Good morning gals! It is blissfully cool this morning. It is supposed to start to cool off now, thank goodness. I know you all are glad you are getting cooler weather too.
Jean: I hope the possum didn't get hurt tearing his "hate machine" up. That is very amusing though, thinking about a peeved possum waiting for his captor to come and release him so he could pounce! I don't envy you polishing bells!
Glad you liked the scarf. It is really soft and my dh said it is something my dil will really like. I hope I can get to Wilson's leather and maybe find colored leather gloves that might match. I think that would be cool. I may try and find her a solid color hat that would match too since my attempts went down the drain.
Hope you all have a great day. I need to get hopping on the bathrooms this morning, my project for today!
It is in the low 80's as I type and with a wonderful breeze. I have the door and windows open and am enjoying the cooler weather without the air conditioner having to be on.
I had a welcome surprise at WW this morning for it showed that I had lost 4.6 pounds. Now that is nice for I did stay OP and ate an average of 25 points a day using my version of the Wendie Plan. Guess I will just stick with this for I know it works for me. I tried the WW amount of points allowed and once again I showed a gain from it. Too many points for my system. The 18 point days are the hardest and I find I brush my teeth more on those low point days. I bought three boxes of goodies from WW and then went by and Cowboy went into Mama Sees and got me some 2 point suckers. I don't dare go in there. At least not yet anyway.
FAYE that sounds like a lovely idea to get leather matching gloves for that beautiful scarf. Let us know if you do find them. What a nice gift it is even by itself. I haven't knitted in so long I wonder if I still know how.
Well folks I am off to do some paper work for Cowboy so I'll type at you later. It is good to be back!
Good Evening, Flowers! I just finished cat napping through Survivor . . . also taped it just in case. There sure are alot of commercials! The VCR is old and has been touchy for the last month or so. Tonight I couldn't get my soap tape out to put the Survivor tape in so guess I will be VCR shopping this weekend.
"Gma" -- "Something" ate the outside cat food last night so I'm wondering if it was the possum except that the bowl was pulled from under the table and the water dish was pretty dirty which leads me to believe it might have been a raccoon. It was cool here this morning too . . . 34 degrees when I left for school!
Maggie -- Congrats on the GREAT loss! Are you just starting back to WW or have you been going all the time you were gone? That kind of loss is motivation for sure! It is 40 degrees right now as I'm typing. I think we are heading into winter weather without going through fall first. Going from 90 degree days down to 50 degree days is a bit too much too fast!
I need to put together something to wear tomorrow. It is Homecoming kick-off for next week so it will be a crazy week next week with assemblies every day. Joy!
Good morning girls! It is a nice chilly 56 this morning and only supposed to get into high 60's for the day so that will be so nice. I have to take the dog to the vet for his annuals and to get a tooth pulled (baby tooth that never fell out and I keep forgetting to make an appt for him) Jack called yesterday afternoon wanting me to get ahold of our eye dr as he got something in his eye at work. This is the second or third time this has happened. Anyway, nothing serious. Dr said he has abrasions on his eyeball from whatever got into it and the abrasions were scraping the lid, which caused the irritation so he put him on eye drops for a couple days until it gets better.
Maggie: Did you do much glass work while you were away? Once you get up and going again, I still want to get a house made for my dd. I need to try and get a picture of her house for you though. Congrats on the good loss front! That is great. I am going back to square one and start over again. I have gained lots and lots of lbs and so am going to go back to a food, water, exercise journal to keep me where I should be and get the proper foods in here instead of junk. It is so easy just to go back to bad habits though.
Jean: Our cat sits at the back door and eagle eyes it for squirrels etc. You can always tell when there is something out there because he gets all stiff. He has never been outside, doesn't have front claws so I have to be careful of making sure the storm door is latched well so he doesn't fall out leaning against it. He sure was a pest last night in the bed. Up and down, up and down and then did something to the dog, which made him mad and they got into it. I suspect he was grooming Fortune and took ahold of his neck with his teeth. He does that sometimes and usually F just whines but he was mad last night, which woke us both up! It is like having two toddlers sleeping with you every night.
Guess I better get chores done before Jack gets up as I have to take him to work today.
