I'm here, I'm here. Puff puff puff. Can't a girl get a lie in once in a while?

Mel - all folk respond to the pull of the moon and no doubt barometric pressures make it worse old or not. Just don't go joining them yet pluhhleeezzze. I worry enough about myself and don't need you to worry about as well.

Annie - sounds like life is getting a little stretched for you and the big T at the moment. Isn't it always the way that when you set out to enjoy life after kids and before senility, something has to give. In our case it has nothing to do with what we did and everything to do with what some greedy so and so did.

Happy - Is this looking to the future here? A last move before senility and rheumatism set in? Sounds like a nice part of the world to get into tho'.

Michelle - hope you are feeling somewhat better again today. It will take a while to get the crud out of the lungs so little and often is probably the way to go.

Ceejay - hope you enjoyed your birthday - sounds like the family certainly got in on the act.

Right - gotta get off here and get cracking. It's the nieces 20th birthday today and she is having a bbq this afternoon. Meantime they want some chairs and some lettuces for salads. The chairs are not for salads!
So with having to drag out the plastic chairs, scrub them up and dry them off plus a trip to the hardware store for some more tile glue and picture hooks and potting mix, and then a trip to Chris down the road and give her some produce, I'm going to be busy today. The garden has come full circle and all the lettuces are ready at once. Yesterday I planted some spinach. I guess it will all come to ready at once too. Aaaah well. Way things are going, I will need to have a full vege patch just to eat.

See ya

Good morning ladies,

I'm rested and it's a beautiful morning and I'm raring to go here. DH is putting in the new dishwasher. Our hot water tank is on the "3rd floor" at the top of the house in a finished attic area. That is completely stupid because it means the water has to travel a good distance through pipes that run along the outside wall to get to the kitchen. So I have to run the water a bit to get it warm which is so wasteful to me. Because of this, we have a small 10 gallon water heater in the cabinet just for the dishwasher. We decided to replace that too because there is alot of calcium in the water down here - it settles as sediment in the bottom of the water tank and clogs up the lines - looks exactly like egg shells. Well this became a big ordeal. I am soooo lucky that DH is very very handy. He has to replace the copper water lines also because we can't get the new dishwasher in place with the way they laid the old lines. He has his work cut out for him today.

I'm doing laundry and housecleaning for my part.

Shad, we are thinking ahead to where our (hopefully) last move will be. We've spent probably the last 10 years wondering where we'd like to retire to. We have ruled out tons of places but found little that was appealing. We have a set of criteria to work off of, just need to find the place that fits. We really liked east Tennessee around the Nashville area but we can't take advantage of the low home prices now because we are not in a position to move at this point and do not want to rent the house out nor leave it vacant. We are leaning also to more wide open spaces with less people as the general population seems to get less courteous of being human beings. We know that we can't just pick up all at once and leave, we have to find a place and visit it several times during different times of year to get a real feel for whether we'd like it or not. DH said our next move will be our last. There is land available to purchase - we could do that if we found a nice parcel and build a home later when we are ready to move. The nice thing about undeveloped land is that you can let it sit, unlike a house. At this point, we are just doing step two of investigating things. We liked the yurt peace and quiet so much we were reluctant to leave the mountain when we were there last. With a one lane road, I hope we won't encounter alot of traffic on the path during the color season. Looks like we picked a good week to be there - the yurts without a hot tub are all booked up already.

I hope you have a nice birthday party for the niece. 20 already. How fast they grow. You seem to have a green thumb, I would plant a good sized garden if I had the right space, problem with you though is if you go back to work and are mostly away, who will weed and do the harvesting?

Be careful Mel - sounds like they are slowly sucking you back into hall monitor again. I give you alot of credit for keeping your cool. A building full of needy people would get to me after a while. Still keeping fingers crossed for Jen and the G-man.

Michelle - I would love to meet up for lunch or something. Will have to wait until the last minute though because alot depends on weather and such. Our trips up north are getting shorter too. I would rather spend my vacation time having a vacation during nice weather. Right now I'm thinking about coming up the week of the 20th and as much as I hate to, we might be driving back the day after Christmas. DH is already starting to ask why the family can't come down here but we certainly could not accomodate everyone. I hope you have some good fishing weather.

