Hi ladies,

Carol - I think I've lost some padding between my joints, too. As they say, getting old ain't for sissies, lol. Our temps here are 70ish this weekend, and I'm loving that! The first day of spring brings such promise!

Linda - how was your day with Amber and Tyler? Bet you had lots of fun! Wow, it would be great if the insurance would pay. Seems likely that they would, since the break was in the wall, but you know how insurance companies can be!

Chicpanda - I use all of those spices, with the exception of tumeric. Not sure what to use that with. I mentioned to the others that my granddaughter Madison and I will be planting an herb garden, tomatoes, and green beans this year. DH Neal and the other kids will be planting lots of other veggies. Homegrown produce sounds so good!

Trish - miss you!

First things first - I'm down another 1.6 for the week, and with Jeff's death, I didn't log on last Saturday with my .6 loss for last week. So that's a total of 12.6 pounds lost now. I'm getting there, slowly, but surely.

Also, I bought a new laptop today, and am trying to get used to the different layout. In the meantime, sorry soif I miss any typos. :dizzy:

I keep losing my page, so better post this before it's lost in cyberspace!

We've had a glorious first day of spring here today. We got up to 78* with plenty of sunshine in a clear blue sky. The grandkids and I spent most of the day at the park, and we had a great time exploring the creek and playing on the playground equipment. I'm really lucky to have such a nice park within an easy walk of my home. The kids really wore me out, though, and I'm sure we'll all sleep well tonight after all that fresh air.

Chicpanda, I'm happy to find out that I already use all those spices on a regular basis.

Jane, congratulations on your steady weight loss! Those pounds are really melting off of you! Have fun with your new laptop!

Morning ladies,:wave:
Just checking in before I get my day rolling. Takes me a while to get moving, :yawn: but once I do, I'm on for the day. I just have me some :coffee: to get me moving.

It was just the prettiest 1st day of Spring yesterday! Just lovely! Suppose to be another nice day today and we're suppose to be in the low 70's for the next week.

Didn't get much sleep last night and my bottom is dragging this morning. Feelin' a little tired. :tired: But once I get my shower I'll be fine. Bedtime will probably come early tonight. I don't usually take a nap. Maybe I should. Reading from another site, tests are saying that you can gain weight if you're not getting enough (about 7 hours) sleep. I usually get 6 hours or less. This started when I started through "the change". Hopefully I'll get over it soon and start sleeping a little longer. I wake up from a sound sleep, and my brain flips on the switch and is ready to go full speed ahead, :running: but my body is slow to catch up. :snail:

Got lots done on my projects yesterday and hope to do the same today. Maybe I'll finish my little bowl?? I'm making progress!! I have a couple more orders I have to get to. No rest for us crafters.....:santa: is coming! And he'll be here before you know it! We always have to think months ahead of schedule. But it's fun painting snowmen ornaments when the temps start rising up to 100+ degrees. Brrrr! :rofl:

But for now, I'll enjoy what we get during this Spring season.

I'm trying to get back to where my little bee is sitting in the grass. I regained a couple pounds and the number just wont budge back down. Soon...I hope! I even went to water aerobics 4 times last week. Pants still feel lose, so that's good. :)

Everyone have a wonderful Sunday!

Happy Sunday Morning!
I graduated from the U o Washington many long years ago, so I am really happy that they are still in the NCAA basketball tournament. They made the Sweet Sixteen yesterday. I played the game in jr. high school, but at 5' 2" sort of undergrew my usefulness.

Here is some more information about turmeric "Turmeric (Curcuma longa), the bright yellow of the spice rainbow, is a powerful medicine that has long been used in the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat a wide variety of conditions, including flatulence, jaundice, menstrual difficulties, bloody urine, hemorrhage, toothache, bruises, chest pain, and colic.

It is used primarily in curries, but is also considered the 'poor man's saffron'
It can be substituted for saffron in most recipes. In the US it is used in bread and butter pickles. It is also used as a natural dye in India. It might be fun to use it for dyeing Easter eggs, if any of you still do that.

