Good very early morning to you all. I had to get up and go to the bathroom, let Fortune out and then he was a bit restless so decided I would just peek in at the internet, balance the checkbook, and post.
Finished the first sock for my sister and they turned out really pretty I think and I have completed my slippers and here they are too. I bought a button card with three different sizes and decorations on them, stacked them and sewed them on my slippers. I think they turned out kind of cute that way. I know one thing, I didn't realize how comfy they were. Unfortunately, the non slip on the bottom wants to stick to our linoleum, but maybe it will wear down a bit when not so new and quit doing that.
Susan: So glad you are on the mend and have gotten a lot of rest. You will be getting back to your ole self in no time, and I am sure the rehab is going to be hard once you do. Jack's knee was bothering him just a twinge last night and he took some Advil. He has to really be hurting to take the hydrocodone though. He is so scared of becoming addicted though I told him with all his surgeries and such if he hasn't become addicted to any of the stuff, he isn't likely to. You continue to rest up and get better and glad all that nasty ole water is starting to go down and things can get back to normal a bit.
Maggie: I get catalogues out the wazoo. I get at least 4 a week and that doesn't count all the email stuff for businesses I have ordered from. Most of them go in the trash, but I like my yarn catalogues like you enjoy your glass one I am sure. Sounds like the WW cookbook is great. Jack had grilled squash at the Chinese restaurant a couple weeks ago when he got mongolian bbq and thought the squash was cucumber. He said it wasn't bad!
Jean: I think you are busier these days then you ever were when you taught school for heaven's sake. Don't you know you are supposed to relax in your senior years??? You are becoming a regular CPA with all your money jobs. I am thrilled I am on the last pair of socks then I have all the knitting for birthdays and Christmas done for the year. I have never been done this early. Guess it must be my lightening fast hands, huh? My son's birthday is the end of next month and I think I am going to just get him a restaurant gift card or something like that. Men are had to buy for and that is what I got my sil for his birthday. I ask Jackson what he wanted for Christmas this year and he said, "I don't know!" Kelly told us some hilarious stories about Thomas and clothes buying and I had to laugh to think she is dealing with what we did and is in the "oh my gosh, I am doing what my parents did" mode like all parents do at one time or another. I keep telling her it is just the beginning. He is turning into a real clothes horse and like she said she picks her battles with him so the hair was one she didn't want to battle about even though it drives her nuts. Ahh, those were the days!
Well gals, I am going to finish the toe and they probably go back to sleep for a bit. I thought I was going to miss my finale of Burn Notice last night, but had a surge of energy right before it came on and got to watch it. Wow, another "leave 'em wanting more" episode so next season, which starts in November should be good. Have a great weekend all. I am going to make dog food later this morning and then start cleaning house and getting things organized for next week. Already have my lists started! Faye
Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is peeking through the clouds and it is supposed to hit 80 today. I need to make a grocery run and then I'm home for the rest of the day, I think. My ironing pile is growing, so I really need to work on that today.
Susan -- I'm so glad you are feeling better! I've heard/read where sleep is the best thing when one is sick. I hope that the therapy isn't too painful for you next week.
"Gma" -- on having your Christmas knitting projects finished so early! I know those in-the-know tell parents to pick their battles when it comes to their children. We attended a workshop many years ago, and the gist was that if it wasn't illegal, and it didn't hurt anyone then let it go. If we make a big deal out of something the kid will just drag it out longer. Kolby wanted a mohawk this summer and since no one said anything he had his dad shave it off. Your slippers turned out really cute; I like the colors! The socks turned out pretty -- I'm always surprised how even the stripes come out.
I'm off to make my grocery list! Have a GREAT day and enjoy!
It is a beautiful day in the neaborhood. I am going to go tackle re-arranging the things in the freezer. Schwan man came this moring and Will just shoves things here and there in there. Time once again for me to pull it all out and get it back to exact. I am glad the driver had the Mini Meatball Sandwiches on his truck because the web site said they were temporarily sold out. Interesting seeing the WW CEO on the Sean Hannity show on FOX NEWS last night. Interesting to see him animated and not just a picture in the magazine. Hannity had lost some weight on WW and sang its virtures. Did I mention that the new WW book has rated 16 different kinds of apples. Yep there are a lot of apples. It lists lots of other veggies also like there are 14 kinds of onions. It is an interesting book for it is a go-to glossary of 50 fruits and vegetables to keep you satisfied. I highly recommend it. It will be interesting to meet our house guests wife. She speaks 5 different languages. I wonder if she will be teaching her little girl, when she is old enough, to speak all of them. Well she needs to be born first. But you can bet I will ask her that question when I finally get to meet her. A thought just hit me. Since he couldn't find a place to rent anywhere in town because of the collage students perhaps come December there still won't be any vacancies. Unless they are building some new homes in that tract at the edge of town and they can get in there. We just may end up with the whole family living here in the basement. What fun.
