This weather, which I love, is a knee killer. I have hardly been able to walk since Sunday or was it Monday? Today was the day I was going to get my office cleared of all things Creative Memories. I got one box packed up and that was an order I had to fill. I have four large boxes that need to be sorted out and divided up to give to folks that requested items, the rest I'll put in the attic.
I have gotten as far as getting the boxes out of the attic in order to put away the rest of the Christmas decorations and my snowmen, last count 122 (not including tree decorations, which are put away). Maybe tomorrow I'll get that task accomplished. I also need to do laundry (again), and I'm three loads behind in folding and putting away. So most of the stuff that's been pulled out of the dryer will have to be put back in to get the wrinkles out. I assume everybody knows that trick -- stick a wet washcloth in the dryer along with the laundry you want to "iron" and it comes out unwrinkled, as long as you get it while it's still warm.
Tomorrow. I'll do it all tomorrow.
mtf
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Now, this is my kinda weather
It snowed! We actually got more than a dusting. So far about five inches with more on the way, or so they say. But before we get another 4-6 inches we have to go through a period of freezing rain, predicing 1/2 inch of ice. That means no electricity. And, it's cold. But I'm not going to panic until it happens.
Alan has a doctor's appt. this afternoon, one he's had for three months. Should we go or should we be safe and not go. I'm for the "safe" scenario. Alan is opting for the go and pray scenario. However, since we haven't been dug out yet, I don't know. I hear the shovels working nearby, but that's just to dig out the cars, not to clear the streets, which haven't been cleared yet.
That's one advantage to living in a condo complex, we don't have to dig outselves out, as long as we're patient. Our first really big snow storm came and went and we weren't dug out for four days, but I have to say that was a storm in which we had not 1/2 inch of ice, but several inches of ice and they had to use jack hammers to get through the ice. It seems our building is always the last building to be cleared and today is no exception.
What I don't understand is why they're digging us out when it's still coming down at the rate of about one inch per hour. The units they dug out before dawn are already in need of another shovelling.
Stay tuned!
Alan has a doctor's appt. this afternoon, one he's had for three months. Should we go or should we be safe and not go. I'm for the "safe" scenario. Alan is opting for the go and pray scenario. However, since we haven't been dug out yet, I don't know. I hear the shovels working nearby, but that's just to dig out the cars, not to clear the streets, which haven't been cleared yet.
That's one advantage to living in a condo complex, we don't have to dig outselves out, as long as we're patient. Our first really big snow storm came and went and we weren't dug out for four days, but I have to say that was a storm in which we had not 1/2 inch of ice, but several inches of ice and they had to use jack hammers to get through the ice. It seems our building is always the last building to be cleared and today is no exception.
What I don't understand is why they're digging us out when it's still coming down at the rate of about one inch per hour. The units they dug out before dawn are already in need of another shovelling.
Stay tuned!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
I love snowy Sunday afternoons
We had a "surprise" snow this afternoon. I don't know when it started to snow, but I know the sun was out this a.m. when I headed into the bedroom and then the bathroom and then threw-up. So, I went to bed around 11:00 a.m. and it was still sort of sunny, although I could tell it was going to get cloudy. Alan annoyed me around noon and I don't think it was snowing yet, but when I woke up at 2:30 there was a nice covering on the ground.
We're under a winter storm watch -- that means nothing. Whenever we get one of those things, we get little to no snow. It's the surprise snows that make the winter pretty. This "watch" is not the kind of "watch" we want to hear about, though, because it is supposed to change from snow to rain with the air temp around 25, which means instant freeze. We've going through that many times before and the ice is awful. I hate the ice because I know I'll be home bound for days.
Being home bound isn't anything I need to be concerned about, as I'm basically home bound anyway, but the thought of being home bound, not because I can be home bound, but because I have to be home bound is a different scenario. That's when I get cabin fever.
At least knowing I'm home bound because I don't actually have anything I need to do to put me outside the home is different, because I know I can get out if I want to. Is that clear? And, since it's so cold, I'm not about to head out to get in supplies in case the weather prognosticators are correct this time. They haven't been right one time this whole winter!
We'll have soup and sandwiches. I made a big pot of vegetable soup, and frankly I loved it. Alan, not so much. But then, Alan isn't a soup fan unless it is cheese soup or split pea soup, neither of which do I care for. But I have lots of canned cheese soup for him and the veggie soup for me. I am so glad the back porch is really cold and I can use it as a refrigerator for that big pot of soup. There is no room in the refrigerator for that big a pot. And even if I broke it down into smaller packages, I still wouldn't have room in the fridge for it.
