Happy Fourth to you all! They were celebrating last evening until late setting off fire works here at the condos. Luckily, one neighbor has moved out and the other one is an older couple with no kids so they weren't doing the stuff in the back yards on either side of me like years before. I would find my back yard full of fire crackers cylinders and the like when the crummy neighbors lived there.
Susan: I am going to send you an email as I am not getting anything you send me. I am assuming you sent me the fingerless gloves pattern and I never got that. Sounds like you got some delicious fruit. I too love fruit. I got some beautiful ripe plums and white nectarines last time and a delicious canteloupe. One of the free fruits I don't like is honedew melon.
The family leaves for Egypt today but they sure did have a fine time in Italy. She posted lots of pictures on Facebook so I sort of went on vacation with them in a way. There are some true historical things in Rome. They have also gotten to eat some great Italian food.
I think I am going to get upstairs and get bathrooms cleaned this morning, but Jack and I stayed up late watching tv. We got kind of nostalgic. The Godfather was one of the movies we went to see when we first started dating. It was on last night and Part II also. Jack came downstairs and watched part II with me and we didn't go to bed until near midnight. I never stay up that late and I got up at 6 to let the dog out and go to the bathroom so I just stayed up. I have the leg on the one sock done and it is fabulous. I would love to make a fine gauge sweater out of it but it would probably cost me $300 to make a sweater out of this yarn. The colors are wonderful.
Well, I see Memphis Beat is on this morning so I think I will watch it. Have a great 4th today! Faye
Good afternoon, Ladies! Heat has returned back in the 90s.
I went to church and then stopped by Walmart and got 4 bags of mulch for my flower beds. I'll get up early tomorrow and work on them before it gets hot. I have all my meals planned for this week and that is good because if I have written it down, I'll eat it. I want to have a good WI on Saturday.
Fay, I did send the glove pattern. Send me an email and I'll hit reply, attached the pattern, and send it back. Italian food is so good. They don't eat huge plates of pasta, but just a little as a side dish. Everything is fresh and healthy. They eat fruit for dessert. How's Jack's knee this day?
Time for lunch and then I might find a movie to watch.
Happy 4th of July! Thanks to all our armed services for keeping us free and safe. I can't believe there are no emoticons for this day.
Good morning all! Just a quick note as I know everyone is busy with their holiday weekend. Jack is going to grill out today, but nothing else exciting here. I am going to try and finish the first sock and then start on the next one so I can get them done. I am almost done with my sister's first footie sock too. I also have another pair on the needles that was to be for Kelly, but looks too much like a male sock so will make for Thomas.
Jack and Fortune are still asleep and Marty finally settled down. He was roaming around the living room and then barking at me and I wasn't sure what he wanted. He had food and water and I had let him outside. He is sleeping on his pillow now so whatever was bothering him must be ok.
Hope everyone's long weekend is going well. Take care and will talk to everyone tomorrow. Faye
Good morning, ladies! Hot. Not humid, a big plus. No rain in sight.
Disabled American Vets pick up donations in our neighborhood today. I have 6 boxes and 4 of their bags filled and on the curb. I did call just to be sure they were coming. My house is going to be minimal or I'll die in the attempt.
There were lots of fireworks last night. Poor Cupid didn't know what to do. I'm working on the flower bed this morning. I probably won't get more than that done before its too hot. Its a start. It's only 84 right now but headed for high 90s. This afternoon I'm watching a movie and appliquing. Work tomorrow!
I slept in and it felt good. I have a stuffed up head and feel a tad bit dizzy when I get up to fast from laying down. This will pass for I don't feel too bad otherwise. Well let me re-say that...I showed being up 2 pounds this day and that isn't good but I had a nice talk with self and will have a good week starting NOW. I didn't track any at all last week and I need to do that to succeed. It is raining as I type. There were beautiful fireworks all around last night. Standing in our yard we could turn 360 and see them every where we looked. Patriotic folks around here and they promptly quit at midnight. Will is out shopping and Ragg Mopp is downstairs with our guest. It is nice to have a rainey day to water our plants but the humidity rises and I don't like that part.
