Good Morning Golden Girls, I hope you are are doing well. I so look forward to comming here every morning and "talking" to you.
Marylynn, I know you'e busy now. Does it slow down after the Holidays?
JoAnn, I hope you got everything done and you're home enjoying yourself today.
Linda, I hope Kitty's eye is doing better. They do keep us busy, don't they. But they bring us so much joy too. We are having some snow, but nothing like you are discribing. Hope you get your drive way cleared soon. Did you get someone else to do it yet? You deserve a good Holiday and I'm glad that you are going to be getting away for awhile. It is easier to diet when you are in charge of the menu, and going home always brings on the temptations. I try to enjoy myself and remember that "food" is not as important as enjoying the company I'm with. My family love you to death with food. They cook huge, elabarate meals. They know we well enough now to know not to do that.
Debbie, I'm so sorry you took a spill!! Glad nothing is broken but you must really be sore! Just get bettter soon.
Cat. Add me to the list of people who get LOSt in a gadget store. i'm not a great cook but I love to play! Your recipe sounds really good. I know I will try it soon. Thanks!
zoe, Getting up a bit earlier to avoid the traffic seems like a good trade off to me. I hate wasting time in traffic like that. Thankfully, I live about 10 min from where I work. Isn't it such a good feeling to put something on that wouldn't fit and have room to spare? YEAH!!! I bet you look stunning in that little black suit. maybe not the boots, since you took a spill. Glad you werent hurt! I may not be a great cook, but I do set a lovely table. I collect depression glass and old silver. It looks so beautiful mixed in with my other things. I don't believe in just putting it away and never using it.
I finished decorating the church and then I helped a lady pack her house yesterday and will help again today. She accepted a job in Chicago, she's single, not in the best of health, and doesn't have any family in California. So, I volunteered to help her pack. My back was killing me last night when I got home but today I feel okay. I guess I lifted the boxes and should have just scooted them.
I noticed when we cleaned out her over stocked walk-in closet that most of her clothes were either out of style, too big, or way too small. By the time we finished we had 6 black garbage bags for goodwill. I know we all have a tendency to hang on to clothes that don't fit. Some of the larger clothes for 'just in case we gain' and others for 'sentimental reasons'. I cleaned my closets last month and got rid of a lot of things. It made me feel better and encouraged me to go through dresser drawers, kitchen cabinets, china cabinet, and the garage to rid myself of all the stuff I don't need. It's very freeing.
Somehow, without realizing it, I've booked myself up for December 11, 14, 15, 16, 18 and the 22nd. Whew! I'm already tired. I've decorated the office, including my boss' offices, and I've decorated the church, so I have to find some time this weekend to buy a Christmas tree so I don't look like Scrooge to my neighbors.
Linda: How awful that Jazz passed but how blessed that he got to spend his life with you. You gave him so much love and care and he gave you so much in return. It's hard when we lose our pets and my heart goes out to you. I hope Frack's eye gets well soon. I'm glad you get to go to Ontairo for Christmas. Maybe being around family will help a little.
Zoe: I like comfort at home too. Sweat pants, jeans, big t-shirts, house shoes, and a baggy sweater when I'm cold. As long as I have a little make up on and my hair looks half way decent, in case someone comes to the door, I'm set. Congrats on wearing a suit you haven't wore in 3 years! What an accomplishment. Take care of your ankle. We had some hard rain last weekend, it's raining today, and supposed to rain again tomorrow. I believe the heavy rains you're referring to are in Washington.
Lynn: I watched the Barefoot Contessa the other day and she cut up the butternut squash in medium cubes, put them on a cookie sheet with a little olive oil and brown sugar, and baked it in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. It looked yummy. I thought I'd try it. Doesn't Splenda come in brown sugar? What a sweet thing you did for Linda. The poem was special. Thanks for sharing.
Lyn: Way to go on the exercise program. 45-50 min is great. Congrats on your daughters engagement. Have fun planning the wedding.
Rosey: I started a needlepoint Christmas scene about 5 years ago and still haven't finished it. I also have about 3/4 of an afghan completed that I worked on about 4 years ago. I usually finish projects but these two have lingered around for years. I can't tell you how many afghans I've completed since then. I'm determined to finish them one day. My sister lives in West Virginia and she makes her Christmas gifts too. A couple years ago she made me the most beautiful doll that matches my bedroom colors. It's very special to me. I'd rather have something homemade than one from a store.
Freda: I like protein bars so I'll give the Fibre One a try. Thanks for the info.
Debbie: How did you fall? Are you feeling better? Get well soon.