I was pleased that Ms. Indiana won the Miss American contest for 2009. She was actually my first choice. I rarely pick the right one.
So, I'm back to bed, still nursing the upset stomach, with my ginger ale.
And Amy, if you read this, yes, I would love to read the first in the brotherhood series. And I'm really bummed about having to wait until September to get the next book in the series. I didn't like the way this book ended. I won't tell you about it, because you haven't read it, but I didn't like the ending.
ttfn
We're under a winter storm watch -- that means nothing. Whenever we get one of those things, we get little to no snow. It's the surprise snows that make the winter pretty. This "watch" is not the kind of "watch" we want to hear about, though, because it is supposed to change from snow to rain with the air temp around 25, which means instant freeze. We've going through that many times before and the ice is awful. I hate the ice because I know I'll be home bound for days.
Being home bound isn't anything I need to be concerned about, as I'm basically home bound anyway, but the thought of being home bound, not because I can be home bound, but because I have to be home bound is a different scenario. That's when I get cabin fever.
At least knowing I'm home bound because I don't actually have anything I need to do to put me outside the home is different, because I know I can get out if I want to. Is that clear? And, since it's so cold, I'm not about to head out to get in supplies in case the weather prognosticators are correct this time. They haven't been right one time this whole winter!
We'll have soup and sandwiches. I made a big pot of vegetable soup, and frankly I loved it. Alan, not so much. But then, Alan isn't a soup fan unless it is cheese soup or split pea soup, neither of which do I care for. But I have lots of canned cheese soup for him and the veggie soup for me. I am so glad the back porch is really cold and I can use it as a refrigerator for that big pot of soup. There is no room in the refrigerator for that big a pot. And even if I broke it down into smaller packages, I still wouldn't have room in the fridge for it.
I was pleased that Ms. Indiana won the Miss American contest for 2009. She was actually my first choice. I rarely pick the right one.
So, I'm back to bed, still nursing the upset stomach, with my ginger ale.
And Amy, if you read this, yes, I would love to read the first in the brotherhood series. And I'm really bummed about having to wait until September to get the next book in the series. I didn't like the way this book ended. I won't tell you about it, because you haven't read it, but I didn't like the ending.
ttfn
Friday, January 23, 2009
Finally...
I finally got a haircut. I'll tell you, oh journal, it was about time. The last time I had it worked on was way before Thanksgiving. It was getting long enough to put into a French twist.
After thinking about it, I decided I would keep it long in the back, short in the front and then I can pull it back into a "pony tail" or get one of those big clamps and just clamp it back when it gets gnarly looking. Today it looks great. Tomorrow, who knows? If I can't comb it to look reasonably like the way it looks today, I'll go next week and get it cut lit I normally do. Short!
Walking from the car to the shop was a bit of a problem, but I did it! I also hit the Seafood Shop and picked up some bruschetta topping, a nice loaf of french bread to go with the topping, and they now carry the Barefoot Contessa products so I stocked up on them as well. Got some lemon curd, yummy and some red orange marmalade -- that's a new one. Can't wait to try that one.
I also got my favorite balsamic vinegar. It's so sweet and thick. It's actually a Greek balsamic rather than an Italian balsamic. But it does taste good, and Alan informed me the other night that he very much prefers the "sweet" dressings I make (when I use balsamic as opposed to wine vinegar) and since I don't mind the sweeter dressing that much, I stocked up since I don't get over to that part of Cincinnati very often.
Then I went to Servatii's -- a local bakery that everyone raves over. Frankly? They're okay, but Kelly's bakery they're not. Kelly's bakery was the bakery in Glendora, about two miles from home, that I would religiously walk to just to get one cream-filled donut. Their baked goods were wonderful. They had no french bread so I settled for a loaf of Italian. I also got Alan his "sweets" and got myself two large soft pretzels, not Philadelphia pretzels, mind you, but a reasonable substitute.
So that was my early day. Now it's mid afternoon and I'm ready to read the next book by Neta Jackson. It's a follow up to the Yada Yada books, but not with the sisters. I can't wait to get into it. Thanks Amy!!!!!
ttfn
After thinking about it, I decided I would keep it long in the back, short in the front and then I can pull it back into a "pony tail" or get one of those big clamps and just clamp it back when it gets gnarly looking. Today it looks great. Tomorrow, who knows? If I can't comb it to look reasonably like the way it looks today, I'll go next week and get it cut lit I normally do. Short!