DONNA FAYE I am so glad your daughter and her family are having such a good time of it and able to share it with you. Italy was one of the most favorite places my folks said they had visited. They went somewhere "over there" every other year many times after my father retired. The year they didn't go they went somewhere in this great US of A. I have a few gold charms they brought back for me from different countries.
SUSAN Sounds like your flower beds will get a good look when you get that mulch spread. Helps hold the moisture in. Cupid is like Ragg Mopp with the fireworks. He doesn't flinch when we are out shooting but there is something about the sound of the fire works that his ears pick up that make him miserable.
JEAN Good day to you.
Well ladies I am off to get something done. Something. Type at y'all later.
Good Evening, Flowers! We are home once again and done with over -nighters for the summer, I hope! I hate packing to go and unpacking when I get home even worse. I've got laundry going and think I will head for bed shortly. I just don't sleep as well when we are gone and still seem to wake up long before anyone else is moving around.
We had a cloudy 4th but no rain. The kids had a ball playing in the water and riding in the boat. Bob took them out in the boat to watch the fireworks and that is fun. There was a dog next door that would jump in the lake to retrieve his ball, and Ian went over to play with him. The dog (a lab) played so hard his owner had to actually carry him out of the lake at the end.
We all left at the same time -- Beth and Jason drove in rain part of the way home and we had a downpour after we got home. I'm too tired to catch upon the past posts so will try to do that tomorrow. I'm working in the church office again tomorrow, so I'm heading to bed.
Good morning everybody! It is already warm here this morning so I imagine we will be getting steamy weather later on.
Jack's knee is much better. I think the anti-inflammatory has helped quite a bit. He has to go back to the orth dr a week from today, but it isn't bothering him at all so I think he just strained it. It is one of those things we will have to keep an eye on more than likely.
We didn't do much yesterday. Jack grilled out and I watched a lot of tv. We watched the ballgame in the afternoon and Jack went up to his office in the evening. I was tired and just went to bed early.
Kelly has been great about posting pictures of their trip on facebook. I found this one kind of amusing. It is a picture of their bedside table and the blue markings on the corner of the table point the way to Mecca. I guess not everyone knows which way to kneel and pray. She has a lot of great pictures of some of the regional food that I imagine Jack would starve to death rather than eat.
I also posted a picture of a photo from the South Bend Tribune. If you notice from the heading it is Jackson! My sister called me yesterday and asked if I had seen it online, but the online newspaper didn't have it. I saw it on facebook as one of Jay's friends posted it. It is very Norman Rockellish, isn't it? I imagine none of his subjects wear dinosaur tshirts though!
Susan: Surprisingly, the dogs didn't bark at all the noise on the 4th. We had a lot of banging that sounded like it was on our deck, but the dogs didn't bark at all. I told Jack we are going on vacation next year then the following year I am going to start pairing down too and get rid of stuff, pass stuff on, etc. I am tired of dealing with it. We don't have big family dinners and such anymore as everyone is now spread out and I just don't want the stuff in the house. Kelly has semi nagged about my mother's china which I told her she would get so when we do the clean out I will give them to her and the other set to Jay and Alicia. I want to take the spare bedroom and convert it into a walkin closet for Jack and I then buy a sofa bed for downstairs in case the kids come to visit. I want to convert what now has the dining table in it into a big pantry and storage area because Jack and I don't eat at the table anyway and when Jay and Alicia are here, we usually eat at Kelly's if it is a holiday meal.