Good Afternoon and Happy Friday, Flowers! It's a beautiful fall day in my corner of the world. School was super busy with lots of paperwork today and I left a pile on my desk. Some of the kids developed an attitude this week and I'm tired of dealing with them. Hooded sweatshirts should be banned for sure! True, the heat isn't on yet but they aren't allowed to wear hats in the building which includes hoods! GRRRRR!
When I left for school, someone had run over a cat in front of the house next door (not the cat hater's house but I wouldn't be surprised if he did it). When I got home from school, I have a new kitten on my deck! My mother cat is still nursing although her kitten is bigger than the new one, so I'm wondering if she will adopt the new one.
On a sad note, Maggie has gone to kitty heaven. DH made the phone call so I don't know if he took her in or the vet came here. She is under the lilac bushes with our other two plus a stray.
"Gma" -- Doesn't Jack have to wear safety glasses at work? With the stuff he works with, I would think he would have to. I hope he gets along ok. I think we have a new crop of squirrels or else they are braver. It just seems like we have quite a few -- of course we feed them and that could be a drawing card. They are fun to watch.
Hope you all have a nice weekend. I'm not sure what is happening here except that I play bells on Sunday.
It is lovely here today in the low 80's but no humidity so it is not oppressing. I am having an 18 point day and doing well with it. Still have a good 8 points left for dinner. If I get too hungry in the evening as sometimes happens I have some "peal a pound" soup which is FREE on hand. Such is life now.
JEAN I started back at WW the first of September trying the WW amount of points alloted for my weight. Like a dummy I actually thought after being off the program for a few months it would work for me but ~ alas ~ it didn't so I went back to what does work for me and I am doing much better. Wonder what makes your neighbor hate cats so much. A cat here had 3 kittens and then got killed so the owner here hand fed them. They are tiny cats now and not much bigger than the three that another mama cat had a while back. They are Ragg Mopps friends. They come for a visit every day and get tossed about and carried about by him. His favorite one disappeared one night though and we thing she was fearless and went right up to a coyote and was a nice snack. The coyotes are here every night yodeling.
FAYE I would be happy to build you another house. I didn't do much glass work while traveling but am getting back into it. I have all my tools still and don't plan to give that up. I will echo Jean ~ doesn't your dear husband wear safty glasses? Maybe that would be a good idea for him to consider. Those eyes are precious and I sure hope the drops help.
Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood -- sunny, bright blue sky, and NO wind for a change. I just finished vacuuming cat fur and crumbs, have laundry going, and need to make a grocery run. DH is farming today so I won't see him until dark.
Maggie -- The neighbors are not animal people and claim the cats catch "their" birds! We also have bird feeders and a bird bath which the cats don't pay any attention to the birds that come and go. We also have a squirrel feeder and the mother cat will chase a squirrel once in awhile. So far she's never come close. This morning the mother cat let the new little kitten nurse so I was glad to see that. Her own kitten sat a distance away hissing. The little guy will eat cat food but I think it is still little enough that it needs it's mother's milk. I'd love to know where it came from. What I thought was a cat 'mushed' in the street turned out to be a rabbit!
Good morning gals! It is still nice and cool here. Didn't have to run fans or open the door or anything. Well, I DID have some hot flashes last evening, but that doesn't count!
Today is the dreaded commissary day. I think Jack is going to go with me. Don't know why. I tease him about it, but I don't care if he goes or not. I am perfectly happy for him to unload!
I am about a 1/3 of the way done with my son's scarf now. I have started looking for other stuff for Christmas and found some lovely votive candlesticks in different colors and bought a set each for my dil and my dd then when I go to Indiana for Thanksgiving will get the candles for them from my friend who sells Home Interiors. In fact, I think I will e-mail her and make sure she has what I want ahead of time (she has a closet filled with candles that you can just buy and I always stock up when I am up there)
Jack and I didn't budge from the house yesterday. I got up and did my chores and vacuumed and we got some breakfast and just hung out all day. I just had a situation...I heard Jack yell so I had to go and get the "babies" who were bothering him trying to sleep. I thought they were still downstairs with me!
