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#16

gma22 , 10-29-2011 06:19 AM

Good morning ladies. It is in this part of the world this morning. We are in the mid 30's. I have the heat set on 68 and it came on and stayed on for quite awhile this morning.

Dishes put away, dog fed, and soon I will get breakfast and get in the shower so we can tackle my favorite of all weekend activities the commissary day! Hopefully it won't be too bad since military payday isn't until Monday but we shall see. I seem to have a lot of stock ups this payday. I drive Jack nuts, but I don't like to run out so if he is using his last bottle of shampoo even if it is full I buy the next one. He doesn't see the logic, but trust me, he would be the first to be cranky if he ran out of his stuff. He needs razor blades and shampoo, but says he is fine until next payday so he if runs out he can just shave with a dull razor!

I finished T's hat and am making his mittens. I will post both of them with their mittens when I am finished. I can then finish my sister's sock and knitting for others will be done for the year. I can start tackling my cruise stuff then and get it finished. I just hope it all fits as I am making it the size I think I should be. I still have those clothes I bought, but I am not sure they will fit yet, which is too bad, they are really cute. I will just use them for the next vacation in 2013, which is going to be back to Vegas I think. One last hurrah to Vegas before Jack retires I think.

I bought the yummiest thin sliced sour dough bread at Fresh Market. It makes great toast and grilled sandwiches. It equals about one slice regular bread for every two slices so you get more bang for your buck so to speak.

My meds finally came and it is a good thing. I make up my meds 8 days at a time so sat around this morning and did that. It sure makes me feel better knowing I have proper medication. Monday is my mammogram so I have a big note on the computer that says, "Shave armpits and keep car on Monday!" I just have to remember not to wear, lotion, cologne, powder, deodorant, etc like they told me. I will be glad to have it out of the way for the year, then get the appt for this other procedure and get it done after the first of the year and maybe things will be like they are supposed to. I am hoping for a nice loss on Monday so we shall see. I should be down 10 lbs and am going to order my first new bead I think. I can't wait and am going to pick it out when I am done here.

I finished up my Christmas shopping yesterday so when the knitting is done I am all done, then Jean can fly in and wrap all my presents for me! I got a kick out of my dd yesterday. I was emailing her about something and said I had the presents all bought. Mr. middle school bigshot is all into clothes and stuff so she suggested just getting him gift cards this year and gave me the places he "shopped." So, I bought him two cards, one from each store and she asked yesterday what I got him and I told her. She said, "What gift cards did you get him? Maybe you and dad can take him shopping with them if you want to enjoy the gift giving experience a bit more?" I said, does that mean he is a nightmare to take clothes shopping and she said, "He is pretty easy to take shopping if you don't look at him, talk to him or appear to know him in any way."

Jean: I am learning to cook without leaving leftovers as Jack doesn't take them to lunch anymore being on WW all the time and I don't ever eat them. We usually eat sandwiches for lunchtime meals around here. We are having the ff hot dogs for chilidogs tonight with turkey chili. They are really pretty good actually though I don't eat the chili. I have mustard and relish and onions on my hot dog. We have ff potato chips and it is a nice quick non fancy dinner that Jack really likes. Now that is a scientific study in the making, a cat's weight commisserate to their whisker length.

Maggie: I have a no appt salon I use. They don't take appts so you just walk in. I can call ahead and find out what days she works, but usually forget it until I can't stand my hair and have to get it cut that day then cross my fingers. I do have it now though that I can wash and comb it the way I want it cut and go in and have her cut it the shorter version of how I came in. I don't have it styled and such as I prefer to do that myself with my own products. I wash my hair before I go too as I wash my hair in cold water to hold the color in it so I just wash and blow dry it and leave the styling products out. Heaven help if I were in an accident going to the salon. I would die of embarrassment having me look like that, but it works best!

Well, I am going to work on those mittens for awhile then get some breakfast. Have a nice day everyone and bundle up looks like winter is coming upon some of us early this year. Faye

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#17

Jean , 10-29-2011 11:51 AM

Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is shining and it's warmed up to 41 degrees from the 23 it was when I went downstairs this morning. Leaves are gently floating down from our trees but there are still a lot of green ones hanging on. I need to pick up a couple things at the grocery store and find some little remembrance to send to Bob's secretary who had her surgery yesterday. It was a very long day -- she went in at 6:45 and her sister finally called the office saying that she was in recovery at 4. I will be anxious to hear about the lab results and have been saying prayers.