Jean: I imagine the packing and unpacking would wear you out. I hate coming home from a trip and unpacking and putting away, partly because I take so much stuff. I take my knitting and books, the portable dvd player and movies, the cooler, snacks, then our hygiene bag I take the normal things plus everything I can think of in case of illness or injury, bandaids and salve, stomach upset, diahrrea meds, sore throat, etc, etc. So, I end up having to put all that stuff back. I can't believe how big all your grandkids are getting. Ian I think is just a bit younger than Thomas isn't he. He is probably the one I think looks less like the others, but the girls and the littler boys sure do look a lot alike.
Maggie: We haven't gotten much rain and we really do need it. The intense heat has sure dried things out. It will be a concern for the farmers here before long. I noticed the beans and corn are up pretty well the last time we went to the commissary. We have to drive country once we turn north to the commissary so we see a lot of farm land. There is a huge area of cotton of course, but they grow beans and corn there too. Don't sweat too much about the gain, it will come back off. I know you are a slow loser and so that is a concern, but overall you do very well.
I guess I better get started on some chores. The doggies went outside and are now laying down quietly so I might just get that first sock finished sometime today. Have a good one all. Short work week this week. Faye
Good Evening Flowers! I had a post ready to send and hit "something" that sent it into never never land! I worked in the church office today and it was a bit crazy. We have ESL classes going on for the next 2 weeks; we provide transportation, food, toothpaste, tooth brushes, and I don't know what all for these kids. Of course there were kids that came this afternoon to sign up -- class ends at noon. I thought I would be done being in charge of the phone today but the secretary called and will be a day later coming back than she thought.
"Gma" -- I hope the 3rd change of plans will bring forth a great trip to Florida! Thank you for sharing the cute pictures of T and the cat as well as the one of Jackson. I'm glad Jack's knee is not injured seriously; I hope it doesn't bother him too much. Bob's idea of packing is the bare minimum and if he forgets something he'll just go buy it. I did a mental list this time and forgot a few things so we did make a trip to WM. The WM at the lake is a whole lot nicer than the one here; the clerks are much friendlier as well as having more of them. All check outs are open on the weekends (during the tourist season) which is a novelty for us.
Susan -- I had to chuckle at the names of your quilt pieces. Are they your private names or would any quilter know them? Thank you for sharing the fireworks link; I haven't had time to read through all of my emails yet. I wish we could donate to a veterans' charity. Your house will be so squeaky clean with lots of free space! I felt bad we weren't home for the fireworks because I know Ernie doesn't like them. He doesn't like loud thunder either.
Maggie -- I hope you are feeling better today! You will have the 2#s gone along with some friends next week. I know that journaling helps me, but I get lazy and don't do it all of the time. This past week the leader reminded us to return to measuring exactly instead of eye balling the portions. I know my guesstimate is larger than the "real" thing.
I have a load of laundry to put in the dryer and then will head off to bed. I'm looking forward to having some days to myself again . . . maybe next week!
Good morning gals. I just removed the chicken from the crockpot to cool so I could shred the meat. We are having chicken and noodles for dinner tonight. I have a lot of work I would like to accomplish today if I can, but I didn't sleep well last night. I had some leg cramping again so will up my potassium today and see if that helps. It woke me up about 4 times last night and I am one of those people who take forever to go back to sleep.
Here is my crazy grandson doing the Egyptian dance in front of the pyramids. Looks like everyone is having a great time. Marty seems to adjusted being here just fine too though he and Fortune were so antsy last night while we were watching the baseball game they about drove us nuts.
I have decided to dye my hair red again, but though I bought my dye am going to wait until closer to going to Indiana so it will be a nice rich color. I really like having red hair and the darker color seems to help with the thinness of my hair. My hair is really fine and seems to be a lot thinner than it used to be so when it is the color it is now you see my scalp a lot more. We only have a couple more weeks and we leave for Indiana and can take Jackson his bicycle. I told Jack I hope we don't forget it. It has been sitting in the dining room with his helmet since we bought it.
Jean: I have been to some Walmarts that are better than others, and it does seem like since they remodeled most of them there is more room in the stores, but I still can't find anything. I wander around the store looking for it and a human that works there, then you find one and ask and they have no idea where what you want is!