Funny how the season seems to turn just like that. Our pool filter was clogged with falling leaves. The mornings are refreshingly cool and I notice the days getting shorter. I keep thinking BUT IT'S ONLY AUGUST! Our dogwood trees has some gorgeous red leaves on it. Wonder if this will be a good color season.

Annie - glad to hear the DD is on a maintain phase right now. Sorry to hear that T might have to sell his beloved bike. That's a hard decision to have to make. Some people say the economy is recovering but I don't know. Job wise people are still getting cut or like T, the new thing is to keep cutting back on salaries. And they do it more than once. The rug is slip sliding out from under us. It's scary to think about it. I think this Christmas season is going to be another year where people are conservative in their spending which is not good across many lines. Did you get the "necessary shopping" done? I find that's just as expensive if not more than groceries. Told DH it costs alot not to stink and be hairy

Well nothing is getting done sitting at the computer here, so I'm getting a move on. Sounds like most of us will have pleasant weather so get on out and get some fresh air in your lungs and enjoy a bit of the weekend. I know I will.

Afternoon all,
Well it is a couple of minutes after 12 here and I am waiting for the 'aigs' to finish boiling so I can make some aig sammies for lunch. DS2 has eaten all his awful white bread so he will have to eat birdseed bread (the good stuff) instead. That should upset his diet.
This morning I have dug over a patch of earth and planted tomatoes, beetroot and some more lettuces. I hope I can be home long enough to reap some benefits. If not, I'll get Chris from down the road to come in and pick it and water it as needs be. The garden is not some place where the DS2 is comfortable.

Happy - it's hard to find someplace that you want to be for the rest of your life. Hard to even consider it when you know that its a long way off thanks to the global situation. Yep the Govt keep telling us we have turned the corner - but they are all men, I don't know that they know yet where they are going! They have problems with asking for directions. Eventually we will find a place. I just hope I am not too old and decrepit to enjoy it.

Last nights do was okay. Very quiet compared to DNiece's 18th. I'm sorry but I can't come to grips with her b/f. He doesn't speak to anyone except his friends, doesn't seem to have a sense of humour and is very aware of his own presence. I think he is full of **it.

Anyway I went along, had a nice meal, had a chat with the DB2 and his ex. and came home for a bit of tv and bed - had a bit of a sleep in this morning.

So I have a few bits and pieces to get on with today. I've just hung some pictures on the wall. It's nice to start putting parts of the house back together again. Catch you all tomorrow. Back to Monday again.

I MISSED THE NIECE'S 20TH BIRTHDAY. SORRY SHAD. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO HER. HOPE ALL HAD A GREAT TIME....THE BF NEEDS A LAXATIVE? I AM SURPRISED YOU COULD KEEP FROM GIVING HIM ONE
I TOO HOPE YOU GET TO ENJOY THE GARDEN'S GROWTH BEFORE YOU MOVE ON TO ANOTHER "RESIDENCE. MAYBER YOU SHOULD GET A YURT TOO AND CARRY IT AROUND WITH YOU. JUST SET IT UP AT YOUR NEXT "STOP".

HAPPY~ YOU ARE TOO RIGHT ABOUT THE OFFICE. I FEEL THE PULL!!! BUT I AM RESISTING. JEN IS HERE NOW TO KEEP REMINDING ME TOO! I WAS SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE LINES AND BOILER. WHAT AN IDEA THEY HAD?!?!?! THANK GOD THE DH IS HANDY..IMAGINE THE COST OF DOING ALL THIS DOES HE DO WINDOWS???? GOOD LUCK!!