"Gma" -- It sounds like colder weather has settled in for all of us. Bob is even complaining about winter coming and that's unusual for him. You are a smart lady to have your shopping all done so early! You can sneak up on the wrapping a little at a time. Bob does exactly the same thing; I will ask if he needs anything from WM or the grocery store and the answer is always, "no." It won't be but a day or two and he'll be using the last dab of something so, "the next time you're in WM pick up ______." I like to keep a reserve supply too! I had to at a shopping trip with Thomas. I was thinking about chili dogs (Bob's favorite) for lunch; great minds think alike on the other stuff! Do you wash your hair in the shower? I remember a cold shower when our water heater died. Good luck at the commissary today!

I need to put my makeup on and head for the store. Have a super Saturday and enjoy the day!

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#18

Maggie , 10-29-2011 04:27 PM

Simply Sunny Saturday
GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

A beautiful 70 degree day here in the Heartland. Good day for a birthday party in the park for a two year old. I am finishing up on that barn I am making and then on to other items made of glass for the season. I love this time of the year. I don't decorate much but some that is tastefully done. Since we rather live in a "fish bowl" I like to have the place always looking nice. I get the house straightened up first thing and any cleaning needed then off to my shop. At any given time, though, folks are apt to see wadded up pieces of paper and dog toys strewn about the place on the floor. Last night Paul brought in a movie for all to watch ~ Captain America. It was fun and of that comic book character. We all ate dinner in front of the TV last evening because it was pizza. I didn't pig out so stayed within my alloted points. There was lots left over so I scraped the topping off and put it into a zip lock bag. I will make scrambled eggs with that in it and it is so good on another day. I also saved a couple of the crust pieces to toast to go along with the egg mixture. It all freezes up nicely. I double wrap the crust first before freezing it. That will make a good main meal at a later date along with a green salad and fruit. Life is good. We don't mind eating left overs if the meal was good the first go round. I usually make it into something a bit different so it isn't the same-o-thing though. And having suce a nice freezer I can make it at a much later date anyway. I just got the neatest catalogue in the mail - Bits and Pieces. There are lots of "fun things" in this catalogue for low prices. The wooden brainteasers make nice gifts. Everybody needs to have one or two of those on their coffee table. Anyway it is a fun catalogue that I may do some Christmas shopping out of. I am thinking ahead to Christmas before Thanksgiving is even here. But if I want to order anything it does take time and I do like to have little wrapped gifts to give folks who "drop in." I plan on making some fudge and wrapping a few pieces in cute little boxes to give out. I also got a catalogue out of a place we love on the west coast from See's Candies. They have been in business since 1921 and make the best chocolates. I still have some of their square gourmet lollypops in chocolate, butterscotch, cafe latte, and vanilla that live in a tall glass container on a shelf. They are real tasty but I am not a big candy eater so they don't tempt me but are great to have on hand to give folks. I am fat because I like real food. Every year it is tradition that we do get at least one box of Nuts & Chews to have on hand for the holiday. They look so yummy in a compote dish. Anyway check out their wonderful collection at sees.com. I buy it to give away and not to comsume it. If you can't leave candy alone then don't go there.

DONNA FAYE Won't it be fun to order your charm. Yep ~ 10 pounds down will be great for you. I like that knitting charm you showed us awhile back. We like to have "stock ups" also. We have a good basement in which to store them. When I am out of something in the kitchen I ask Will if we have any downstairs before sending him to the store. We buy when things are on sale and in big lots so save money that way. Some items that don't have a very long shelf life ~ we don't buy too many of them. But things we use a lot of we like to have some ahead. I hope you find everything you need at the commisary this day,

JEAN I certainly hope all is well with Bob's secretary and that operation did what it was geared to do. We don't have winter weather this day. More like early spring. We didn't have spring earlier this year but hopped right from winter into hot summer. Now we "deserve" some spring type weather. Anyway it is a lovely day here this day. I think when I get off here I will cut my fingernails. I notice they are getting long when I am typing. Burrr - a cold shower is not pleasant.

Have a lovely afternoon and stay warm.