I hope everyone has a great hump day. I am off to shred the chicken into the stock since it should be cooled then get some more work started before it gets too hot. Faye
What a racket outside...it is raining and the street sweeper is going down the road. Gracious one would think he would wait until the rain stopped. I am thankful for the rain we have been getting. Don't know what happened to our corn but it tasseled and didn't make any ears. Maybe the heat but who knows ~ next year we are going to put shade over the garden. I wanted to do that this year but the head gardener didn't opt for it so ... I'll not start with the I told you so's though. Next year we WILL shade the garden. My brother in law is supposed to come by today or tomorrow. He never did get back with us to finalize the date so we will see him when he gets here. Our house guest had to make a run to Great Bend for his campaign work this day and will be gone for the next couple of days. Today I am going to make baked parmesan chicken, rice, green beans and salad for dinner.
DONNA FAYE Wouldn't you do just that if you were in Egypt in front of the great pyramid? I know I couldn't resist the temptation if it were me there. What a cute picture of T doing it. All the Walmarts did the remodeling thing to make the shelves lower for they won't be handling as many products as they used to. Most all of the things they sell these days come from China for we don't do our own manufacturing anymore. Around here the Walmart stores are called the Chinese Outlet Stores. I imagine ole Sam turning over in his grave marveling at what has happened to his stores. AH red. I do mine red for the same reason you are going to go back to doing yours red. Thinning locks which mine are due to the meds I take plus the getting older thing. Did your chicken cook overnight in the crock-pot? I like to do it that way then next morning I can shread it.
JEAN You haven't had much of a Summer off work yet have ya. All that time you spend subbing for the secretary uses up play time. I can imagine your cat hiding under something during the fire works. This is the first year that they allowed regular folks in neighborhoods to buy those rockets that fly way high and make the great puffs of color in the sky. We didn't buy any and had such a wonderful display all around us. We did end up with spent rocket papers in our yard as if we did set some off, which the breeze distirbuted. The rain came and disintgrated what residue did land here though. The whole neighborhood was alive and it was like we were in the middle of it all. Lots of ooos and aaahs and not one sound of a fire engine having to be dispached. We have had enough moisture here that they were able to lift the ban on the flying works.
Well I had better go now and get something done this day that is productive. I have been on this computer reading the news and posting while having my first coffee of the day. Now I am ready to face the world.
Have a wonderful humpday Magnolias. Type at y'all later.
Good afternoon lades. It's 99 right now so it'll be over 100 today...and humid. We also have the bad air alert in effect for the foreseeable future. Guess who's staying inside?
I'm really in "get rid of it" mode now. After I put all that stuff out Monday, I started in again today and have 2 boxes and half a bag just from this morning. DH was such a pack rat. I also have 2 extra bags of trash. After I finish this I'm going to go up and give it another hour. I'm having fun!
Faye, loved those pictures of the boys. T is going to talk your ears off when he gets home. How wonderful to go on these trips. When Stan was still here I used to color my hair strawberry blond or light red. My birth certificates list my hair as being strawberry blond and I do have that coloring in my complexion. Since he died, I keep it ultra light blonde. I'd love to have beautiful white hair but it isn't getting grey very fast.
Jean, those are common quilting terms. We have lots of silly names like that because quilters are fun loving people. I donate to Disabled American Vets and they pick up on the first Monday. On the very next day, Disabled Vietnam Vets pick up. I can't think why they don't change the pickup to a week more more later. I don't give them anything because I can't find any of the stores locally so they much be southside (Norfolk, VA Beach) and they have more people over there than we do. We also have Salvation Army, Goodwill, Daughters of Chairty, and some other locals. I have no desire to have a yard sale and sell the stuff. I have taught ESL for the Diocese of Richmond. It was a very rewarding experience.