I MIGHT GO TO THE MALL TOMORROW IF THEY HAVE ONE. ONE DRIVER IS ON VACATION AND I THINK THEY'LL CANCEL BUT THOUGHT I'D COME AND SAY HELLO TODAY. THE 3 OF US ARE JUST LOUNGING AROUND THIS WEEKEND WHILE DANNY DUMPS RAIN AS HE TRAVELS PAST US FOR THE LAST 2 DAYS. NOT AS MUCH WIND AS BILL LAST WEEKEND. I SAW A CONSTRUCTION MAND BUT CAN'T HEAR THEM. THEY MUST BE TRYING TO WORK SILENTLY SO NO ONE FINDS OUT THEY ARE WORKING ON A SUNDAY! OR MAYBE THE BOSS IS HERE COUNTING THE BRICKS. ANYWAY....NOTHING NEW IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS. FALSE ALARMS AND ASST. SMALL BREAKDOWNS. NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT.
SHAD'S AIGGIE SAMMIES SOUNDED GOOD SO I AM OFF TO MAKE ONE. I BOILED AIGS YESTERDAY
HAPPY SUNDAY/MONDAY

Good morning ladies,

Here we are at Sunday. Spent yesterday cleaning and doing laundry. Got half the house done. Will try and finish up today. The dishwasher is in. That wasn't the bad part, the hot water heater was the bugger. Of course the first time we fired up the washer it leaked, more tweaking and swearing on DH's part. But it's done and in and that's that. Seems to clean the dishes nice.

The mornings are getting nice and cool. Seems like too early tho. The pool water is too cold and the sweetgums are starting to shed their leaves so it's time to close the pool up Didn't really get to use it that much this year. Was waiting at the home improvement store while DH and the worker bee tried to figure out the right fittings for the hot water heater. Was leafing though some pond and waterfall books and saw a few where you could turn your pool into a backyard wildlife pond. Quite interesting tho I would never do that.

Tuesday is September already. Time is really flying by. I guess we should think of a theme - Stepping Out, Stepping It Up, Sitting on our Duffs My brain seems to have shut down. Seriously with the start of a new month I am back in mode to get more on plan. Sure do feel noticeably better when I'm on plan. Part one of that is menus for the week - my biggest failure is failure to plan, can't grab lunch on the run so I wind up spending too much in the overpriced cafeteria at work with mediocre food. I guess while I'm cleaning up the kitchen I'll give some thought to the meal planning. Got a taste for a good vegetable soup, will have to go back and find (was it Michelle's) post for roasted vegetable soup. I don't like to eat the canned stuff, while tasty I find it full of too much salt for me.

Shad - you enjoy that garden. We have no vegetable plants left at the store. Guess anyone who wants to plant a fall garden will have to do so from seeds. Not even sure they still have the seed packets available. Just tell me you harvested, not how good it is as we turn the corner and go back to hard, tasteless tomatoes I am trying to make the switch from white to wholemeal bread but darn it, sometimes that white stuff is good. Especially home made. In fact, I might make a loaf in the breadmaker today.

So Mel, how do you make an aig sandwich with hard cooked eggs? I've heard of a fried egg sandwich and as a kid in pre-refrigeration lunch box days (amazing we didn't die of poisoning), we often had scrambled egg sandwiches. In fact, I still like cold scrambled eggs. I forgot that the hurricanes are blowing up your way this season. That's ok, we will get our rain soon.

Guess I'd better get moving here. Enjoy your Sunday everyone.

Boiled egg sandwiches are easy. Mash up the eggs with a fork, add a bit of milk, (or cream if you are not on a kick) salt, pepper to taste, add some herbs, like fresh chopped parsley or oregano if you want. Spread over the bread and eat. If you didn't put enough moisture in it will be crumbly so take it outside otherwise you will have to beat the cat to clean it up. I will eat fresh baked white bread especially if it has a crunchy crust on it, but otherwise prefer the wholemeal variety. For some reason, wholemeal never seems to get a good crust.

We've got rain this morning. It will perk up my wee plants no end. Nothing like rainwater to get them sitting up and taking notice. However the rain will severely curtail any work in the garden today. Just as I was starting to see the results of my hard work.

Well done to Happy's DH for tackling the plumbing and getting things fixed. And we thought he was just a pretty face. Just kidding.

Aren't your guys allowed to work Sundays Mel? Here they will work around the clock if necessary to get the job done. However they don't tend to do 7 days unless there is a roster of people and that isn't happening too much any more. Most of the guys are now building to the work day week. And yet I can't find a builder to come and do part time at my place. I suppose they just want to be at home with the Y generation kids!!!

