How about a few signs of spring? They'll either make you envious or hopeful that spring is right around the corner.

These are just ready to burst into bloom.


A closeup of the beautiful camelia flowers.


So I'm curious how you get the thumbnails to work? I could barely figure out how to post the photo. I posted a photo of the whole camelia bush, but it was too big so I removed it.

Thanks Sheila! Sounds scrumptious!

I sent an e-mail to Kate also, and she answered. She's just been busy. She's alright. will maybe post tomorrow. Lucky her, .... she's going on a trip!

The flowers are giving me spring fever! Beautiful!

Hi Sunny! I see you too.
Hello to Charlotte, Bonnie, and everyone else. Later!

SUNNYD!!!!!

Hi everybody...
Thanks for the well wishes. I'm ok. There's more fatigue than pain...enough of that too, though! Don't mean to whine so much about it...but, mostly want you all to understand I don't dessert you...just feel bad, sometimes. Not going to church tonight. Gotta work tomorrow, so going to rest. Just weak this evening.
Thanks for the prayers for SIL, too. Gina is soooo excited!!

I'm very concerned for Fatpuss. I'm also going to email her. Hope she's ok. I understand pc problems. Been working on mine again. Had another virus. Bought a Firewall this time. Hope it works this time.

Sheila....pics are beautiful! For the thumbnail. When posting...go down below the post....you'll see a small button that says "manage attachments". Click on it & follow directions. You just browse til you find the pic you want, then upload. You can put as many as 5 in one post. Yes, Remicade gives a LOT of relief. Seemed to have helped more this time, then it ever has.

Bluet...yes, we got a LOT of rain this week. There was a lot of flooding. Our place is ok, though. Just muddy. I'm used to that!

Jacquie...Hope you get pc going alright....it can be a headache! You can borrow the axe I used on my earlier post if you want!!

I'll be back later...take care.

Hi Everyone,

What a quite weekend we had. SunnyD we always get those type of unpredicted snow storms too, only they come off of Lake Michigan and then it always dumps a lot of snow along the lake shore. It is predicted that we get 3 inches or more this evening. It doesn't even matter any more, in the beginning I always start with denial and think "Oh no winter isn't coming", but then it comes anyway. Lent starts the last week in February and can Spring be far behind? Hope you had a very happy birthday and all your wishes come true.

I was way too lazy this weekend and did nothing. Didn't even vacuum the carpets, I feel like an awful person. I lost all motivation to sew the slip covers and didn't even go look for material that would inspire me. I just watched movies and read books and went to church this morning. I am such a bum someone come over here and kick me in the butt. When I was a stay at home Mom I sewed all the time. Curtins, doll clothes, childrens clothes , all their Halloween Customes, angel gowns for Christmas plays. You name it I tried it. For Halloween one year I sewed a complete Strawberry Shortcake dress and hat for our third daughter, it was so much fun. One year when our second daughter was in the first grade I spent all summer sewing clothes for her for school. There was a dress code at our children's school and no one was allowed to wear jeans or bib overhauls. (Remember those bibs the girls wore back in the 70"s?0 I had made several little bib type pants for my daughter out of several pretty fabrics with pretty buttons. The eighth grade girls were so upset that a first grader was wearing "bib overhauls" to school and they couldn't, that they went running to the Principal and complained. Even though they weren't of jean material and did not look like bib overhauls, my daughter was not allowed to wear the pants I made on principal. All the time I had spent including the money spent. I was so mad. So we put them away and I probably have them still packed away in my sewing room. Another one of life's lessons.

Puss there is a new program , well I haven't seen it before on BBC America. I think it is called House Doctor. I found it quite intersting, all though the designers are quite rough on the home owners. I watched the last fifteen minutes of Trading Places last night. I would not let that Doug Wilson near my home. What an idiot. He traced nudes all around on the walls of a couples bedroom and put some ugly "A" shape cupboards on one wall. As far as I am concerned he trashed this couple bedroom. They claimed they loved it, but I don't know how that is possible. By the way where the heck are you? We miss you.

Willow I thought perhaps you were going to Marshfield for your hip procedure. I would have driven up to Stevens Point and stayed with our daughter and husband and met you some place and taken you out to dinner. I don't think I have ever been to LaCrosse, but once years ago on a bus tour. Still keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. My right hip has been acting up since Christmas, so I know how you feel. I always find it hard to get out of bed in the morning and to move about as my hip is so sore, but once I get going it seems better, if not I take Alieve so I can get through the day. It is going to snow this evening and the threat of snow always seems to kick in the pain more. Hope you had a good time with your Grandkids. I am always pretty tired when mine leave, but I have such good memories to think about after they are gone.

Sheila, I love camelias, please be sure to take a picture if you can. I have never looked into it, but I am sure they would not fair well in Wisconsin. All my rose cones are covered over completely with snow. DH and SIL were making wood yesterday and DH said when he got off the tractor in the woods the snow in somplaces was waist high. It has been sometime since we have had that much snow in the winter. It will take awhile for it to melt when things warm up. I wonder if Willow's Rose Climber is surviving the winter, if not there won't be any worrying about it next summer. I will be anxious to see how many of mine survive.