Walking from the car to the shop was a bit of a problem, but I did it! I also hit the Seafood Shop and picked up some bruschetta topping, a nice loaf of french bread to go with the topping, and they now carry the Barefoot Contessa products so I stocked up on them as well. Got some lemon curd, yummy and some red orange marmalade -- that's a new one. Can't wait to try that one.
I also got my favorite balsamic vinegar. It's so sweet and thick. It's actually a Greek balsamic rather than an Italian balsamic. But it does taste good, and Alan informed me the other night that he very much prefers the "sweet" dressings I make (when I use balsamic as opposed to wine vinegar) and since I don't mind the sweeter dressing that much, I stocked up since I don't get over to that part of Cincinnati very often.
Then I went to Servatii's -- a local bakery that everyone raves over. Frankly? They're okay, but Kelly's bakery they're not. Kelly's bakery was the bakery in Glendora, about two miles from home, that I would religiously walk to just to get one cream-filled donut. Their baked goods were wonderful. They had no french bread so I settled for a loaf of Italian. I also got Alan his "sweets" and got myself two large soft pretzels, not Philadelphia pretzels, mind you, but a reasonable substitute.
So that was my early day. Now it's mid afternoon and I'm ready to read the next book by Neta Jackson. It's a follow up to the Yada Yada books, but not with the sisters. I can't wait to get into it. Thanks Amy!!!!!
ttfn
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
It's over
Football season is over...almost. There is that Super Bowl Game and the all-star game, but for all intents and purposes, the season is over. I don't know what Alan is going to do. How is he going to get in his afternoon nap on Sunday?
Yes, he usually falls asleep about 2 minutes into the game -- whatever game he's watching -- and wakes up after the game is over, and hasn't a clue who won. He even fell asleep last Sunday when he and Phil were watching the Eagles/Cardinals game. I think it was Eagles/Cardinals. Phil wasn't quiet either. I was working on my computer and I could hear him snoring (Alan) and Phil cheering. Go figure. I woke him up so he could see the last two minutes of the game.
Football used to be a sport I really enjoyed watching. When Alan came back from Kenya and started his first year at Rutgers, he and I went to most of the Rutgers games, because they were free for students and one guest. That meant I had to get on a Greyhound bus on Friday night, stay with a friend at Douglas (the women's college across town from Rutgers, the men's college), go the football game on Saturday, stay again at Douglas on Saturday night, and then get on the Greyhound back to Philly early on Sunday morning. For the Rutgers away games, I was only able to go to the West Point Games (same scenario to get to Rutgers), the Princeton game, and the U of PA game. It wasn't until Alan's sophomore year that I finally got a car.
We were married just before Alan's junior year and the love for football hadn't diminished any. We went to ALL the games, home and away, and on Sunday afternoon we settled in to watch the NFL games. At that time there was only the NFL, not the NFC and the AFC. Those conferences were set up after we left Rutgers, so there weren't as many games, and the Super Bowl was earlier in January because there weren't as many playoff games. That was the time when Broadway Joe Namath was the quarterback for the NY Jets. The Eagles was always our favorite team, but the Jets came in second, Giants third.
When did I stop watching football on Sundays? I don't recall exactly, but it was probably sometime when the children were in their teens. It doesn't matter when, I just lost interest.
Back when Alan was younger he never fell asleep during a football game. But age takes it toll and now, while he will not miss a game, and I must give up the TV for most of the day on Sunday, he sees very little of the games he watches.
Now I have free access to the TV until the NCAA basketball tournamet begins in late March. Yuck. I dislike basketball even more than I dislike football.
ttfn
Yes, he usually falls asleep about 2 minutes into the game -- whatever game he's watching -- and wakes up after the game is over, and hasn't a clue who won. He even fell asleep last Sunday when he and Phil were watching the Eagles/Cardinals game. I think it was Eagles/Cardinals. Phil wasn't quiet either. I was working on my computer and I could hear him snoring (Alan) and Phil cheering. Go figure. I woke him up so he could see the last two minutes of the game.
Football used to be a sport I really enjoyed watching. When Alan came back from Kenya and started his first year at Rutgers, he and I went to most of the Rutgers games, because they were free for students and one guest. That meant I had to get on a Greyhound bus on Friday night, stay with a friend at Douglas (the women's college across town from Rutgers, the men's college), go the football game on Saturday, stay again at Douglas on Saturday night, and then get on the Greyhound back to Philly early on Sunday morning. For the Rutgers away games, I was only able to go to the West Point Games (same scenario to get to Rutgers), the Princeton game, and the U of PA game. It wasn't until Alan's sophomore year that I finally got a car.