Okay - better get outa here and get sorted for the day. I have a visit to the surgery for a pap smear scheduled. Doc tells me that I haven't had one in a while. I know I have because it comes along with the boob squish, but it seems the boob squish place hasn't been informing the doc of either of those two momentous happenings in my life.
So on with the day and to sort out a list.

Have a good one.

Will some one go to work for me the next two day's please? I've enjoyed my week end far to much.

I AM ALREADY ON THE RUN SINCE 7. NO TIME TO BREATHE. ALARMS AND ALL FALSE AND BURNT TOAST I DID MY MORNING ROUTINE IN THE OFFICE WHLE I WAS DOWN THERE. NOT GOING TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THEIR PANIC OF AN AUDIT THAT BEGINS THURS.
SO I AM READY FOR BREAKFAST AND MAYBE A SHORT RIDE. SUN IS OUT FOR A CHANGE AND I SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT
HAPPY MONDAY/TUESDAY

HAPPY~ I MAKE EGG SALAD WITH A BIT OF MAYO, SALT AND PEPPER. THE MAYO GLUES IT ALL TOGETHER. SOME PEOPLE USE ONION TOO. I ALSO USE CHOPPED EGG IN MY TUNA SALAD. YOU NEVER HAD THAT BEFORE??? YIKES!! I LOVE THEM. GLAD THE STUFF GOT DONE AND THE WASHER IS READY. I AGREE...SEPT CAME TOO SOON AND WE SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A NEW MONTH BUT MY HEAD SAYS HIBERNATE ALREADY!! LOL

SHAD~ NO WORKING HERE ON SUNDAY...THE LORD'S DAY OF REST. MOST STATES STILL ABIDE BY THAT LAW. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO NOISE. HOPE THE TESTS GO WELL WHEN YOU HAVE THEM. I CANNOT REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I WAS THERE HAPPY HOME PROJECT WORKING!

JEANETTE~ GLAD YOU HAD A GOOD WEEKEND AND WISH I COULD GO FOR YOU!

Happy Monday -

It was too cold and windy to fish this weekend, but I had a good weekend anyway and got lots done around the house. On Saturday, DH caulked the leaky basement window, while I cleaned out the gutters. Then he got up on the roof to trim a lot of fairly large tree branches that were hanging over the roof which could've caused problems if they got weighted down with snow this winter. Then I helped him haul the branches to the back of the yard. DH wants to rent a wood chipper as we have so many branches, and he doesn't like burning them in our fire pit -- too smokey and polluting. Yesterday, DH had to fix some of the welds holding his truck seat in place. They broke a little while ago when he slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a raccoon family slowly crossing the road. I did the grocery shopping, laundry and cooked up some food for DH for the week. I went to bed really early Saturday night and got a great night's sleep. Last night, I went to bed but was only able to sleep until about 2 or so when I had a coughing fit that woke me up. I spent the next couple hours snuggling with one of my doggies and trying to get back to sleep - I didn't want to get out of bed this morning. If I don't have too many coughing fits/asthma attacks today, I'm planning on going to the gym tonight. I'm SO looking forward to the long Labor Day weekend ahead. Ahhhhh.

Mel - You're right...my lungs are working hard to get oxygen and that's probably why I tire easily. Hope you had a relaxing weekend. Enjoy your ride today!

Shad - Sounds like you had a busy weekend with your niece's birthday (too bad her BF is full of **it), and harvesting, delivering and planting produce. Now you've got me hungry for aig sammies! I'll have to boil some aigs when I get home. I boil aigs so rarely...how long do you cook them? And do you put them in the cold water? Directions, please, for this pathetic cook. Actually, I am a good cook, but I hate to do it...so I avoid it whenever possible! I've never heard of boiled aig sammies made with milk. I tend to make mine with salt/pepper to taste, celery, light mayo and sometimes a dash of mustard.