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#19

Jean , 10-29-2011 11:02 PM

Maggie -- For whatever reason it wouldn't let me post in the "quick" box tonight! I don't think my lack of will power would allow me to have treats around the house to give away to visitors. I admire you for being able to do that. I am a sugar addict no doubt about that. We didn't get a report on Bob's secretary today; she is single and Bob thinks her sister went back home to Des Moines today if all was going well. I'm sure Nelda feels like she's been hit by a big truck today. Hopefully she slept most of the day. I will check in on her Monday when I pick up the gift shop money. I need to decide what I'm wearing to church tomorrow. It will be a long day starting with one service at 10:00, a tailgate grilled lunch (burgers ?), and then a TTT Auction (time, talent, and treasure). The items are laid out on tables around the "gym" and people write their bids on paper. One I saw earlier this week was a week at somebody's timeshare in FL. Some people offer catered meals (not me!), some make craft items, baked goodies, canned garden produce, some rake leaves or shovel snow, some will offer household items they no longer want, etc. We donate $$, or buy things, since I have no time nor talent right now.

I am off to the closet to see what I can find! Have a relaxing Sunday!

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#20

gma22 , 10-30-2011 07:55 AM

Good morning to you ladies. It is again pretty chilly out this morning, upper 30's but not too bad in the house. The furnace is set at 68 and hasn't kicked on this morning at all.

I may not get in here to post until later since I have my mammogram early so I did my Monday weigh in today. I am down 4# for the week! So, now I am down over 50 lbs since this time last year and 12 lbs since Octber 4 of this year. I went and bought my beads for my weight loss and since I got them 80% off, I bought 4 thinking I deserved them for the previous loss too. The 4 cost me what one would have cost me in the future and since it was the end of the month, which is when I will buy the charms, I said, what the heck. Not all the beads were so drastically reduced, but I liked these and since they were so cheap I got them. I got two of the aqua ones so the bracelet would be balanced then will put the grandma one on one side and the "I love my boys" on the other. My bracelet is blue beads so this one I am doing in colors of blues. Of course, when all is said and done, I will probably have three full bracelets with the amount I have to use, but that is ok. I will do each one in a different color and theme sort of thing.

I am making chicken and homemade dumplings for dinner tonight. I used mostly chicken breast but do throw in a couple boneless, skinless thighs to help with a bit of fat for flavor, ff chicken broth and then make my dumplings with egg beaters instead of eggs the fat free broth and flour and salt. We haven't had them in a long, long time and they just sounded good. I roll out my dumplings instead of drop them. I like them better and that is the way my mil taught me to make dumplings, though her explanation was a bit vague and I had to figure it out myself. I basically use my egg noodle recipe for dumplings.

I have one mitten to do and I am done, yeah!!! I found this pattern for mittens for a six year old and used it for Jackson. It was so easy that I took this screwy convoluted mitten pattern that had several sizes and since it used the same weight yarn and same size needles, I used the cast on #'s, increases, etc but conformed it to the easy mittens. It worked out just fine and I tried on the first one I did for T and it fit though was snug and my fingertips hit the very top of the mitten. He has skinny hands and long fingers so I think the size I made, which is a woman's medium will be perfect. Whether he will wear them or not is a different story. I am going to tell Kelly is he hates them to give them to someone she thinks would wear them. He has gotten extremely picky about his clothes now. I don't even know if he wears his socks I make him anymore. I think Kelly is in for a world of pain with that boy and his clothes and such as he gets older.

Jean: Sounds like you did have a long day. What did you say Bob's secretary had to have done??? I will say a prayer for her that she recovers fast. Did you all have your chili dogs? I was burping hot dogs last night and Jack asked me if it was the chili dogs. I told him yes, but I had "non chili dogs" so it was the garlicky hot dog. I had my old stand by mustard, relish and onions on mine but the hot dog kept making future appearance last night. I used to do silent auctions for charity when I worked at the law firm. They are kind of fun without the stress of a real auction. Maybe you could have volunteered to stand outside someones house during the Christmas season and be a bell ringer! I heard you are a mean bell ringer or bar cookie maker. I have finally conquered the sugar thing, but last night I got hungry, which is unusual these days and kept thinking about the little individual packages of oreos I get for Jack, but I chased it out of my brain and made myself a skim milk hot chocolate with sugar free Quik and ff redi whip. Hit the spot and gave me a chocolate fix without all the other stuff.

Maggie: The only sweet we have in the house are those little packages of oreos. For one thing, Jack would eat it if it were here in the house and I would be mighty tempted I think. Thanksgiving is going to be interesting as I have no idea what anyone is going to bring or what we are going to have or anything. I have yet to hear back from Alicia about it since it is at their house. I am going to make some splenda desserts though.