Tomorrow is Jack's birthday so Thomas and Kel are coming for dinner tomorrow night. No soccer until at least Thurs as it is fall break down here right now.
GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS
It is a gorgeous day here in the mountains. Love the gentle breeze and the 75 degree temperature. It could stay this way for all I care. Nice.
Not much happening today besides church. Nice and quiet.
JEAN well people that don't have pets shouldn't be mean to those who have pets. Pets are a choice to have or to not have. Your neighbor sounds like a real nut case.
FAYE your trip to the commisary sounds like fun. Yep, let your husband go along and carry the bags. I am sure glad that all I have to do is make up a list. I have not been a grocery story in years. In fact I don't remember what kind of a store it was the last one I went into. It may have been a Wall-mart in Texas. AH I do make good lists.
The flys are bad. Does that mean a freeze is on it's way? The books say that is an indicator. Get colder anyway. The wind is picking up and the temp is dropping some.
Good Afternoon, Flowers!
Our sunshine has disappeared and it is chilly outside. I was up at 5:30 so I could leave for church at 7:10. We were supposed to play a hymn while the congregation sang and had never practiced it. We pulled both pieces off without a hitch . . . at least at our end of the row. Jason and DH headed for the lake this morning and DH just called to say he was on his way home. Closing the cabin, draining the pipes, pulling the boat hoist and dock out of the water, and storing all of the outside 'stuff' in the shed is done for another year. Amanda and the kids stayed here until about 3 and then headed for home. Jason is going to drive MIL's car for the winter since it will get better gas mileage than his pick-up.
"Gma" -- Wish Jack a from all of us! What are you fixing for his birthday dinner? I wish you could start on my Christmas gifts . . . I don't even have a list yet. Ian's birthday is Nov. 21st which makes Christmas ideas even harder. We gave him a trike with a little wagon this summer with the idea he would get more fun out of it before his birthday got here and the snow is flying. I saw an area rug at Menard's and it has roads, buildings, etc., on it so I am planning on that for Christmas, I think. Maddy gets so much stuff from her other grandparents that she doesn't know what to play with first. Kolby is up on his knees and rocking so I can hardly wait until the fun begins at their house!
Maggie -- We are supposed to having a colder and wetter winter according to the Farmer's Almanac. Our last few have been pretty mild so I suppose we are due for a blizzard or two. I just realized this afternoon, when Ian and I were outside playing, that the neighbor left the live trap 'set' and haven't been home all weekend. Their newspapers are piled by their door. DH says the trap won't work being propped open with a log and I noticed there was no food in it. I'm hoping he catches a skunk next.
Good morning gals. I decided to fool around with my settings this morning and use a new font! Yesterday, I did the nasty ole grocery shopping, though I let Jack out of the deal to go. I was mad because half the shelves were empty and the meat man said their contract ran out with the people who supply both the pork chops and the chicken and they aren't renewing so we have to buy that meat somewhere else! SHEESH! I may have to complain, though with a government agency, what good does that ever do? I came home and found the kitchen half a mess from his breakfast even though I had told him the dishwasher was empty and he could put his dirty dishes in it when he was finshed. He says he cleaned up, but all he really did was put the dishes in the dishwasher. There were tiny sausage droppings on the counters, the biscuits were still sitting in the pan and the stove hadn't been cleaned. Ahhh well!
Poor Jack had to work on his birthday, but his grandson will be here tonight and I made him promise to help me play with him as I know T is going to want to play a bazillion rounds of Kerplunk.