Happy - I am so fortunate that my DH is handy too and can fix most anything. Glad your DH got the dishwasher and water heater in place. As for our "last" move, my DH and I have often talked about our current home being our last mainly because we've accumulated so much "stuff" (clutter, junk, etc.) that packing up would take forever, also we just don't want to go through moving again. But who knows? I've always thought that selling the house when we retire and traveling the country in a small RV would be great. Staying in the south during the winter and the north during the summer. The place with the yurts sounds so lovely! I can totally understand why you would want to look for property there. Hopefully, there won't be too many tourists clogging the road while you are there. Lunch sounds good, and I totally understand about last minute. And if you don't have time, I understand...family time is precious. You're already getting falling leaves? Wow! They aren't turning or falling here just yet. But it is unseasonably cool...with highs this weekend in the low to mid 60s and lows in the upper 30s! Crazy! This week it's supposed to be in the low to mid 70s, with lows in the 40s (about 10 degrees below average). The only downside to a backyard wildlife pond is the skeeters. You have to either get fish to eat the mossie larvae...or tablets that don't allow the mossie eggs to hatch into bloodsuckers. We had a pond in our backyard in California to attract tree frogs...they made a lovely sound at night that made it seem like we were camping out in the wilderness! BTW, yes, it was my post for the roasted veggie soup, though I still haven't tried it.

Ceejay - I hope you get some of the Labor Day weekend off.

As for September themes, my vote would be for Stepping it Up, which is exactly what I intend to do to get to a Slimmer, Stronger me.

A big for Patty, Annie and everyone!

It's a short week (as we only work 1/2 day on Friday) and lots to get done, so I'd better get on with it.

Monday, Monday,.....here it is again.....OMG...alarm went off at 4:45 am, I slammed at it, must of hit the off instead of the snooze...didn't wake back up til 6:30 am. Needless to say I was 45 minutes late to work. Holy Cow. Thank God all management is out today at offsite meetings and there were no emails from their blackberrys or phone messages from them when I got in......See God does work for me....Amen.

Cottage cheese with fresh tomato and yellow bell pepper for breakfast......mmmm so ding dang good. I have one zucchini and cannot decide whether to make zucchini bread or zucchini lasagana....so...I am taking a vote...what do you all think?

The weekend went way too fast and was mostly a blurrrrrr. T and I did get a ride in yesterday, however was a bit cold and we froze our nips and nuts off. Came home and had a scrumptious meal....Italian pork roast in the crockpot, fried tatties, corn, and I had made a delicious apple pie that morning before we left. After chow, we were going to..um...enjoy each other, but instead took a 2 hour nap. OMG are we getting old or what. I must say I enjoyed the nap tremendously. hahahahha T left around 6 as he had things to do and I had to cut my grass, which hadn't been cut in two weeks, it had gone to seed in places. Looks better now.

Baby boy comes home tomorrow night for a couple of days. He is spending his two days off with his momma. Plus I am taking him out for dinner and a beer as we still haven't celebrated his 21st bd that was on the 19th. Between his job and my two jobs, it has been H*LL connecting up.

Chelle...How was your weekend? Enjoyable with DH and doggies? Fishing? Relaxing?

MEL...now what would you do if you didn't have the nutty, needy seniors to deal with, your life would be boring. You need to stay on top of those construction workers..hehe

Shad...Glad the niece's 20th BD party went well. I would love an "AIG" sammie. Sounds good for lunch, I will watch the mail cart for your delivery. Just as your garden is taking off ours is winding down. We should supply each other in the off seasons with fresh harvest. If only....

Happy....a new dishwasher..Yeah...that is so awesome that DH is so handy, look at the labor part of that new dishwasher you saved. That has got to be a plus, cause sometimes the labor is more than the new item or part.......Our mornings and nights have been very cool here too, 50s. I work a sweater to work today as it is like a deep freeze at work anyway.

Ceejay...I wish I could go to work for you, I just don't know when I could. My total hours for both jobs last week was 72 hours.....no wonder I took a nap yesterday!

Well, best get at it, it is 9 am here, was late to work, and have done nothing constructive as far as work goes.

Hello to everyone...

Much love and many hugs..

Chelle...once again, you sneaker inner.......sounds like you had a real productive weekend. It was a bit chilly and windy here too. I love bon fires even if it does pollute. Keep on keepin on for your weigh in on Thursday...Here is some magical dust from the weightloss fairy..sprinkle sprinkle. Can't do icons or pix from work. sorry...pretend you see them. lol

MEL...you are a sneaker inner too, you little poo pal....hope your day goes well and no probs with the seniors or your EYES....