Cat: I can easily get addicted to restaurant supply stores. There is one that I especially like near LA and it's huge. The prices are very low compared to a department store and the quality is so much better. I have to drive about 40 minutes to get there so it doesn't tempt me like a 5 minute drive would. You are such a motivation to me! You serve brownies and ice cream to your guests and you have a sugar free fudgsicle. How and where do you get the determination to stay on your program all the time? I'll try to tilapia receipe this weekend. I have some in my freezer. Thanks.
A lady at work just gave me a Curves Member Guide. It has good receipes and some good information. She only weighs 105 pounds so I guess she didn't need it.
My ears are still not opened and it looks like I may have to go back to Urgent Care this weekend. I finished the antibiotics and the doctor said if I wasn't feeling better he wanted to see me. My throat is not as sore but my ears are still blocked and I feel like I'm listening to everyone from inside a barrell or something.
It's cold & snowing here. After my morning gym, my df and I went to Shwenksville, PA to visit the home of a 1900 PA Governor - Samuel Pennypacker. Really great place.
Tomorrow, I'm going to attend a Daughters of the American Revolution luncheon. I may join - first they have to invite me (if I keep my liberal politics a secret, maybe they will), then, I have to find evidence for the 5 generations of ancestors between my grandmother and the Am Rev soldier, finally, I have to decide I want to do this.
Well my day has definitely gone way down in the dumps since my earlier post this morning. Had to take Frack back to the Vet's. Her other eye decided to develop the same problems. Vet has now ascertained that she has Herpes Feline Conjunctivitis caused by the Feline Herpes Virus 1.
-- yes it is related to Herpes Simplex 1 that infects humans -- no the two virus types are NOT transferable between species --
So she is now spending the weekend with the Vet being treated for the infection in both eyes and receiving L-Lysine supplements to attempt to supress the herpes virus. I got sent home with a second prescription of Lysine Supplements to give to her litter-mate Frick. My Vet now figures they were born with it and it has just taken 9 months to manifest itself. Apparently the problem is very common in the "higher-strung-purebreds". She (the vet) figures the three other cats all have good old "hybrid vigour" on their side and probably won't come down with the symptoms.
I have not been successful in getting any of the L-Lysine paste (the packaging says how "most" cats really enjoy the taste) into Frick. Haven't even seen her since my unsuccessful attempt. Obviously she is not "most" cats -- but the three "vigourously hybrid" adults (who don't need it) enjoyed licking it off me -- where it landed when Frick spit it out. At least it won't hurt them. Just the same kind of immune-boosting supplement they recommend for humans with similar viral problems -- at a very different dosage level, of course.
Sorry to dump on you again, ladies . . . just had to vent a little . . . the past couple of days have not been very happy ones in my "zoo".
But all is not bad -- I did find somebody to clear my driveway.
I have not been successful in getting any of the L-Lysine paste (the packaging says how "most" cats really enjoy the taste) into Frick. Haven't even seen her since my unsuccessful attempt.
Hi Linda,
I had exactly the same experience trying to get paste into Princess Di. No way - no how. I finally got the vet to give me some capsules with the medication in a capsule. I mix the contents of the capsule into her wet food in the morning.
Oh, Lynn! Please say it isn't true! NOT the DAR!!!!!!! Omigawd. My sister told me such horror stories that I never even considered going to one of their meetings! She said that they were the personification of stuffiness, and she graciously removed herself by moving to Florida and failing to provide them with a forwarding address. As you know, I've been doing some genealogical research myself - discovered some pretty interesting stuff, actually - have discovered that practically everybody in the United States (Well a LOT of us, at any rate) can trace their family back to English royalty. I have to assume that we are all descended, however, from the ancestral black sheep; otherwise, wouldn’t they have stayed in England and lived in luxury in the family manse? Nope - I’m convinced that the only reason all those first families came over here to a veritable wilderness where they had to fight the natives - and usurp their land to survive, had to be because they weren’t doing so well back in the homelands - as in horsethieves and highwaymen? It is fun, though, and according to the Church of Latter Day Saints Genealogical website, I am descended from a guy named Godwulf Asgard who was born in the year 80. Me and about 750,000 other folks, including some famous ones, like Alfred the Great, Princess Elfgifu , Ealdgyth, queen of England in the mid-eleventh century, Ethelred the Unready King of England , Edgar "The Peaceable" back in the tenth century...and on and on, of course. Howzabout that? It does get a little all-consuming, though - I spent one night until about 1:00 AM saying, “Okay, back just one more generation, and then I’m going to bed!” I also discovered (must have realized, since I've read most all of Edward Rutherfurd's books on English history) that there were hundreds of English kings, and hundreds of separate little monarchies back in those times...so it's a relatively good bet that any of us whose ancestors spent any time at all in the British Isles are probably descended from SOME *royal* line. (And here I am, giving up the "castle" because I don't want the big mortgage payments to bankrupt me! Seems like *royalty* like me shouldn't have to deal with such mundane matters, doesn't it? ) Of course a "monarchy" presumably, may well have been little more than the size of a town, and the subjects therein may have numbered in the tens rather than in the hundreds. Omigawd! I forgot! Lady Godiva was an actual real person, and I am also descended from her! (And they wondered where I got my wild streak! )
Our family came with the first wave - landed at Plimoth and then found their way to Little Compton, RI, where you can still see the track that led back & forth between Plimoth and Little Compton. Hung out, from what I hear, with that blackguard, Roger Williams, and cheated the Sakonnet Indians out of hundreds of acres of prime ocean-front property. We have some relatives who fought in the revolution and another whole branch who remained loyal to the king and fled to Nova Scotia where they founded a town named after themselves. Well, enough of that. One can only hope that the DAR has evolved some since my sister hung out with them 35-some years ago. I suspect they have - I know they started doing annual yard sales at their headquarters in Worcester some years back - lots of interesting old stuff, actually.