I can hear DH watching golf on TV downstairs, you know him attach sports to it and he will watch it. I guess I'll go find something for supper. Talk to you all later. Take care

Bluet

SunnyD--

A big Happy Birthday from me, too!!

Bluet, hey, you're allowed to relax--so what if you didn't get stuff done that you thought you would. Everyone needs time to decompress and do whatever you feel like doing instead of stuff you "should" do. That's such a bummer about the bib overalls after all that work. Do you have any photos of the Strawberry Shortcake costume? That would be fun to see!

Charlotte, glad you're kind of up and around. I'm glad the Remicade worked even better this time. Maybe that will happen with each treatment--wouldn't that be nice?!?! Thanks for e-mailing Puss. I hope she comes back soon. I'm still praying for your SIL, and can't wait to hear how the reunion goes.

What a nice day here today! Another 45 minute walk with the dogs, a semi-sunny sky and pretty warm right now. I'm still not motivated to go weed, though. I pulled one out yesterday and thought, okay, that's enough.

My DH just left for Boise. I'm envious--he gets to see our GD. Not until either Wednesday night or Thursday morning, though, because her mother has her Mon, Tues, and Wed. If my GD were a kid with a normal lifespan, it wouldn't be that big a deal, but it's sad that my son is now missing half of whatever time she has left. And she'll never get to fly out to visit Grandma and Grandpa like my kids did. Oh, well, we take what we can get, right?

Hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday! And I hope SunnyD is having an incredible birthday!

My grandkids have gone home, and all is too quiet now. They are so blasted cute! I took them shopping yesterday for their birthday presents because I wasn't at either of their birthday parties, and the little boy, Anthony, must have been so into the moment of getting to pick out his own presents that he just had to express his feelings, so while checking out he said, really loudly, " Thank you Grandma! I love you!" Everybody in the checkout lines just kind of paused and then you could hear people going " oooohhh!"

I kept a heating pad on my hip most of the day today. It may be a bit better.

I had some of my homemade chicken veg. soup for supper with a peanut butter sandwich.

It is snowing again. I don't even know how much snow we're suppose to get this time. I better get up early and check it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUNNY! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your day!

Sheila, I know it has to be hard knowing you might at some time lose your little granddaughter. I miss my grandkids so very much since they moved away. I try to enjoy those that are nearby as often as I can.
"I pulled one out yesterday and thought, okay, that's enough!" And it hasn't even begun yet! For us!

Bonnie, no, I never did get that blasted rose out last year! I'll have to get out there as soon as the frost leaves the ground.
Ooohhh! That Strawberry Shortcake dress and hat sounds adorable.
I haven't sewed in eons, but I used to enjoy it when I did sew. Maybe that would be something to do for extra spending money when I retire. make doll clothes and sell them.
Bonnie, I pray your hip never gets worse.
I've wondered if it's a hereditary thing like a dogs hip displasia. I was talking with a couple sisters about this and there are 3 of us sisters who have LEFT HIP problems, and so did our mother.
Maybe it's from the excess weight.
I'm going on a starvation diet! It can't be any worse than this!

Charlotte, I know you will post when you can, I just get worried sometimes because I know what an awful illness RA is, and I pray you don't develop any of the complications of it.

Time to get stuff ready for tomorrow.


Everybody have a great week!

SIL gets home tomorrow!!!

Doing fair this morning. Very stiff, though. Yes, Willow, it's scarey sometimes. I saw a woman in the beauty shop the other day that I use to see a lot. She was always so active! They had to help her out of her chair & to the car. Her legs stood straight to each side like an upside down V . Very stiff. She has RA & her body won't tolerate the Remicade. I'm very fortunate so far. Thankful for my blessings. Your grands sound so sweet! I'm missing mine. Gotta see some of them soon.

I'm very worried about Fatpuss. I emailed her yesterday, but haven't received an answer yet. Wish we could hear something. I don't know anything else to do.

Sheila....I'm praying for your little granddaughter. Such a precious little angel. I hope you get to see her, also, as much as possible.

Hello to SunnyD & all....

Today went pretty well at work.
I was up at 4:30 AM, had breakfast and was out the door by 6:30 AM.
Hip is still very painful, but, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Today my oldest son is 42 years old. Lordy! Where has the time gone? It was just a couple of years ago that he was a teenager.
I wonder why we only get one life, or, rather, why we only get a certain number of years to live?
I guess I'm definitely in the last third of my life.
Old age seemed so far away until I hit 40, and then time flew by. It's like a snowball rolling down hill, ... picking up speed as it goes.

I was going to pick up some 15-bean soup mix after work and got downtown and discovered I had left my wallet and check book home this morning. Good thing I didn't have an accident or anything. I wouldn't have had my license with me. They'd have hauled my hiney to the hoosgow!