We were married just before Alan's junior year and the love for football hadn't diminished any. We went to ALL the games, home and away, and on Sunday afternoon we settled in to watch the NFL games. At that time there was only the NFL, not the NFC and the AFC. Those conferences were set up after we left Rutgers, so there weren't as many games, and the Super Bowl was earlier in January because there weren't as many playoff games. That was the time when Broadway Joe Namath was the quarterback for the NY Jets. The Eagles was always our favorite team, but the Jets came in second, Giants third.
When did I stop watching football on Sundays? I don't recall exactly, but it was probably sometime when the children were in their teens. It doesn't matter when, I just lost interest.
Back when Alan was younger he never fell asleep during a football game. But age takes it toll and now, while he will not miss a game, and I must give up the TV for most of the day on Sunday, he sees very little of the games he watches.
Now I have free access to the TV until the NCAA basketball tournamet begins in late March. Yuck. I dislike basketball even more than I dislike football.
ttfn
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
No sleep
Well, I finished the series of books written by Neta Jackson about the Yada Yada prayer sisters. What a great series! I have so enjoyed them. Walking with the sisters as they learn how to pray, watch the answers God gave them to their prayers --not always the way they wanted the prayer to be answered -- and finding out that God was good, all the time. I highly recommend the books. And the recipes are now included in the new printings of the books. The food prepared by the moms in the books sounds so yummy.
Why the title of the BLOG: "No Sleep?" Well, I finished the last book at 6 a.m. and got up at 8 a.m. because today was the day Tamara came to clean and shop for me. So I had to get up and clean the house before she got here. I know, that's stupid, but I did what little I could to make her not think I was a slob. In other words, I stripped and made the bed, which is a chore I think I'm going to have her do from now on, it wears me out! I emptied the dishwasher and cleaned up the sink (usually a job she does -- clean the sink, that is), I did a load of laundry, I cleaned the stove, usually something she does, and I cleaned the refrigerator.
So it's now almost 8 p.m. and I just know I'm going to fall asleep while I'm watching American Idol, I'm really wiped. But I feel good otherwise. I'm walking, anyway.
I didn't watch any of the inauguration festivities. Not interested at all. But I did print out a lot of pictures and got my next album concepted and I'm ready to go on that.
Oh, yeah, one more thing. I booked us on a cruise to Puerto Rico, Aruba, Atola, St. Thomas, and St. Marteens. It's a long cruise, 9 days, but Alan said to "go for it" so I did. Whether we'll actually go is not certain, I have until the day of the cruise to cancel because I got the extra insurance which covers backing out because of health reasons and other family emergencies. This time THEY will provide the wheel chair and valet parking. Yeah! I'm really excited and am looking forward to it. We got a balcony room this time. They're the best because you can get room service for breakfast (it's free) and just sit on the balcony and enjoy the ride!
Gotta go. No more to say anyway. Enjoy all that God has done for you today. Thank Him for His goodness and blessings and do something I'm learning in my old age, wait up Him and listen for that still small voice for Him to lead and guide you through your day.
ttfn
Why the title of the BLOG: "No Sleep?" Well, I finished the last book at 6 a.m. and got up at 8 a.m. because today was the day Tamara came to clean and shop for me. So I had to get up and clean the house before she got here. I know, that's stupid, but I did what little I could to make her not think I was a slob. In other words, I stripped and made the bed, which is a chore I think I'm going to have her do from now on, it wears me out! I emptied the dishwasher and cleaned up the sink (usually a job she does -- clean the sink, that is), I did a load of laundry, I cleaned the stove, usually something she does, and I cleaned the refrigerator.
So it's now almost 8 p.m. and I just know I'm going to fall asleep while I'm watching American Idol, I'm really wiped. But I feel good otherwise. I'm walking, anyway.
I didn't watch any of the inauguration festivities. Not interested at all. But I did print out a lot of pictures and got my next album concepted and I'm ready to go on that.
Oh, yeah, one more thing. I booked us on a cruise to Puerto Rico, Aruba, Atola, St. Thomas, and St. Marteens. It's a long cruise, 9 days, but Alan said to "go for it" so I did. Whether we'll actually go is not certain, I have until the day of the cruise to cancel because I got the extra insurance which covers backing out because of health reasons and other family emergencies. This time THEY will provide the wheel chair and valet parking. Yeah! I'm really excited and am looking forward to it. We got a balcony room this time. They're the best because you can get room service for breakfast (it's free) and just sit on the balcony and enjoy the ride!