Well, that's my essay for today. I have to go have new tires put on my car; this was the year to buy a new one, but we've decided to hold on to what we've got and just maintain. DH is delighted, however, with C-sharp programming - he's taking some free downloaded courses from Microsoft, and we'll have to invest @ $600 in a few more advanced courses and then he'll take the exam at the end of this month if all goes well. THEN he should be extremely employable no matter how old he is. MaryLynn's DH gives good advice.
Anyway, then we're off to Home Depot to get a ceiling fan that I want in the living room in the apt. - it's pricey, and I'm not going to tell my dd that we want it - we're just going to pick it up ourselves. There's already one in there, but I'm not crazy about it, although the dining room & kitchen ones are just fine. Then, after we pick that up, along with the paint for one of the bathrooms (I need for it to have the same color scheme - kind of a pale teal bluish/green and dark brown - that I used in our spare bathroom here since I now have an abundance of towels and accessories in those colors) and then we'll head over to the apartment to do more measuring and some painting. The kids are all going to be there to help today.
Oh, Freda!! Yes!!! That's exactly how I like to do my tables! With a mix of fine old stuff...I recently...oh, back in summer, I guess, bought a boxful of old table linens and crochetted stuff that I'm going to do something dramatic with, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Hey, LindaD, you take care of that cold/flu/virus or whatever it is that won't seem to go away! Should you be doing all the stuff you seem to be doing as opposed to staying home, resting and drinking lots of liquids? Sounds like you have an awfully busy month ahead, too. Try to get in as much rest time as possible, huh? I don't want you getting sicker! Meowee-Linda, I'm so sorry about all the troubles with your *zoo* ...here's hoping that everybody's well again before too long.
Okay, now all the rest of my lovely GG's know that I am thinking of you, too and hoping that all is well. Hope your weekend is a pleasant one. I'm not going to list your names because I will undoubtedly forget at least one name, and it won't be intentional, but even so, it will seem like I don't care about whomever I've missed, and that's just not true. So, here's a hug for everyone - - and I'm off to see the wizard! (Oh not really, but it sounds like such fun, doesn't it?)
Today is definitely going to be better than yesterday -- Yesterday was definitely one of those days when life just seems a little tough to swallow.
I had a pretty good night's sleep and, although we did get a bit more snow overnight, the sun is trying to poke through this morning and the roads are reported to look not too bad. I also managed to get a little bit of the Lysine into Frick via the "smear on paws and nose" method. Since this is, after all is said and done, a dietary supplement rather than an actual medication; hopefully a little is better than none. Who knows, maybe she will actually begin to like it after a few days of 'paw-smearing'.
Hello Ladies,
I'm just popping in for a few minutes to say Hello! I've been going through stuff and packing, and I found this picture of my Dad and I taken back in 1994! That is the ME that I want to get back! Any hope of that??
I'll try to get back and answer more posts later. I know there is a lot to catch up with. Hope everyone has a good day. We have 6 to 8 inches of snow predicted for today!
Actually, the women were pretty interesting. The table conversation revolved around people's personal genealogy & history of the Am Rev.
I learned that the DAR building in Washington DC is the largest building in the world owned solely by women, that the DAR was the first organization to ever hold talks on disarmament, and that George Washington may have had a Black son. The DAR in Bucks County, PA may be less conservative than the Mass branch.
I was ready for some kind of "secret handshake," but nothing of the sort.
Very Quick Fly By!! Since I took the day off yesterday, I am snowed under in work today. If you'd like to take a tour of the plantations we toured yesterday, Here you go! Had a wonderful day.