Sleepy rainy morning in Tampa. I gardened yesterday, still cleaning up from winter's ravages. My yard person took down the dead key lime tree, and hauled away the wood. I am relieved because I was dreading that chore.
Today I will be walking in the rain, but it is mostly sprinkles. As a Seattle native, I have 40 words for rain....
I have pretty much planned my program for the Spring season and will share it tomorrow.

Good morning, ladies,

Linda - thank you for your kind words. Glad you had such fun with the kids yesterday, and I bet you sure did sleep well last night. Yes, you are very fortunate to have a park so close by. When Mary moved, they took their swing set/jungle gym with them, of course, and I've been thinking of buying a replacement, but yowza :yikes: the prices are so high now!

Carol - loose pants tell a more accurate story than the scales, imo. I often take a nap. Not a long one, usually 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. Very refreshing! I don't know why, but I used to feel guilty taking a nap and if someone called, and asked if I'd been sleepig, I'd say, No, no, I'm awake! Now I admit it, and recommend it to others, lol. You are so dedicated to your crafting, and I think that's wonderful! Your projects sound so nice.

Chicpanda - I don't know much about bastetball, but I'll just say I hope your team wins. Thanks for the info on tumeric. I don't eat curry, but do love my bread and butter pickles! Now you've got me wondering just what your program for spring is. Do tell!!

Hello to anyone reading this. :wave:

I read the book on this new laptop, and discovered that it has a TouchPad, and that's what was throwing me off so much! I was skimming it with the heel of my hand while typing, and chaos ensued, lol.

With Jeff's death, and all that brought, I didn't put out any of my Easter decorations, but today I did hang some bright-colored Easter eggs on a dreary brown bush that I can see from my easy chair. So cheery!

Not much to do today. Yesterday I roasted a turkey, and we're having leftovers later, so I don't even need to cook. I think I'll get my book and let the world pass me by today.

Toodles,

Good afternoon! We're having our first thunderstorm of the season, so it must be Spring! I've been on vacation since last Thursday, and it sure is nice to be able to call my time my own. I did run over to the farm for a while this morning to check on things, and did a couple of projects as a special favor. I've been wanting to rearrange and organize Cindy's pantry for a while, so I took advantage of them being away to do it today. It really looks nice, and I know Cindy will be pleasantly surprised. I organized the drawers in the vanity in the girls' bathroom, too. I'm going to go back over sometime again this week and start going through all the kid's books and sort out the "baby" ones to donate to Goodwill. I guess all the decluttering we did around here the past few weeks has gotten me on a roll! ;)

I planned to post my plan for Spring today, but car trouble got in the way.
Tomorrow. I hope.

I am new here, but thought I would try and jump in. I need all the support I can get. It is a nice spring day here, after a snowy first day of spring! we had such nice weather last week and then snow! I am about ready to get my grand daughter dressed and walk down to her great, great grand parents who live a mile down the road. we walked to her great grand parents on Monday which is closer. Yesterday we didn't get a walk in as we had to go to town and then my other baby was here, I am doing some fill in day care for my kids' daycare provider who just had a baby. This site is proving to be very inspirational to me! thanks ladies for sharing your lives.
Pam

Good morning,

Pam - :welcome: to the Daily Chat thread! You will find lots of support and friendship here. Sounds like you're getting lots of walking in. Are you on a certain type of program for weight loss? I've been counting calories, with a focus on eating whole foods as much as possible. Working at the daycare will keep you moving, lol.

Linda - wow, Cindy will be so happy to see what you've done. I know she really appreciates what a jewel she has in you! I redid my kitchen cabinets not long ago, and added roll out bins to some of them. Now I don't have to stand on my head to get stuff, lol.

chicpanda - aww, I'm sorry for the car trouble and hope it's fixed now.

Trish - you are missed. Please post soon.

I'm having so much fun in Chicago with DGD Mackenzie! We went to Field Museum yesterday, and walked the down to the Chicago River bridge, stopping in a few shops here and there. Today we're having brunch at the the American Girl Doll Cafe, then riding the 150' Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier and will be heading home tonight.

I went over calories by about 500 yesterday. :yikes: My only salvation is that I probably walked them off. I WILL do better today.

Have a good one!

