lucie, and Otto in Bavaria. Shubi was an amazing pup. She stole our hearts and helped me in so many ways.

I adored that doggy more than I could ever say. So, today when I thought of her, I smiled and recalled all of those wonderful moments that we shared. The picture above was the last picture taken of the two of us before she passed to Rainbow Bridge, so many years ago.

My husband is a disabled Veteran. He has severe mobility issues that are getting worse. He has a handicapped placard for our car so he can still get out to the store.
Today, as he was struggling to get into our car, a woman came running over chastising him for bumping the car door into her “new car”. She was not at all polite.
My husband noted that her car was fine (it was) and she told him to be more careful!
People, she was parked on the line, next to a handicapped space (which is extra wide for this reason!).

While she was all worried about her flipping car, I thought about how my husband became disabled, through his service to our Country!
If you are really worried about your new cars getting dinged, then don’t park them next to a handicapped space. Especially on the line! We do the best we can, but things can happen.

I came home and did a little housework, made lunch and noted we got our first Christmas Card! Yay! I also had a box in the mail, with a mini travel blow drier. I usually do not need to have one because the hotels all have them now, but the second half of my trip is to go and visit people, and I will need a small blow drier to do my hair. It is cute, works well, and is very small!

Dinner is leftovers and I imagine it will be an early night for Arnie and me. I like to snuggle and get all comfy in bed on a cold winter’s night!

Well, it’s snowing again! I just let Lili out for a run in the yard, and we already have a very heavy dusting.  They are forecasting anything from 3-8 inches for my area. We are right on the line. Could be snow, could be rain. I am thinking snow.

One fabulous thing about snow is that it hides a multitude of sins in our yard, in the town and just generally everywhere.

It’s after Thanksgiving now, so as we continue the maddening run up to Christmas, a blanket of snow just seems appropriate.

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For many years I have had a computer repair person here in town. This man is a genius, and he would come to our house, fix everything and was always reasonably priced. There was no problem that he couldn’t fix.

Well, I learned today that he has sold his business and gone to work for a larger company. His hours will be more regular and he will have a life. I know it is selfish, but I sure will miss him. He was so good at what he did, and fun to know.

I wish him the very best of luck!

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We’ve been taking Anneliese out with Arnie in the car now. She loves it. In fact, it is so funny to watch them head for the door when they hear the words “Post Office”!

Today we went to the local grocery store, and the dogs were waiting in the car with Jack. As I came out of the store, I looked toward the car and saw her adorable little face in the window. Can you see her little smile?

Anneliese.

It’s hard to believe in two weeks Arnie and Anneliese will be 12 years young!

Arnie.

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The Christmas Cards are finished and the last of them will go in the mail tomorrow. I am so happy! Writing them out by hand is a chore, but one I enjoy doing every year!

Merry Christmas!

The Sauerbraten was brined for the last few days. Early this afternoon, I turned the oven on a low temperature and started to cook it. The house is filled with the yummy scent of spicy Sauerbraten slowly cooking. I even went out and got a small bag of gingersnaps, so I could crumble a few into the gravy I will make from the juices.

Of course, this is a perfect day to do this. The rain is falling and it is cold and feels raw. So a wonderful Sauerbraten with mashed potatoes, red cabbage, and peas, is just what the doctor ordered to take the chill away!

Speaking of chill. I was correct when I reported that I’d broken the code with the new thermostats! It’s actually easy, once you understand certain things. Like setting an on for the heat and an off. The biggest problem is, that’s not the language used in either the instruction booklet or their online Youtube video! I just sort of stumbled upon it.

I hope you all will check out my new Comment button to the left of each entry! I am thrilled with that and I hope to hear from more of you over time.

• I was wearing my winter coat for the first time on Thursday and I found $13.00 in the pocket! This made me very happy because I almost never find money!
• About a week ago I was able to touch and pat Mr. Toad. It was exciting for me.
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  Since then, our weather has been growing colder and Mr. Toad has gone into hibernation.  I sure will miss him. See you in the Spring.

• I returned to Lenscrafters today because my new glasses were not right. I felt seasick wearing them. I thought I simply needed to get used to them, but the more I wore them the worse I felt! The doctor examined me, and then the manager of the store came out and she examined the glasses. It turns out an error in their construction was causing the problem. She said that this almost never happens. However, I think if it would happen to anyone in the world it would happen to me.
• For the third time this week we ate lunch at a Chinese Buffet. As much as I love Chinese food, I am over Chinese for a little while.
• Three weeks until my biopsy. My Dermatologist says he is not worried. I have a small pea size lump on my left eyebrow.
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  More than likely it is just scar tissue from my previous surgeries. But come November 6th we will finally know. Just a tad nervous.

• Jack was finally able to get a Flip-Phone for the handicapped.
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  I don’t recall if I mentioned but he has no feeling in his fingers anymore. (Agent Orange related) He tried my old Samsung Galaxy S5, but it was big and bulky and hard to use. The new Flip-Phone answers when it opens and the call ends when you shut it.

• Has anyone else been watching “This Is Us”? I think this is the best season ever. Perhaps because we know all the characters so well.