Maggie, its illegal to sell fireworks, sparklers, or the like on the Peninsula so we have to cross the Coleman Bridge to get our supply (about 10 miles). People have them and the cops look the other way. The street sweepers here put water down and then sweep to keep from stirring up dust so I guess they could skip that if it were raining. Virginia roads are kept up and the litter is picked up because we still have convicts working on them. You can spot those orange jump suits a long way away. They have their own portable potty that follows them on its own carrier. In this heat, using that must be true punishment.
Time for my break to be over and getting back for one more hour of work.
Have a great afternoon and evening.
Good Evening, Flowers! It's quiet in my corner of the world tonight since Bob is at the office and the TV is off. We had a rain shower this afternoon and now it is just pleasant outside. I think I am done at the church for awhile. The secretary is due back tomorrow and we got the newsletter finished today. She needs to check the mailing zones and they'll go out tomorrow. I didn't realize that every address has their own 4 numbers tacked on to the zip code. I thought the last 4 were by individual towns; I learned something new today!
"Gma" -- I've been having leg cramps quite often. I started taking water to drink while I'm at the church and I haven't had any for several days. I don't know if the water helps or not, but I'd like to think it does. T is going to have some great pictures when he gets home. He is a ham for sure!
Maggie -- Fireworks are illegal in Iowa, but we are so close to NE and SD that the "offenders" travel to purchase them across the border. I haven't heard any tonight so maybe they are finally done. We can have snakes and sparklers, but "we" didn't even have those. I worry about the kids getting burned on the metal sparkler sticks and the snakes make a mess on the cement.
Susan -- I wish you could come and pitch my stuff! My intentions are good but it seems to accumulate faster than I can sort and pitch. I hate doing garage sales . . . they are a lot of work!
I think I will start on a "to do" list for tomorrow since I get to stay home. I really need to do some grocery shopping. Have a terrific Thursday!
Good Morning, Flowers! It's a nice "cool" morning and my windows are open. I'm sitting here thinking I should get busy but just feel like I could be lazy all day and not feel guilty. I do need to go to the grocery store.
Guess I will make my grocery list and head for the store. I am so anxious to have sweet corn so will drive around and see if any is being sold out of pick-ups this morning. It is just picked and 100% better than what is in the stores.
Good morning to everyone. Time to do the downstairs today, but it is going to be a trial with both dogs. Marty tends to follow me around and I worry about tripping over him and of course if Fortune thinks Marty is getting attention he isn't he will follow me around too!
Susan: I am with you on the yard sale. Unless I desperately needed the money, they are too much work and then what doesn't sell you have to lug back in until someone can come get it or you put it away. I used to have one every time we were transferred to try and keep our weight limit down, but I am too old to fool with that stuff. Have you ever watched "The Messiest Home in America?" Man, those people really have yard sales. I watched one the other day where they rented a 10 sq foot closed furniture store and filled the place up with these people's stuff. Their house was chest high in every room full of stuff. They were compulsive shoppers and the boy had Christmas presents still unopened in his room! Their basement had stacked of brand new childrens' toys that had to be thrown out because there was mold in the basement! The yard sale made nearly $18,000 so that tells you something because they sold it about 10-50 cents on the dollar.
Jean: I imagine you are happy to have you day to day life back again and give the church duties back to the secretary. Did you see the article online about the priest who was mad at the catholic church and extored over a million dollars from the church? He used church money to set up an apartment for his lover in New York city, spent hundreds of thousands on dinners, theater and clothing. Sent another lover to Harvard and gave both of them opened ended credit cards which they used big time. He said he was furious over the catholic churches stand on homosexuality and hated being a priest. I guess just leaving the priesthood wasn't an option? He also allowed a private cell phone company to put a antenna on the church steeple and collected $200,000 from that for his personally use. I don't think prison is the right place for people like that. I think he should have to work in a base job at low pay and pay every cent back. It is no wonder you can't get people into church anymore, they have no one to look up to. I mean, I know that humans are humans be they clergy or parishners, but they get up in front of you and preach what you should do and they should live by that too, especially in churches of my denomination who tend to call you out when you do something wrong. I am back to the feet swelling again and that seems to cause some of the cramping so I am going to try and bulk up on water to make sure I get enough and see if that helps. One of my problems is I am on a bp diuretic and the more I drink, the more I go.