It is nice and cool this morning so I am going to get off my behind and start walking again and then do treadmill and weights too. Jack and I talked a long time about what we wanted to do about losing weight again and we have decided on going with Nutrisystem. It is kind of expensive, but I think it will work well for us. I have to split it up between two paydays so I am putting him on it first next payday as he has a cardiologist appt right before Thanksgiving so I want to get 20 lbs off him by then if possible. I will follow two weeks later and until then, will follow my old program. I think it will be easier for us right now to have prepared food that we can take with us like on trips etc and just warm in the microwave. We don't have to discuss what we want, we can each pick out our food for dinner, no leftovers, NO eating out! This way we can take our food with us at Thanksgiving and eat at my son's rather than out to eat every night. We will still have a night out with friends and Thanksgiving, but it is better than a week of eating out and eating donuts etc for breakfast. In the mean time, I can work on behavior modification issues that long have need to be addressed and put to rest for ever. I am up and going this morning pretty well and hope to do well for the day even with it being Jack's bday and there being bday cake tonight. I will NOT succumb! lol I have gotten rid of all soft drinks and am back on water and iced tea exclusively and will get out and walk in a little while when the sun is up then do some treadmill stuff this evening if I can. I am miserable, having small health issues that effect the quality of life and made a promise to myself that I didn't keep. I cannot look back however, but strive to make myself better for the future. I have two years until my next class reunion and want to be at 145-150 by than, which is totally reachable. I want to be down 100 lbs by next Vegas vacation, which is a little under a year away and I can do that also. Wish me luck gals, I am going to need all the help I can get to get back in the groove again!
Maggie: Jack absolutely dispises grocery shopping or shopping for anything but what he is interested in so I usually just go and do it myself and he drags in the bags for me when I get home. That is fine. He does do all the "tween" shopping pretty much, like a loaf of bread or some milk etc. I have him pick stuff up after work sometimes.
Jean: I bet you sounded wonderful even without practice! Sounds like your dh had a full day of it getting winterized. I bet you have fun with the kids. It will probably be rare that I have a houseful of grandkids even when my son has children with them living so far away. With my dd only having one and I doubt my son and dil have a houseful, I probably won't have a bunch of grandkids, but that is ok. The money will go farther!
Well, it is getting light out so I want to get out and walk before it warms up too much. It is supposed to be back near 80 today, which is a lot better than it was a week ago!
It was 51 deg. out this morning when we woke and that means I must get off my duff and change the clothes around. Summer shorts and short sleeve shirts just won't cut it. Since I had a mountain of laundry to do today I will do my closet change over tomorrow first thing. I am such a morning person that if I don't start a large project 1st thing it just won't get done. Then on Friday I will light a fire under DH to get to the attic so we can do his clothes. The attic is only accesssed via a ladder in a closet. DH has to go up to close the attic windows for the winter so maybe we can kill two birds with one attic trip. I have a double depth closet so my stuff does not end up in the attic which makes it easier to change around. Must also change the windows from screens to storms and put up the weather stripping.
Had a nice weekend as it was the Sunday we meet DH's secretary from when he was working. They come here and then we drive to the Cape for breakfast at the Dan'l Webster Inn and then meander down RT. 6A which is a sort of back road with a LOT of gift shops and antique shops. She bought a beautiful pillow for her sofa and a little stuffed bear. I got away cheap with a stuffed bear for Cat, 3, for Christmas and a little piece to add to my houses display....it is a young man raising the American flag and saluting. It was in honor of DH who is a flag fan. We have to flag poles...one out front and one in the back yard.
Faye....The best of luck in your new determination on the path to weight loss. If both of you are on the journey together it will help. At least until you get yourselves into a regime the Neutrisystem will be a big help. It is a good idea to have food with you when you travel. We will usually bring breakfast...cereal, juice, milk and then fruit for mid day and only eat out in the evening. Hope we can do this again on the November trip.
Jean....You, too, have begun the winterizing process. It is a good step to get the cottage done. You will have a great time at the holidays with all the little ones around. Sometimes they will be underfoot but mostly just a joy to watch them discover Holiday fun!
Maggie: It is good to have you back with us on this forum. Your weather always sounds so great. Looking forward to reports of your glass house projects. They always sound delightful.
Gloria in MA.....my laundry is calling .....only 2 more loads.
It is another beautiful day. The nights are getting cooler and we are having what they call Indian Summer. I love this time of the year. The breeze makes the wind chimes play nice mellow tunes. Today I am going to tackle the closet. There are things in there that I want to get out and it being so small and things on top of things I have to remember where things are. I want to get out my little sewing machine. I bought a small one that does the basic things and gave my Bernina and all the attachments and stuff to my daughter. I am going to do some altering is all right now.
JEAN it seems just like last week you were getting the dock and everything ready at the lake to open up. Time sure does fly. It is nice to get it all buttoned up once again for winter though especially if you are expecting it to be a hum dinger.