Worldlies Salsa their Way Into September!

Hi y'all,

Next week at this time I'll be OFF - hopefully doing something fun on the long weekend. Labor Day already. Used to find that holiday very sad - end of summer, winter around the corner and all that. Also I don't see well at night and try to avoid driving as much as I can when it's really dark so fall means adjusting my work hours and chasing the daylight. At least I don't have to worry about snow anymore I have lightened up on my addiction to the weather channel.

Hard Boiled / Cooked Eggs
I think everyone does them a little different. I never use fresh eggs (or freshly purchased) for hard boiling because they are hard to peel. Put the eggs gently into a pot of cold, salted water. The salt supposedly helps them peel more easily. Put the pot on a flame, bring to a boil. At this point I turn the heat down to a slow simmer and let them cook for 20 minutes. Others chose once the water comes to a boil, to remove the pot from the heat, cover and let sit in hot water for 20 minutes. Your choice. I like to simmer to make sure they are cooked thoroughly. After 20 minutes, rinse in cold water for a few minutes to stop cooking. Eggs keep better in their carton so return them to the carton to store. Also last week I was doing a little research to see how long eggs keep after their stamped expiration date. They suggested that you set the eggs in cold water in a bowl. If the egg floats, it's probably no good. This is because as the egg ages, it shrinks down and more air gets inside of it - that's what makes it float. One thing I learned that I did not know was that when a hen lays and egg, it is covered with a light oil like substance that protects the egg from bacteria. When you immerse an egg in water, you wash off that protective layer and the egg can spoil faster. For this reason (contrary to what I thought) a hard cooked egg does not last as long as an uncooked one. And if you use the water in the bowl test, make sure you use the eggs quickly afterwards - ie. don't test them and then put them back in the carton for another 2 weeks. Interesting facts from the Egg Board

Two momentus happenings in my life Couldn't have said it better Shad! In fact now I have to think I know the pap is done because the doc does it in the office but was I supposed to go for a squish and forgot Good thing you got a little rain. You can water until the hose wears out but nothing does it like a good rain from the sky. And I didn't realize it was aig salad you were talking about. I use mayo instead of milk or cream. Like Mel. I love those sandwiches but can't bring them to work.

Ceejay - sorry but I have my own work to go to though I understand your reluctance. Are you off on Monday?

Burnt toast got you on the run Mel? Get outside and enjoy some fresh air before it gets cold and rainy out. Glad you got out while the getting was good before the auditors got to you.

Michelle - how neat on the pond. Mel would have moved in just to listen to the frogs Sorry you didn't get to go fishing. There will be more weekends tho. I'm surprised with your asthma that you can handle the fire pit. The last time we went camping we headed out before I knew I was coming down with bad bronchitis (late that night when we got there and were setting up). We only stayed one night and had to turn around and go home as I hacked all night long and wheezed so hard I could not breathe. Ever since then the wood fires bother me. And I always thought that was the absolute best part of camping was the fire. Most people here - including us - have woodburning fireplaces and sometimes even going out on my back porch I can't handle the wood smell in the air. In fact we didn't light a fire at all last year in the fireplace, for concern that it might send me running for the rescue inhaler. Doesn't it bother you too? That's really great of DH to be concerned about polluting with the green wood. I hope he got his truck fixed. And I'm so glad he didn't mow down the raccoons. I know people think they are pests but no reason to just run something down either.

Annie - I'm glad to hear that you had such a nice relaxing weekend. You certainly earned it. I would vote for zuchinni lasagna. I love vegetable lasagna and since you give away all your baked goods, perhaps if you made the pasta you might actually eat it? I am making a pasta primavera with bow ties, squash and zuchinnis that I saw on the Kraft recipe site. Looks yummy. I will probably add more veggies to it.

I made a spicy chinese chicken dish yesterday. No spice for me tho. It had Thai Garlic Chili spice which DH liked. I tasted it and my eyelashes curled! So mine was more citrusy, his was just HOT. We both liked our respective dishes. Mixed drinks and Chinese food I cannot seem to make as good as you get when you go out

I have to fight off the sleepies. No reason why - I had a light wrap with vegetables for lunch. I think the cooler weather has me going into hibernation early. Poke me if you see me nodding off, ok?