Well gals, it is almost 7 and I am hungry. I am going to eat breakfast and then tackle this filthy downstairs as I let it go the other day because it was raining and yesterday we tracked in guck bringing in groceries so I am glad I didn't clean as I would have been a grouch all day having to do the floors over. Have a great day today! Faye
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#21

Jean , 10-30-2011 05:42 PM

Good Afternoon, Flowers! The sun is shining, it's windy (of course), and a cool 51 degrees in my neighborhood. We've spent most of the day at church. There was a guest "Band of Believers" for our one service today; they were good but just not my kind of church service on a regular basis. The lunch was grilled hamburgers and brats, salads, and bars. The auction was so fun! One of our church "jewels," and her name is Jewel, makes homemade raspberry jam for any fund raiser. Bob loves to buy some popular item and then give it back to resell again, thus making more money. Well, there were 12 jars of jam and he kept 3, giving the other 9 back to sell again. The final figure for just the jam was $651! There was homemade bread that was bringing $50 a loaf, but we didn't buy any of that. Afterwards Jewel came up to us with tears in her eyes saying what a wonderful thing Bob did. She was a nurse and her husband a surgeon. They met as missionaries in Africa where their children were born, but came back here to raise them once they started school. They have gone on missions all over the world and are truly just plain people who expect nothing but love, compassion, and kindness from others.

"Gma" -- on another GREAT loss! You have done so well! I really like the charms and beads you have chosen. I don't blame you for buying them for your total loss! Bob's secretary had a mass growing on the outside of the uterus pressing on the colon. She had a colonoscopy, a d and c, and some other procedure a couple weeks ago. All of the lab results were ok except they couldn't test the mass since it was on the outside of the organs. We haven't heard any more since Friday afternoon so I plan to check on her tomorrow. She is from a small town close by so probably has had more company than she wants today. Last night Bob decided to fix fish on the grill before the weather gets too cold. The grill has a burner on the side that keeps the oil constantly hot and it doesn't smell up the house. I'm not sure what will be supper tonight; we both grew up on popcorn and milk for Sunday night suppers.

I have laundry going and need to check the dryer. Enjoy the rest of your day and evening.

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#22

Maggie , 10-30-2011 06:44 PM

Sunny Sunday
GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

It is a beautiful sunny chilly day in the 60's this day in the Heartland. I am currently sipping on a sf ff latte from our favorite place to get coffee here in town. I finished up that barn with silo and it looks super even if I do say so myself. I'll next make muself a farm house to go with it. I have a glass order made out and the prices sure went up since last I orderd things. But it takes what it takes. I sell enough items to pay for everything I order which is good. I don't want to spend all my glass earnings just now because of the holiday coming up. It gives me a little extra to play with and enough supplies to keep building. My little barn took all the red I had on hand and I want to make some holley and berry candle holders. Red glass costs a tad bit more than other colors because to get the red they put gold in the glass. And the price of gold has certainly gone up. When the price of metal goes up my solder which is 50% silver and copper foil prices also go up. I need to have some supplies on hand because there are always folks wanting something built at the "last minute." Last year a gentleman wanted three houses out of my village and so instead of rushing to make them he took the ones I had already made for myself. I have yet to replace those and will do so after the first of the new year. Will is going to put up a high corner shelf behind the TV to have a place for my village that the cat or dogs can't reach. It is a spance of empty space and there are plug in's below which will be good to light it all up. The kitten likes to sit on my glass cutting table and supervise my work. I don't let him up there when I am cutting glass though or when I am using chemicals. He has enough sense not to bother the hot soldering iron. He got two inches from it and backed up.

DONNA FAYE You are doning great with your weight loss. Keep up the good work and your goal is getting ever closer. Your bracelet is going to look so neat when you add all your charms. Fun isn't it. A visual to show how much you have lost is a great thing to have. I love having my charm bracelet which I only take of when I am doing glass work because of the chemicals and such which I don't want to get on it. To keep it nice and shining Will puts it in his bullet cassing polishing thing a ma-gig. It does the trick.