:welcome2: Pam! I'm happy to meet you! I work as a nanny for two girls, aged 9 and 6 1/2 and have been with them since before they were born. They're away on vacation right now, so I am, too. Taking care of little ones sure can keep you on your toes, don't you think? :)

Jane, you sound like you're having as much fun as Mackenzie in the big city! :D You're grandchildren are very lucky to have a special grandma like you. I know I savor every moment I can spend with mine.

Speaking of grandchildren, Caitlyn and Carley came out on the train yesterday to spend the day with me, and Monica came out after work. I took the girls out for lunch and some shopping, then we came back home and had a blast playing games on the wii. We're planning a big day in the city one day next week.
I went over to the farm again this morning to check on things, and had tea with Richard's parents. That has turned into my normal Wednesday routine lately, and I really look forward to it. Susie is a great cook and had a hard time understanding why I kept turning down her scones and other goodies, but now she realizes that I'm determined to shed these last few pounds and doesn't try to tempt me anymore, thank goodness.
On my way home today, I stopped by Kohl's to check out their big sale, and I ended up getting myself several tops and a pair of shoes at some great prices. I never seem to have enough tops. :dizzy:
Well, I have just enough time to read and maybe catch a little nap before it's time to make supper.
Hope you all are having a great day, and we miss you, Trish!

Evening, Just checking in to say hi tonight. Sand man has caught up with me.
Been busy getting projects finished and starting new ones. Will head over to the Y in the morning for an hour of water aerobics. DH will bring a book and read after he swims his laps.

Nice to see the new ones posting.

Catch everyone tomorrow.

Carol

Good morning ladies. thanks for the welcomes. We never made it down to the grand parents house, we stopped at the farm my hubby manages and walked the barns with him for awhile and it was almost noon, I know the grandparents eat right at noon, so we headed back home, still we had a good walk. its cloudy here this morning and feels like rain, so I am thinking no outside walking today. It was so nice out yesterday afternoon, I had to chase some heifers, they are about a year old, with my dil back in to their pen, as I had left the fencer unplugged the other day and of course the grass is greener on the other side! thankfully we have a good perimeter fence. Normally I go to Bible study on Wed. nights, but I went to a value added workshop for farmers and was glad I did.
Jane, I love Chicago! I have been there only once when my daughters and future dil took the train and spent a few days there, we had so much fun and did lots of walking, we went to the art museum as I believe its Thurs after 4 or 5 you can get in free. my daughter also arranged, I think through Chicago greeter or something like that, to take a tour with a Chicago resident, in our case it was a lady who had lived there for years and was originally from England, anyway we took an architectural tour, she took us to various buildings, old and new, and told about the history and the owners, who built it and such, it was so nice! they have a limit of how many people can go on these so it was really personal and there is no charge and no tipping. my girls have will be heading there for part of spring break, I wish I could join them!
Cottagebythesea: my daughter is a nanny too. the parents are both airline pilots, so she has a funny schedule as she is on 24 hrs for a few days and then gets a week or so off. she has also taken some wonderful 'vacations' with her family. she lives close to our other daughter and grand daughter and when she has a few days off she spends it with them and when she has more off she comes up here and helps on our farm. Do you nanny for farmers? We have an organic crop/beef farm and my hubby manages a large dairy. I was employed on the dairy till about a year ago, now I do a lot of our field work here at the home farm and am trying to decide what I want to do to make a little more $$.
Well, hope I didn't ramble on too much.
thanks again for the welcome.
Pam

Hello ladies,

Linda - I just love Kohl's Home Dept. for placemats and tablecloths. I'm a sucker for a pretty table, lol. I also like their jewelry dept. Would that be Philly you're visiting with the girls next week? Wow, how cool that you have developed such a good friendship with Richard's parents!

Carol - it's nice that you and hubby go to the Y together. My Neal doesn't even like to go to the grocery store, lol.

Pam - no, you didn't ramble! We enjoy knowing more about our friends. It's nice to know there's something that requires no tipping in Chicago, lol. I lost count of how much I spent on that, in just 2 days. Chasing heifers? You lead a fun life! Where I live, there used to be all sorts of livestock and chickens, but now all we have are dogs.

Hello to anyone reading this. :wave:

Ahhh, no place like home! I got home around 11pm last night, and was glad to be here. My calves are so sore today! I'm happy to report that I ate heathily, totally OP, and even 200 under calories yesterday. Since I began the day eating brunch later than my normal breakfast, that pushed my dinner and snacks back, so I didnt need my last snack of the day.