Hellos to Laura and Patty. See yah later...

My personal mantra is going to be Seriously Starting Over Again In September. I am going to actually track my WW points, each day instead of just sometimes. I borrowed a co-workers Slim In 6 DVD to check out. Will purchase it if I think I can do the moves. She lost 40 pounds with WW and SI6 and looks fantastic. I already have my menus done for the week. And I should go and join RedBalloon's challenge again.

Annie - Too bad you and T were too tired to enjoy each other, sounds like you had a great dinner and ride though. So happy for you that your DS is coming home for a couple days! I vote for Zucchini lasagna. I LOVE lasagna of any type. Thanks for the magic weight loss dust.

Happy - I have taken over your addiction to the weather channel...in the summertime listening for T-storms, and in the fall/winter for frost/snow. Thanks for the aig directions and interesting facts. I really enjoy the firepit and as long as I stay out of the direction of the smoke, I'm usually okay. We close the windows so it doesn't smell smokey inside, and if the asthma gets me...then I just go inside. It's funny...some wood fires bother me...some don't - depends on how green the wood is. I don't have any trouble with Duraflame logs though...as long as I don't think about the chemicals they use to make them. DH did get his truck fixed, and yes, we frequently slam on the brakes or swerve to avoid hitting critters. In fact there have been a few times when we've spotted snapping turtles in the road so we pull over, grab a long stick or broom handle or camera tripod out of the back of the truck, and nudge them to the side of the road. You can't do that with your fingers or feet, unless you want to the turtle to remove said part from your body. I'll have to check out the pasta primavera recipe. I love that stuff. *POKE* *POKE* Are you nodding off? Or is that just me? I like the mantra of Seriously Starting Over Again in September, or mine might be Seriously Stepping It Up in September to Get Slim and Strong. Good for you for committing to tracking your WW points. Slim in 6? I'll have to check that out. I may see if DH will move (or help me move) a heavy redwood table from our family room to the living room so that I have more room to do videos in the family room.

Baby it's cold out there!!!!!!

We've had a cool snap and the weather is much more like it is supposed to be at this time of the year. The garden is growing. My little veges are rocketing along and today I have noticed a big bud on the hippeastrum. These used to put on a great show in the spring but the drought has stopped a lot of them in their tracks. So I am really pleased that I will still have a couple in the yard. The Hot Chocolate rose is at last coming back to life and has two blooms on it. Two orchids are currently in bloom with another to join them shortly. Things are looking up out there.

My friend Chris from down the road is coming over tonight and we are going walking together. She needs to lose some weight. She badly needs to lose some weight - so we will march up and down the bush paths in the afternoons. It will do both of us the world of good.

Michelle - glad to hear that you had such a productive weekend and that the handy DH was just that - handy. World needs more handymen.

Annie - I'm not surprised you fell asleep instead of doing what you intended to do.

Ceejay - Nope, can't come and do your job for you. I'm busy doing mine.

Happy - hope you worked out the 'aig' sammies. Must admit, I've never heard of it called egg salad. For my eggs, I put them in a pan of cold water and bring them to the boil. Then turn it off and leave them for at least ten minutes if not until they cool. I don't like them rock hard. If you see a sort of dark ring around the edge of the yolks when you cut into them, you have cooked them too long. There is a lost of different reasons as to why the eggs don't peel properly - too old, too fresh, not enough calcium in the chicken, etc. etc. but the one of floating eggs appears to be about right.
Once mashed, you can put anything including curry powder or cayenne in them to add flavour. I prefer green stuff like parsley, ds2 prefers his without anything in them but with lettuce in the sandwich. So many ways to make an egg sandwich. I'd use mayo instead of cream or milk, but I tend to like the home made, high calorie mayos. Such is life.

Mel - burnt toast, alarms, dotty seniors, audits - what an exciting life you lead. I hope the audits go reasonably calmly this time.

And saying all that, time I got off the computer, went and showered and had some breakfast and got on with my day. Plenty to keep me occupied inside today and so I better get on with it while the house is quiet and cool.