FAYE I don't know much about the Nutrisystem but the name sure sounds healthy. Sounds like a good program and I wish you the best. You are determined and ready to tackle losing weight and that is terrific. Do you go to meetings with the Nutrisystem and where do you buy the product? I am excited for you. Tell your main squeeze HAPPY BIRTHDAY and you stay out of that cake like you have resolved.
GLORIA your area of this country sounds so neat. Full of history and neat nooks and crannies to explore and buy neat little things. What fun it must be to live there. It is really good to be back here with you gals.
Good Evening, Flowers! I am heading off to bed shortly but wanted to check in with you first. Today was the day from he** at school! I'd left a pile of paperwork on my desk Friday . . . bad move! When I got to school, I made a beeline for the copy machine. We were supposed to be getting a new one in the main workroom last week and it still isn't in. So we have to use the one in the library which doesn't staple, doesn't do two sided, and is slower than molasses in January, plus it doubles as a printer for the computers there. I went to check on mail in the office and the principal cornered me to say I would be subbing today! If I had to sub, the good part was that it was for a teacher who only teaches 3 classes, has 3 study halls, and goes into a history class with another teacher. Her prep period was so that I could go to my algebra class at the end of the day. Of course there was no sub for me so I stayed an hour after school to start on my paperwork. I left another pile for tomorrow. I was glad to get home!
"Gma" -- My kids loved to play Kerplunk with my dad and mom. I'll have to check and see if it is buried in the basement somewhere. I know Ian would get a kick out of it. We have some friends who tried Nutrisystem and had good results from it. I wish you and Jack good luck! Doing it together will be a big plus for both of you! I started buying bonds for the grandkids, with the intention of buying one every month. Since we now have 4, I think I will go with one for each season with an extra one for birthdays. I switched to 'I bonds' which are more expensive but earn more interest. As long as they are used for college tuition, the kids/parents won't have to pay any taxes on the interest earned.
Gloria -- Getting your clothes switched around will be a nice job to have done. I'm glad you had an enjoyable weekend! Since our weather has been cooler, the leaves are changing colors fast and there are more leaves on the ground. It has been in the mid 30s in the mornings but warms up to 60s in the afternoon. I'm afraid winter is on the way.
Maggie -- I admire you for altering clothes! I need to shorten two pair of slacks and a dress coat although I hardly ever wear it. I keep thinking I would wear it more if it were shorter and didn't hit the 'muck' when I get in and out of the car. The days do fly by, that's for sure. I think that has something to do with aging!
Morning ladies! It is still wonderfully cool so I am sitting here in a nightgown with the door open loving the cool air. Good grief, somebody's car alarm is going off and making horrible noise causing dogs to bark etc. Ruined the beautiful quiet!
I think those jerks from next door have abandoned most of the junk. I noticed they came back sometime and got the kids bikes and a little chest freezer, but the back yard is full of crap they left behind, including a satellite dish on a stand, which you wouldn't think they would leave. Heaven knows what the house inside looks like. I am giving it one more month and if it is still like this, I am contacting the association about it as we have had rodent problems in the garages in the past and an unihabitated house with stuff still in it would be a feast for them. They have left an upstairs window totally open too so I don't know what's with that.
Jean: Sounds like you had a day full yesterday. I got the pants beat off of me in 2 games of Kerplunk last night! Jack said something to me about letting him win, and I told him, I was NOT letting him win, he was just whipping me! Ian would like it, but it is such a pain having to put those little sticks back in. That is the only thing I don't like about the game. We had a fun time even playing name the word with Thomas. He would call out a letter then I would give him a word beginning with that letter, then he would have to do one. He called out "T" and I said trees and he got a twinkle in his eye and said I know a better one. I asked him what and he started giggling and said, "Thomas, of course!" Well, DUH Nonny, how dumb can you get? I am hoping the Nutrisystem works for us and can get us to a place where we can control what we eat a little better. The packages are like vacuum sealed, freeze dried or something so they need no refrigeration and most of them either microwave or you add hot water (like their soups, I suspect) I told Jack after 2 weeks I would ask him whether or not he wanted to continue it (ie if the food was tasty to him) and if not, I would cancel his and go back to cooking him meals. I plan on staying on it. I really do better. When I initially lost the 100 lbs, I would have yogurt for breakfast, a ff pudding or something for snack, a lean cuisine type thing for lunch then make dinner and portion control etc. This way, all I have to do is add a couple fruits and a vegetable for dinner or a salad and I have my meals. It is quite expensive ($310 a month per person), but I don't care. It is worth it if I can get this weight off again.