Today I need to go to town and get fresh fruits and veggies, come back and do some paperwork, and attack Mt. Washmore, too. (laundry, lol) Very boring, but necessary, chores.

Have a good day!

Jane, have you reached the summit of Mt. Washmore yet? I'm scaling my mountain tomorrow. We live right behind a Kohl's and I'm over there all the time. I really like their housewares department, too. I'm sorry, I should have clarified that I was talking about Philadelphia. I live about 34 miles west of the city, and my DD and her family live about 10 miles east in NJ. It's easy for both of us to catch the train and meet in the city. :) You just HAVE to plan a visit out here so I can show you the sights you missed on your previous trip out this way.

Pam, the family I work for have a big horse farm, and are very much into polo and fox-hunts. He is a prominent architect and she is a chiropractic veterinarian. I sometimes travel with the family, but now the girls are older, I have the option of either going with or taking my own vacation. This trip they are on now is a combination business/vacation trip, and they are staying at their host's home, so I didn't get asked to go. I'm loving my time off, though. :)

Carol, it sounds like you're staying busy! I hope you had a nice time at the pool.

I took my coffee outside and enjoyed it while walking around the yard and checking the flower beds to see what has awakened. It looks like everything survived the winter and my perennials are all coming up on time, and there are buds and tiny new leaves on the hydrangeas, roses and the PJM rhododendrons. Soon I'll have a yard full of beautiful blooms to greet me!
I'm reading a really good book right now, More Than Friends, by Barbara Delinsky. She's one of my favorite authors. It's wonderful to be able to make a pot of tea and have time to curl up with my book in the afternoons. I'm really getting spoiled with this time off!

Good morning,

Linda - I'd love to see more of Philly someday. Alas, with the laundry, I start at the summit and try to work my way down, lol. I am reading Barbara Delinsky right now, too! Suddenly is the name of this one, and so far, it's very good. Did you catch the post where I mentioned I did find Firefly Summer? Wow, that was a great book. I have a rhododendron out front, but never heard of PJM? Reminded me of a peanut butter and jelly sammie, though, lol.

I didn't go grocery shopping after all, yesterday, so I could wait until school was out and talk to Makenzie the Twin and see what she'd like for dinner Saturday and Sunday while she is here this weekend. Today is sunny, so I'm glad I waited.

It's hard to believe that Easter is 9 days away!

Have a good one, ladies. :)

I woke up to temps almost 30 degrees colder than yesterday morning, but the sun is out so I am not complaining too hard. I was so glad I put my coveralls on this morning when I went out to do chores. I need to go check the waterers as I turned the heaters off a week ago and had to break a thin sheet of ice off the horse waterer. My nanny daughter will be here later this morning and I need to go to my son's and get some clothes for my grand daughter, she comes in her jammies and goes home in her clothes that accumulate here and now we are out of almost everything but jammies. Around noon hubby and I and the girls, probably, will head into town to do some banking and pick up a few groceries. We were talking about going out for fish dinner but I think we decided to pick up some salmon to grill instead of going out tonight, hubby has to work this weekend.

Linda, my dil has horses, we keep them here and they live around the corner from us, she does dressage, she hasn't rode much in the last few years as she had a baby in 2008 and one on the way now. Our little grand daughter loves it when she gets to ride. Hubby grew up with horses too. Me I was raised in town.

Jane, I am glad you had a good time. isn't there always laundry to do? I can't believe how much I do with being an 'empty nester'.

Carol, I wish we had a Y close to us, but I think the closest one is 20 miles away. My hubby would walk with me but is recovering from a broken leg, he slipped and turned his ankle on the last day we had ice in our driveway 2.5 weeks ago. I do try to get on my treadmill or walk outside when the weather cooperates.

Well, I am thinking I should get busy on my organic certification paperwork that is waiting to be finished and sent off next week. It will be a quiet weekend as hubby is working. Have a great day everyone.

I read Barbara Delinsky too, I have read Firefly Summer, but not the ones you mentioned, I will have to go to the library tomorrow and check and see if they have them.