JEAN What fun your auction sounds like. Bob was good to give back some of that jam for re-sale. What a neat thing to do. I know a lot of folks who have popcorn and milk or soda for Sunday dinner. We just never got into that but have a light supper if we have gone out to eat at lunch. Tonight we will be having a lite "breakfast." Fish on the Barbie sounds good. My favorite is Red Snapper which is an ocean fish which we used to catch in Baja Ca. off my brothers boat.

Type at y'all later ~ time to head for the church building.

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#23

gma22 , 10-31-2011 09:22 AM

Good morning ghouls! I am ready for the boob squisher so thought I would hop in here and post real quick. I am not counting it until next week since I did my weigh in yesterday, but I did step on the scales this morning and am down another lb so at least the meds are working and taking off the water.

I just had to post this sweet picture of Jackson. It is his school picture. He sure looks like his daddy, at least according to my husband. He has his dad's upper face and chin, but very much like his mom around his mouth area. He has dark eyes like Alicia though. I thought they would stay blue, but it looks like they have turned dark. He is getting so big and it seems like just yesterday I was yelling at the take out window at Wendy's in Effingham, IL that our granson had just been born!

My dumplings turned out great though Jack had one of his esophagial attacks and the stuck came back up. Well, actually it is whatever gets stuck in that area. They don't seem to want to do surgery at the moment just watch it as he doesn't have these attacks unless he eats too big of pieces, which is what he did last night I guess. He enjoyed them though and so I am glad about that. Tonight is ham steak and rice. Has to be a quick one since I had to keep the car and go and get him this afternoon. I want to get dinner over and one with before the t or t kids start roaming around. We don't give out candy as I told Jean it is too dangerous in our neighborhood anymore. I always gave goody bags to the 4 kids across the street, but they moved last weekend. Too bad, it is the one decent neighbor we had left besides the old folks who don't ever come outside. My neighbor I used to talk to all the time developed alzheimer's really bad and her daughter moved her to Florida.

Coming along on the other mitten. I should finish it today. I am going to take my shawl knitting with me though as I can do it without much thinking as I have the pattern memorized. The mittens there is a lot of decreases and keeping track of rows for color changes and stuff.

Well gals, I am going to have to get out of here in just a few. Have a good start to your week. Faye
- jacksononhis tummy.jpg (38.9 KB)
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#24

QuilterInVA , 10-31-2011 10:10 AM

Good morning ladies! A cold 38 degrees right now and sunny at that.

I had a wonderful time teaching at the retreat and I think everyone enjoyed it because they asked me to come back in April for their retreat and teach again for 3 days. This is a group of country ladies who don't have much money so they don't have the latest gadgets and gizmoes and it was refreshing. Just the basics, please. They haven't read the latest quilting books and magazines and are so grateful for someone to teach them something. Even the ladies that own the shop fit the description I just gave. I'm going to come up with a few ideas for the class and the shop owners will decide what they want to do.

I have my pre-surgery physical at 2 o'clock today and no bible study tonight so will be passing out candy to the kids. I love doing that.

Faye, is there no way you can move out of that neighborhood? I couldn't live with the fear like that. I love your beads. You'll have enough for a bracalet and necklace! The things you knit are so lovely. My slippers are doing a wonderful job of keeping me feet warm.

Jean, Bob sure does a nice thing in letting them resell the jam again and again. We are going to be doubling the size of our church soon so I'm sure we will have a lot of fund raising, although we have a goodly start already in the building fund.

Maggie, I'm sure your lovely buildings are in great demand for gifts. You are one talented lady. If I tried to do glass, all I would have is splinters! I like your idea for leftover pizza. I usually just get 1 slice when I go out with the girls but maybe next time I'll get 2 and bring one home.

Gail, I hope you are doing well.

Have a great day!