Maggie:Oh, I am so sorry your corn didn't come in. That is a bummer. It is one of my very favorite summer foods along with great tomatoes. Here is a picture of T and his dad and this one scared the behooties out of his Nonny. They are swimming in the NILE!!!! I think they are doing some riverboat trip down the Nile now as I have not seen any pictures posted on facebook. I kind of look forward to them each day to see what they are doing. Yes, I put my chicken in the crockpot and cook it all night on low. Man, by morning the whole house smells like yummy chicken and the chicken is divine that way. The chicken and noodles were great last night.
Well gals, sitting here is not getting work done. I guess I better get to it. With my feet swollen so bad again it takes me quite awhile to do the whole downstairs because it causes pain in my feet and legs. Have a great Thursday! faye
Good morning, ladies! The humidity is killing me today. I had to take trash to the curb in that monster of a bin this morning and I was so short of breath when I came in I just had to sit for awhile. Still made it to work on time.
Faye, not many 11-year-olds can say they have swum in the Nile! What a trip. I'm sorry you are having problems with all that swelling again. Priests can leave the priesthood anytime they want. It takes a papal dispensation from their vows to be in good standing with the church again, but no one makes them stay for any reason. If anyone knew he was homosexual, he'd have been forced to make a decision to leave or stay. All priests take a vow of celebacy. I imagine he'll be getting some jail time out of this. Maybe he can be Big Bubba's girlfriend while he is there. I haven't watched that particular program but I do occasionally watch Hoarding. I just can't imagine how some people live like that year after year.
Jean, maybe now you can have some playtime! I'm still doing Fly Lady and find setting the time for tasks and breaks. I'm amazed at how little time some jobs take. I usually put stuff off because I think they will take hours and they end up getting done in my 30 minute stint just fine. Anyway, I will be done with the last 2 rooms this month and then get them painted and back to order next month. Then it's time to clean the carpets and stairs and my house will be good to go with just doing FLs Zones.
Maggie, sorry about the corn. I get it at the farmer's market and it is so fresh and good.
Steel Magnolias #33
I can't believe there are no emoticons for this day.
This afternoon I'm watching a movie and appliquing. Work tomorrow!
Moody Monday
I worked in the church office today and it was a bit crazy. We have ESL classes going on for the next 2 weeks; we provide transportation, food, toothpaste, tooth brushes, and I don't know what all for these kids. Of course there were kids that came this afternoon to sign up -- class ends at noon. I thought I would be done being in charge of the phone today but the secretary called and will be a day later coming back than she thought. 
I did a mental list this time and forgot a few things so we did make a trip to WM. The WM at the lake is a whole lot nicer than the one here; the clerks are much friendlier as well as having more of them. All check outs are open on the weekends (during the tourist season) which is a novelty for us.
You will have the 2#s gone along with some friends next week. I know that journaling helps me, but I get lazy and don't do it all of the time. This past week the leader reminded us to return to measuring exactly instead of eye balling the portions. I know my guesstimate is larger than the "real" thing.
I am thankful for the rain we have been getting. Don't know what happened to our corn but it tasseled and didn't make any ears. Maybe the heat but who knows ~ next year we are going to put shade over the garden. I wanted to do that this year but the head gardener didn't opt for it so ... I'll not start with the I told you so's though. Next year we WILL shade the garden. My brother in law is supposed to come by today or tomorrow. He never did get back with us to finalize the date so we will see him when he gets here. 
I do need to go to the grocery store.
so will drive around and see if any is being sold out of pick-ups this morning. It is just picked and 100% better than what is in the stores.