Pam

It's cold and raining here today, and it's a big change from the warm and sunny weather we've been experiencing the past week. I have my last load in the dryer and tidied up the house, and ran back over to Kohl's to look for some capris while the sale is still on. I had a 20% off coupon that I wanted to use before it expired, too. I found a pair of light blue capris in the regular department, but they didn't have any in petites, so I got them anyway and just finished taking 2" off the hem, and you can hardly tell. ;) I got 2 other pair and another top, so I think I'm set for the summer now.

Jane, I believe our tastes run similar in books, lol! I'm not sure if I've read Suddenly, as I've read so many of her books that I can't keep track. I'm glad you enjoyed Firefly Summer, I thought it was an excellent story!

Pam, it sounds like your days are pretty full!

I'm going to sit down with a nice bowl of broccoli soup that I've had simmering all morning. One of our Beachers mentioned it this morning, and I think most of us are making it today, LOL!

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I've been MIA. I've just been so busy. I finally found a woe that fits me. It is more like the Intuitive Eating, but the book is written by a doctor who was over weigh from childhood and lost 75 lbs. She explains more about how hunger/full signals work etc and I've learned a lot. I've learned what happened in my life that caused me to start gaining weight. I actually learned to overeat when I got into my 20s. Up until then I actually ate the way she explains in the book. It is kind of frustrating to me to learn that if I had continued eating like I did when I was thin I would not have spent the last 46 yrs trying to get thin again. What wasted time of my life. Any way, I know now and am in the process of learning to listen to my body to learn the difference in when I'm really hungry and when I'm not. I don't have to spend so much time thinking about food or worry about it either. So I am really thrilled to learn of this.

Jane Did you and McKenzie have a great trip? Enjoyed the pics on FB. She is so pretty.

Linda We are supposed to get rain Sunday thru Tuesday. You soup sounds delicious. I have some fresh broccoli I should use. How do you make your soup?

Pamb :welcome3: Glad to have you here.

I better run. DH is up and in the shower. I got to get ready to go as today is grocery shopping day.

Y'all have a great day and week end.

Trish, it's good to hear from you again. We've missed you around here! I'm glad you've discovered an eating plan that makes sense for you and you can live with. Good luck with it! Here's how I make my broccoli soup -
I put a large bag of frozen broccoli into a stock pot with a chopped onion and cover it with a carton of hearty vegetable broth, bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about an hour. Then I add a can (15 oz) of diced tomatoes and 4 wedges of Laughing Cow Light. (This time I used the garlic & herb flavored). Then I take it off the heat and puree it with my immersion blender. That's it- fast & easy and so yummy!

Linda Thanks for the welcom back and the recipe. It sounds delicious and I will be making it. Never would have thought of putting Laughing Cow cheese in the soup. yummm

Pam My deceased hubby and I were city kids, but he was raised by his grandparents that grew up in the country. He always wanted to live on a farm and raise his own food. I finally decided lets do it. We didn't have horses, but raised our own chickens, turkeys etc and grew our veggies. It was probably the best years of our almost 31 years of marriage. I think we were healthier eating mostly what we raised as well.
Hope your hubby's leg heals quickly.

Just a quick fly-by to welcome Trish back! :hug:

Hello to all. :wave:

Makenzie the Twin is here but I'll try and check back later. :)

Good afternoon, Ladies!

We're having a quiet Saturday here, as Jake is feeling under the weather and had a rough night. He felt well enough to go out for breakfast, although he was very careful what he ate. Afterwards, we did a quick run through the supermarket for a few essentials, but by then he was feeling pretty wobbly, so we're home for the rest of the day. He probably caught a bug of some sort, and I'm being very careful that I don't get it next. I sure don't want to be sick while I'm on vacation!

I've been calling around at several garden supply centers for some supersoil or topsoil for the garden beds, and everyone is out of it for now because of the bad weather we've had. My son is a landscaper, so I put in a call to him to say if he sees any, to pick me up a few yards. I'm anxious to get the cold crops planted, as they should have been in over a week ago!

I guess I'll curl up with my book for the afternoon, as Jake is already fast asleep. I hope everyone is enjoying a nice weekend.

Please don't post here! Hop on over to Age 50+ Daily Chat #2. :)