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#25

Maggie , 10-31-2011 12:46 PM

Monday Monday
GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

It is currently 42 degrees in the Heartland expected to get up into the mid 70's before this day is over. I slept in and it sure felt good. Now I am enjoying my morning cup of coffee. When I got up Will had already taken the dogs to the groomer and the house was so quiet. I looked everwhere for Cecil and finally found him sleeping in Will's chair in his office. The back of the chair was turned so the back of it faced the door and I didn't see at first what was in the seat of it until I went in their the second time. We aren't going to be home this evening so didn't buy any "treat" candy or toys to hand out. Today is my weigh day and I am finally going back down in the right direction. I need to exercise more and bump up my program. This kitten thinks he is a dog. When the dogs get a treat he is right there sitting waiting for a tid bit. When I pet one of the dogs and tell them they are a "good boy: Cecil is right there for a pat on the head. What a little yellow bundle of fun. After a bit I will be making my glass order and have decided on which three boxes of glass I want. Each box has 6 pieces of glass and tells what colors are in each so I can get the ones that have what I will need. I need some white and so I can get a box that is called "American Flag" which has two white, two red, and two blue with each a different kind of glass so they aren't all alike in texture. I am also ordering one box called "Autum Blaze" that has lovely shades of autum and one called Vacation Dreams that has soft colors. I can get a lot of little pieces cut from each piece which is a foot square if the glass cuts nicely. It is cheaper to buy the packs that are made up than buying it piece by piece. If I "needed" a certain color that isn't in the packs I could get it by just buying one piece. And if a person needs a lot of one color than they can order it by the box and get however many pieces is needed for a big project. Same batch of glass so the color is consistant. Or I could get bigger pieces if I needed to. I save 10 bucks a box by getting it this way. I can see that the cat has been on my desk because the eraser is gone off my pencil. The whole metal piece that holds the rubber is gone. I'll find it somewhere when I sweep this room today.

DONNA FAYE Thanks for that picture of Jackson. What a cute kid and a beautiful smile. Looks like a happy child. Sometimes I wish I had a portable hobby like you can take your knitting with you. AH ~ but I love books so can take one along. I could just see myself cutting glass in a waiting room.

SUSAN Yes do get two slices next time because the egg thingie is so good as a go-round. Beaters work great for that. You are also a very talented lady with your guilting and teaching ability. I shudder to think ~ glass splinters ~ not good. I haven't cut myself in years. But to each his own and everyone is not cut out to cut glass. Pun intended. You have got to get a cat ~ this one is such a hoot. Hope all goes well with your physical.

Have a glorious day Magnolias. Type at y'all later.

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#26

Jean , 10-31-2011 07:06 PM

Good Evening, Flowers! It's been a beautiful day in my corner of the world; I've been busy all day and my house looks like it! Bob is at a meeting and I suppose the "treaters" will be coming soon. Supposedly the hours are 6 - 8, and I shut the light off at 8! It'll be a nice night for them to be out. I went to church this morning; we made over $8000 from the auction yesterday! Today took longer so it was almost lunch time when I got home. After lunch I went to the hospital: first I checked on Nelda, Bob's secretary, and she is feeling much more human today. Her surgery was 8 hours and she ended up with 2 tumors, w/cancer cells, wrapped around the colon and an ovary. She has a colostomy which will be reversed later. She was in good spirits but not eating nor drinking anything yet. She can't go home until her innards start to work. Then I picked up the gift shop money, stopped at the library, card shop, and p.o. I had gift shop bills to pay and wanted to get the deposit ready to go because I work in the gift shop tomorrow morning and having bills done, along with the deposit, will save me a second trip tomorrow. Now I need to pick up and put in order my kitchen table and counters! I think supper will be popcorn because Bob will have food at his meeting.

"Gma" -- Jackson is a cutie! There is no baby left there, that's for sure. I hope all is well with your mammogram results.

Susan -- I just knew you would enjoy yourself this weekend! I happened to see the quilts some of our "older" church ladies made for what they call In-Gathering which is sort of a raffle to raise money for food items to send overseas. They are beautiful, but nothing fancy like you make. We did have fun at the auction yesterday; Bob has done that same thing at pie auctions and gets a big kick out of doing it.

Maggie -- Congrats on the scale going down again. I saw another stray cat today that Bob had described to me -- looks kind of like a Siamese with all the colors smudged together. He is HUGE and makes Ernie look petite.

I need to get my candy in a bowl and get ready for the ghouls. Enjoy your evening!

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#27

gma22 , 11-01-2011 07:34 AM

Good morning to you all! It is chilly again this morning, but should warm up later on today. Fall is certainly here. We change our clocks back this weekend and it is weird having those extra weeks now as it is totally dark taking Jack to work and coming back home.

It was quiet around here last night, surprisingly. Maybe they all took off for other neighborhoods as trick or treating here is slim pickins. The older folks don't bother as they are afraid. I rather see the elderly out unless they are with other family members. It isn't a war zone, but it isn't beverly hills either. The drunks from the liquor store and convenience store across the street still come through the gate down at the end so you have them wandering around in here sometimes. They dump their trash on the streets so we have to clean it all up. It is disgusting. Then I have my neighbors who seem to not know what a trash can is for and throw stuff over the fence like their cigarette butts, cigar plastic tips, chewing gum, you name it I have found it back there. I just pick it up and throw it back over into their backyard. I am not going to clean it up. They need to see the stuff being thrown back so they know that I did it.