Very Quick Fly By!! Since I took the day off yesterday, I am snowed under in work today. If you'd like to take a tour of the plantations we toured yesterday, Here you go! Had a wonderful day.
Hi Cat,
You are a REALLY good photographer. Thank you for sharing these with us.
Still not being overly successful getting Lysine into Frick -- she really, really dislikes me right now -- also I'm beginning to think she must have a lot of snake hidden in her genetic background -- she can turn herself into some pretty weird shapes and she can slither through some pretty small spaces in her desire to avoid letting me touch her. At least she is NOT exhibiting any signs of problems like her sister has at the moment.
Hope all of you are having a great weekend. Nothing too exciting for me in the plans today; especially in view of the uncooperative weather. guess I'd better start thinking about all the stuff I need to get organized so I can go away for ten days at Christmas.
Back up to 155 this morning. I am so discouraged I could scream. I have been fluctuating between 153 and 155 since the end of October! Nothing I do seems to help - less calories - more calories - less exercise - more exercise. I may just have to concede defeat & change my interim goal to 155 and settle in here for the next 6 months. My body seems to have decided on its own goal!
Lynn...mine changed 6 lbs since yesterday. I stayed completely OP...forget the stupid scale. I don't trust them as far as I can throw them. Don't get discouraged and stay away from the scale. They are stupid and they lie. Your clothes don't!! My clothes fit the same as they did when I weighted 6lbs less yesterday.
You know LYNN . . . that might just work wonders . . . I know I've read a lot of posts where members have decided to try to maintain for a little while and . . . lo and behold . . . they immediately start losing without trying. think there's definitely a psychological aspect especially when you get so close to goal.
and then I helped a lady pack her house yesterday and will help again today. She accepted a job in Chicago, she's single, not in the best of health, and doesn't have any family in California. So, I volunteered to help her pack. My back was killing me last night when I got home but today I feel okay. I guess I lifted the boxes and should have just scooted them. 
I've decorated the office, including my boss' offices, and I've decorated the church, so I have to find some time this weekend to buy a Christmas tree so I don't look like Scrooge to my neighbors. 
What an accomplishment. Take care of your ankle. We had some hard rain last weekend, it's raining today, and supposed to rain again tomorrow. 
I believe the heavy rains you're referring to are in Washington. 
Doesn't Splenda come in brown sugar? What a sweet thing you did for Linda. The poem was special. Thanks for sharing.
Congrats on your daughters engagement. Have fun planning the wedding.
Are you feeling better? Get well soon. 
You serve brownies and ice cream to your guests and you have a sugar free fudgsicle. How and where do you get the determination to stay on your program all the time? I'll try to tilapia receipe this weekend. I have some in my freezer. Thanks.
Have a nice day.
As you know, I've been doing some genealogical research myself - discovered some pretty interesting stuff, actually - have discovered that practically everybody in the United States (Well a LOT of us, at any rate) can trace their family back to English royalty. I have to assume that we are all descended, however, from the ancestral black sheep; otherwise, wouldn’t they have stayed in England and lived in luxury in the family manse? Nope - I’m convinced that the only reason all those first families came over here to a veritable wilderness where they had to fight the natives - and usurp their land to survive, had to be because they weren’t doing so well back in the homelands - as in horsethieves and highwaymen? It is fun, though, and according to the Church of Latter Day Saints Genealogical website, I am descended from a guy named Godwulf Asgard 
who was born in the year 80. Me and about 750,000 other folks, including some famous ones, like Alfred the Great, Princess Elfgifu , Ealdgyth, queen of England 
in the mid-eleventh century, Ethelred the Unready King of England 
, Edgar "The Peaceable" 
back in the tenth century...and on and on, of course. Howzabout that? It does get a little all-consuming, though - I spent one night until about 1:00 AM saying, “Okay, back just one more generation, and then I’m going to bed!” I also discovered (must have realized, since I've read most all of Edward Rutherfurd's books on English history) that there were hundreds of English kings, and hundreds of separate little monarchies back in those times...so it's a relatively good bet that any of us whose ancestors spent any time at all in the British Isles are probably descended from SOME *royal* line. (And here I am, giving up the "castle" because I don't want the big mortgage payments to bankrupt me! Seems like *royalty* like me shouldn't have to deal with such mundane matters, doesn't it? 
) Of course a "monarchy" presumably, may well have been little more than the size of a town, and the subjects therein may have numbered in the tens rather than in the hundreds. Omigawd! I forgot! Lady Godiva was an actual real person, and I am also descended from her! (And they wondered where I got my wild streak! 
)
(Oh not really, but it sounds like such fun, doesn't it?)
b
At least she is NOT exhibiting any signs of problems like her sister has at the moment.