Maggie: With Nutrisystem, you have no meetings consults, whatever, you do everything online, but you have a lot of stuff available to you for free, like a diet coach, a personal trainer, a food diary etc. It is different than it used to be where you paid a fee and went in to a center etc like Jenny Craig. Now, you just order your plan online or over the phone, pick out either "favorite foods menu" or you pick out your own menu from a list of stuff and they ship it to you. You can get on auto delivery so they just ship the next month's to you and you save 10% for the first three months then 15% from there on it and they charge your credit or bank card.
Gloria: I love to watch the travel channel and they had this show on about vacation homes and this large group of women calling themselves "women on the fly" I think vacation together several times a year. They are all avid fly fisherman and range in age from 20-85 or so I think. A lot of them have bought those tiny trailers from the 50's you pull with a truck and restored them. Some of them were quite a site inside and the outsides were all painted and decorated. It was pretty neat. I love the little shops etc. Beale street used to have them and still do, but now they are strictly souvenir and kind of tacky. I watch a BBC program called "Cash in the Attic" and always enjoy the auction part where they auction off the treasures they found in the home. A few days ago they had a man who auctioned off a bunch of war memorbilia from his father and grandfather including a couple empty huge gun shells. Those things sold for like $600 american money or something. Funny to watch what one person's junk is another's treasure as they say. Some things I think are wonderful, they can't get a bid on and others sell through the roof and are the ugliest things on earth.
Talking about sewing etc. I have to show you what I did yesterday. I am including pics of a couple things I made yesterday. The storage cube has all of T's games in it and he has a little table there with his m and m machine. It somehow got a water stain on it and looked horrible so I covered it then made a pillow. I want to make another one, but ran out of time. I am using old pillows people have given me that have like Christmas designs or something on them I don't ever use and have just stored. Better than going and buying them. The fabric is some I bought almost 4 years ago to convert a coffee table to a bench and we moved and gave away the furniture so I was stuck with all this apholstery fabric. This has NO sewing for either project, believe it or not. I think they turned out quite well!
I better get hopping and finish chores and get on the treadmill.
Steel Magnolias #34
Thursday ~ Weigh Day
from Iowa!
They are fun to watch.
I just finished vacuuming cat fur and crumbs, have laundry going, and need to make a grocery run. DH is farming today so I won't see him until dark.
So far she's never come close. This morning the mother cat let the new little kitten nurse so I was glad to see that. Her own kitten sat a distance away hissing. 
The little guy will eat cat food but I think it is still little enough that it needs it's mother's milk. I'd love to know where it came from. What I thought was a cat 'mushed' in the street turned out to be a rabbit!
from all of us! What are you fixing for his birthday dinner? I wish you could start on my Christmas gifts . . . I don't even have a list yet. Ian's birthday is Nov. 21st which makes Christmas ideas even harder. We gave him a trike with a little wagon this summer with the idea he would get more fun out of it before his birthday got here and the snow is flying. I saw an area rug at Menard's and it has roads, buildings, etc., on it so I am planning on that for Christmas, I think. Maddy gets so much stuff from her other grandparents that she doesn't know what to play with first. Kolby is up on his knees and rocking so I can hardly wait until the fun begins at their house! 
I came home and found the kitchen half a mess from his breakfast even though I had told him the dishwasher was empty and he could put his dirty dishes in it when he was finshed. He says he cleaned up, but all he really did was put the dishes in the dishwasher. There were tiny sausage droppings on the counters, the biscuits were still sitting in the pan and the stove hadn't been cleaned. Ahhh well!
and you stay out of that cake like you have resolved.
I'll have to check and see if it is buried in the basement somewhere. I know Ian would get a kick out of it. 
Have a terrific Tuesday!