I am done for another year with the mammo machine. This lady wasn't as good as last year as it was a bit more uncomfortable, but I could see my xray shots and as much as I could see they looked good. She said I would get a letter in about a week. I was there all morning though so I am glad I made a morning appt.

Susan: We can't move. We are locked into the condo. There is too much money we would have to spend to get it into selling shape, they just don't sell, the neighborhood isn't good and the economy is shot. We just keep to ourselves, say hi when the neighbors speak and don't go out a lot in the evenings. We haven't had any trouble, but I know others who have. Glad you enjoyed your teaching retreat. I had an elderly black lady talk to me about the knitting yesterday I took with me saying she could never do it. I told her everyone could knit as it was only two stitches and everything you did was a combination of those two stitches. She said she had never tried it and I told her she should she would enjoy it.

Jean: Sounds like you were busy yesterday. I got back from the mammogram and did some housekeeping, ate some lunch and then had to go get Jack. We decided to grab a bite to eat out since it got late so we did then came home and I was tired and went to bed early. So, today is laundry, sheet washing and bed remaking and dusting day upstairs. We are going to have something simple tonight for dinner, so I can get stuff done I want to. Sounds like the auction was a hit.

Maggie: Fortune will do that to me, he will go and sleep somewhere and I will panic that somehow he got out, knowing full well he couldn't have. I finally would find him under our bed or in Jack's chair or something. He doesn't do it so much anymore now that he is older, but he did it a lot when he was young. I guess it takes too much effort these days!

Well gals, I need to get started on my day. I have a bit of a sore throat for some reason so want to tackle that right away before it gets worse. I had some popcorn a few days ago and wonder if I got a kernal stuck way back in the soft tissue. I do that sometimes and that is why I rarely eat popcorn.

Have a good one all! Faye

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#28

Maggie , 11-01-2011 01:21 PM

Titilating Chilly Tuesday
GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

It is a beautiful cool day here in the Heartland with little or no wind. We just finished a nice bowl of my homemade chicken noodle soup and it sure hit the spot. I have one packet still in the freezer so it will be time soon to make another pot. Sure hits the spot on a chilly day. Bought some of those new consentrated flavor packets of bouillon which are great. There are 8 packets per box and they each make a cup of broth. They are designed to squeeze onto veggie dishes as you cook them or whatever you desire. That way I don't have to open a whole can of chicken broth. They come in chicken, beef and vegetable. Something new instead of bouillon cubes. I used one packet today to extend the broth in my soup since the noodles always soak up some of the broth and it needed a bit more liquid. In a bit we are going to the health food store and see if they carry the 10 grain cereal I like to use in my rustic bread at times. The markets here don't have it. If the health food store doesn't have it I have a source on line where I can get it. We do try to buy local first. It is a cereal (not ground fine) that is for hot cereal like cream of wheat but I like the grains in bread. I don't think I have ever made cereal out of it. I make as point friendly bread as I can manage. The rustic types I make have more fiber in them than the plain ole white bread does. Tonight I am making lemon pepper and panko covered oven baked pork chops for dinner along with the umbiquitous regular veggies. It will be good and points friendly.

DONNA FAYE It is really sad that you are locked into that place where you live and can't move to a safer friendlier neighborhood. They say that with the economy going south, so to speak, things are fixin' to get worse in your type of neighborhood and in big cities. The "have nots" want what the "haves" have and want to take it by force. The "haves" worked for what they have but the "have nots" just want a free ride and have everyting given to them. So, my friend, if you are financially stuck in your situation make the best of it. Hang on tight. I got a chuckle out of your cig buts flying over the fence. Here our neighbor boy comes over and picks up our yard. The wind makes some deposits along the fence line and he is so nice to want to do that. Not a lazy kid for sure. Plus he loves playing with the dogs.