They already told me today, .... overtime all week.

Hi Charlotte and Sunny. Good to hear from you.

I think if it were computer problems that Puss were having, she would send us a message from her work like she did before.
I sent an e-mail to her the other day but never got an answer.

I hope you all had a good day.

Everyone have a good night.

Dear Girls,
So sorry to cause a fuss by not posting lately and thank you all for your concerns, I apologise for keeping you all wondering. I have had a heap of small things lately which didn't exactly energise me into going on to the computer and to be honest, I didn't feel I had anything to say - well not cheerful, anyway! I suppose any of the things in ones or twos would have been ok but I think I mentioned I have had cold after cold (as many people here have too) but I have also started having night sweats (missed two periods and this last one came back with a vengeance) which has had me up twice in the night. I have also been working pretty long hours so coupled with the lack of sleep (I thought HRT eliminated or reduced night sweats) I was not the most lively or cheery bod in the UK come evening time. Plus, my mother has been having one of her down cycles (lasting 2 weeks now) and although I am sticking to the every other night rule, the calls are still 40-50mins long and still the same old rubbish we have been hearing for the past 2 years and more. It was the anniversary of my dad dying yesterday too and I wondered if he knew just how much his passing would affect my mother seeing he was the 'silent' partner. Coupled with this, DH has been working some very long hours and I get worried about him having had three heart attacks so I nag him and , well you know the rest. Good job he is so good natured. Anyway, enough of me, you see, it's all dross really and under normal circumstances I could eat all of this but I think it's the lack of decent sleep. I have finished the visiting part of the exercise at work so things should be better from here on in.
Sorry again for causing concern, it's really nice though that you all cared, good friends that you are. Promise to be back soon and on a better level.
Oh, by the way, DD rang last night to say her car had been stolen from outside the hospital. She was upset because it was my old one and she had only had it for six weeks. I told her it was a piece of junk anyway and not worth shedding tears over, it's a future can of beans is all. Two weeks ago her purse was stolen from a bar. Nice people she is trying to help with her doctoring skills! Probably the same scum who will need stitching up in ER but the majority of the people she meets up there are the older, really lovely types. State of the world, I guess.
Best wishes
x

BACK FATPUSS!So glad to hear from you again! Also, sorry for all your problems. Things like that can get you down, & drain you mentally, as well as physically. Hope you get to feeling better. Remember, we're here for you any time you need to just "vent"! Bad about your daughter's car being stolen. Just glad she wasn't nearby. Best the car without her in it. It can be replaced. I know she must be very frustrated, though.
I know how it is with the anniversary of your father's passing, also. It's been several years since I lost mine....still, though, on July 27th I'm really down. Hope all gets better soon. Here's you a hug.

Cute pic SunnyD!!
Hi Willow...I'll post more later. Going to check on Gina. Chris isn't arriving today. He did fly out of Iraq...but, for some reason, he's going to Kuwait, then going to fly to a destination "somewhere in the United States"...then, on to Fort Sill. May be a few days yet before she sees him. Army does things strange sometimes. She's just disappointed. Took a few emails from MOM to get her settled down last night.

Ok....hesitated about putting these pics in....but, this is how I looked when I went out with Gina a few days ago. Then, again Saturday with Trina, when we had our day "out". In the first pic...plastic around walls in living room is why it's "strange" behind me. Second pic is DH & me with Gina & Jamie & Tori...the day we said goodbye.Third pic...turned out pretty good, so I colored the background. Too much construction around here for a good background.
Everyone have a good day.

Oh, Puss, welcome back! It's so wonderful to hear from you. And, please, please know that you can post whether you're cheery or not. In fact, if you were cheery all the time, I'd begin to wonder! You've certainly had a lot heaped on you in just a few short weeks. When you add it all up, no wonder you've been getting cold after cold. The immune system can only take so much stress. I hope it helps to write it all down and let us read it and, hopefully, comfort you (without food!). I know it helps me to vent--kind of clears the air. You know, Puss, my mother used to call me when she had drunk too much, and it was incredibly stressful. With feelings of incredible guilt, I finally told her she couldn't call after she'd been drinking. She was upset for a while, but my health was worth more than any feelings of upset she had. And she got over it, and life went on.

Charlotte, what a bummer that your SIL is taking the long way around, so to speak. What do they say about the military--there's the right way, then there's the military way or something like that? I just hope he gets home soon. He's going to get such an incredible welcome. Those pictures, Charlotte! Oh, my, you are so pretty, and what a killer bod! You're definitely an inspiration--a "regular" person over 50 who looks absolutely fantastic. You give me hope!

Speaking of the military, my daughter is out in the Atlantic right now tootling around in "her" destroyer. She's probably puking her guts out, although she did say she has some pills to take. It's kind of a given that they get sick.

Well, it's another beautiful day in Seattle. Not a cloud in the sky and my dogs are itching to go out. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!