Gotta go. No more to say anyway. Enjoy all that God has done for you today. Thank Him for His goodness and blessings and do something I'm learning in my old age, wait up Him and listen for that still small voice for Him to lead and guide you through your day.
ttfn
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I realize this is supposed to be my journal, but...
There are just some things that I can't put into this particular journal, and will have to store in the journal of my mind, which is where they may be forgotten.
Family situation. Not good. Not terribly bad, just really, really annoying. And, I can't really do anything about it, even though some members of the family think I can. Now you're all wondering what it is that has me boinked. Well, it's a never-mind, just pray-about situation.
While I've been remiss in writing everyday on this BLOG, I have been feeling quite good, actually. The knees anyway haven't been giving me fits. Still have the fibromyalgia thing going on, though, but it's on the wane, so I can function.
I only wish I could get myself out of bed earlier. Even if I go to bed by 10 p.m., I will seem to be abed until after 10:00 a.m. each morning. It is a rare morning that I see the sunrise -- if there is a sunrise to see. We haven't really had a sunrise for weeks. Clouds cover the rise of that orb. But I'm still rejoicing that the days are getting longer.
Since my clock goes by light and dark, we are eating dinner later. I reminded myself that it was time to cook dinner when it got dark, now it doesn't get dark until six or later, and that's a late time to start dinner.
We're still trying to decide whether we want to go to Florida or not. I want to go, but I don't think my body does. Alan doesn't really care, but I think his body really wants to go to a place where he can really rest and relax, not that he can't do that at home, but he's always tied up with something on the computer, either our taxes, which he is working feverishly on, or something to do with the community funding.
So, it's another Sunday. Another missed church service. However, we do have our house-church meeting to look forward to later in the week. I shall have to be content with that meeting because of my walking problems.
I am grateful to God, however, for his mercy in letting me be nearly pain free in the knees, and the sciatic nerve is in a dormant period. Now, Lord, please take away the burning, gnawing pain of the fibromyalgia. Thank you, Lord. Amen.
I hope you all have a nice MLK day tomorrow and then really enjoy the inauguration of the next president of the USA. I plan not to watch any TV for the next three days. Enough is enough. I think I've been through the upcoming love fest enough in the past few days, and so I'm going to read, read, read or scrap, scrap, scrap. See which wins out -- reading or scrapbooking.
mtf
Family situation. Not good. Not terribly bad, just really, really annoying. And, I can't really do anything about it, even though some members of the family think I can. Now you're all wondering what it is that has me boinked. Well, it's a never-mind, just pray-about situation.
While I've been remiss in writing everyday on this BLOG, I have been feeling quite good, actually. The knees anyway haven't been giving me fits. Still have the fibromyalgia thing going on, though, but it's on the wane, so I can function.
I only wish I could get myself out of bed earlier. Even if I go to bed by 10 p.m., I will seem to be abed until after 10:00 a.m. each morning. It is a rare morning that I see the sunrise -- if there is a sunrise to see. We haven't really had a sunrise for weeks. Clouds cover the rise of that orb. But I'm still rejoicing that the days are getting longer.
Since my clock goes by light and dark, we are eating dinner later. I reminded myself that it was time to cook dinner when it got dark, now it doesn't get dark until six or later, and that's a late time to start dinner.
We're still trying to decide whether we want to go to Florida or not. I want to go, but I don't think my body does. Alan doesn't really care, but I think his body really wants to go to a place where he can really rest and relax, not that he can't do that at home, but he's always tied up with something on the computer, either our taxes, which he is working feverishly on, or something to do with the community funding.
So, it's another Sunday. Another missed church service. However, we do have our house-church meeting to look forward to later in the week. I shall have to be content with that meeting because of my walking problems.
I am grateful to God, however, for his mercy in letting me be nearly pain free in the knees, and the sciatic nerve is in a dormant period. Now, Lord, please take away the burning, gnawing pain of the fibromyalgia. Thank you, Lord. Amen.
I hope you all have a nice MLK day tomorrow and then really enjoy the inauguration of the next president of the USA. I plan not to watch any TV for the next three days. Enough is enough. I think I've been through the upcoming love fest enough in the past few days, and so I'm going to read, read, read or scrap, scrap, scrap. See which wins out -- reading or scrapbooking.
mtf
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