JEAN That is great what was made on that sale. Are they stray cats or someones that just got out. We have a few "wild cats" around the neighborhood. Someone has a cat that has kittens regularly and they go wild. We do have a good "catcher" that keeps them picked up pretty well. Our dogs keep them from coming in our yard. This kitten loves to walk over all my surfaces in here ~ high and low. Right now he is amusing himself with that thingie on the blind that opens and closes it. It swings nice when he bats it. He is an independant little guy and not a cuddler nor is he bashful.

Time has come to go to the health food store. Type at y'all later. This is a brand new month ~ lets all be losers this month.

Back now from shopping and we did find the 10 grain cereal at the health store. I was glad to get it there for they sell it in much smaller packages than I can get on line and it does last a long time since I just use it in bread and I store it in my freezer. I would much rather buy it a pound at a time rather than 6 pounds.

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#29

Jean , 11-01-2011 03:21 PM

Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's another beautiful fall day in my corner of the world. It sounds like the weather could be changing tomorrow, and not for the better. I had $73 in sales this morning, and looked through some magazines to leave on the shelf. Bob came for lunch and then we spent a few minutes visiting Nelda; she has "graduated" to a liquid diet as of last night. I didn't know your organs could go to sleep after a major surgery. I should go donate blood but am waiting for a call from the gift shop buyer to go ahead and pay a bill which I never got in the first place; we got a past due notice last week. I'm glad it was her error and not mine because she can be very condescending. She's not real speedy at passing the paperwork along and I'm one that likes to pay the bill and get it in the mail the next day.

"Gma" -- Did you have to wait a long time for your mammorgram to take all morning? I barely have time to do the paperwork before the tech calls me in. I wish the powers-to-be would choose one time or the other and leave it alone. I will like it being lighter in the morning for a short time, but not darker earlier in the evenings.

Maggie -- I'm going to guess that all of the stray cats are feral cats because they are so spooky, and run whenever they hear a noise or see a shadow. Once in a great while we will get a tamer one that someone has just dumped in the neighborhood. Did you find anything new or different at the health food store?

I need to get busy and accomplish something before Bob gets home from work. Enjoy the rest of your day and evening!

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#30

gma22 , 11-02-2011 08:30 AM

Good morning to you all. I am sitting here eating breakfast of eggo choco chip waffle, raspberrys over the top and 2 strips of bacon. We are having flank steak, roasted asparagus and baked potato for dinner so I will have to decide what to have for lunch.

I thought maybe I was catching cold yesterday as I had a sore spot in my throat and felt kind of ick all day. I didn't get a whole lot done besides regular chores and laundry so will tackle upstairs today. I have almost all the Christmas stuff except for a couple things so will have to face getting stuff wrapped this weekend. I don't put bows on them because they just come off traveling so will probably just do curly ribbon on everything this year.

I had to take out the second mitten as I discovered I had it on the wrong sized needles! I ripped it back and have started over again. Story of my life, starting knitting over. Like I said, it teaches me patience.

Maggie: I get frustrated with the property but it is over 30+ years old and things are failing and getting old so I have to expect that. We have plans for the condo, but need a big chunk of money to do them so am saving and waiting, but it is difficult for me when my house doesn't look as I wish. Everything we want to do is expensive and with Jack's knees and mine too we can't put in flooring ourselves, the plumbing has to be done by an expert as does the new air conditioning so we just wait. As for the neighborhood, it has deteriorated in the last 10 years, significantly in my opinion. Nothing we can do about that and like I said, moving is not an option. We are thankful for what we have though as many do not have a home of any condition and we have one that our kids graciously sold to us so for that we are thankful. We are also just careful. We have irritating problems with the neighbors because they are renters and don't care a fig newton about their homes because of it and don't respect others property, but we have a cordial relationship with all of them pretty much. It is the visitors that are the big issue. Some of them are questionable to say the least and there has been drug buying and selling here that I know of they keep trying to clean out and up.

Jean: It is a women's center so they do all female things so you can get backed up as the whole staff does everything and they only have a couple radiology techs I guess. So, I did have to wait a long time but the procedure didn't take a long time. I had an early appt and was home by noon. I always hated it when I was sort of the middle man for things and had to wait on other people to get me what I needed yet I was the one the lawyers came and griped to when they couldn't find stuff that hadn't been given to me in the first place.

I should get going and start getting things done for the day. I took allergy meds last night and they worked, but they do leave me drowsy in the mornings so I may have to take a quick nap somewhere in there too.

Have a great middle of the week gals and stay warm. We are having lovely daytime weather but looks like rain is going to move in some time this week. Faye

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