DONNA FAYE The slippers and sox are quite lovely. You do such excellent work. I am sure the twinges of pain Jack gets after his operation will subside then fade away. WOW how neat to have your Christmas all taken care of now. I haven't really gotten going on that yet. I have some things to finish up first before I can begin building for Christmas.
JEAN It is good that you are so busy now that you are retired. You didn't really retire just changed positions. Yep there is a whole psychology to raising kids isn't there. Don't make a big deal of anything. My daughter wanted to get a "cutsie tatoo" when she was a young teen so I said why not get a fake one and wear it around for awhile and see if you want a permanent one. Then I showed her some pictures of old ~ old women with tatoos that were all blured in their wrinkles and she opted to not get one. She now thanks me. Radical things she wanted to do with her hair she was allowed to do if her grades were up. She had her long luscious natural curley strawberry blond hair straightend and all her glorious color went down the sink and she was left with dry hay for hair. She never did that again.
SUSAN I am so pleased that you are feeling better. Good thing that the electridity is back on at your WW center. Losing ones electricity sure puts a crimp in business. Did you happen to see the WW CEO on FOX last night? Nice you are back with us here on the thread.
GAIL Now what have you been up to?
Type at y'all later. I am off to re-arrange my freezer.
Good evening, ladies. It was 91 earlier today but has already cooled down to 84 and it only rained a little this morning.
I took myself to the grocery store since the fridge was bare and to Bed Bath and Beyond to get more K-cups of coffee. I had a 20% off coupon so saved about $8 on an assortment of 60. It just felt good to get out of the house.
Faye, the sock are lovely but the slippers are so beautiful. I like what you did with the buttons. I can't wait until I gets cold enough to wear them. I usually go barefoot in the house in the summer.
Jean, you should go to work for a tax preparer during tax season to round out your financial expertise. LOL
Maggie, I have learned a lot from that cookbook. I never knew what apple was for eating and what for cooking for one thing. I'm trying some new things now. Have you ever made baked kale chips? Everyone is raving about them crisping up like potato chips.
Maggie -- I knew there were different kinds of apples as I've noticed some recipes will specify a certain kind of apple to use. I didn't realize there were so many though. Around here the kids, young and older, are dyeing stripes of different colors in their hair. I think they look strange but they are happy so that's what counts.
Susan -- It was sure hot in your neighborhood today! I don't mind the warmer days when it cools down at night. I like to sleep with my windows open. I enjoy going to Bed, Bath, and Beyond but have to plan my visits when we are in Sioux Falls since the Sioux City store closed quite awhile ago. I could never figure out simple tax forms let alone work for them. I get in a "stew" when I have to look for a mistake in the checkbook and it's usually something stupid that I did myself.
Gail -- Anything fun planned for the weekend?
I'm off to read my book, watch the news, and then head for bed. See you all tomorrow!
Good morning to you all. Well, the tv got turned on at 7:30 AM today and with what, FOOTBALL!!! I cannot believe they have this stuff on this early. I will have to put up with it all day and night as he will watch one college game after another and the Notre Dame game isn't until 8 pm so it will be a late night too! I don't mind the games so much, but why do men have to sit around and liste to hours of pregames with men endlessly talking about different teams and the players and coaches, etc, etc. UGH!
I guess I will start the second sock today and try and take a nap. Fortune was restless again last night and had me up at 3 am and then wouldn't settle down so I could snooze in the recliner this morning.
Today is laundry day again. For only two people we have an awful lot of laundry though I am no longer doing it everyday, but about every third day. Anyway, I have that to look forward to along with chores. I am going to make mashed potatoes, green beans, and chicken fried steak tonight. So, I am going to have to go out and pound the steak in a few minutes and get things started with regards to chores.
Susan: We are still warming up quite abit in the day, but it gets into the 50's at night. Looks like Branson is going to be a bit cool, but not cold or anything. They are expecting rain next weekend which will kabosh my swimming! I am amazed at the number of different types of apples available now. My mom and grandma usually bought mcintosh for cooking and eating as they were cheaper. Grandma always handed them out for Halloween. They would buy bushels of them and the basement smelled like apples for weeks. I like the crisp and tart granny smith, don't care much for a lot of the softer fleshed apples though. If I want a sweet treat I have a granny smith with those little fat free carmel dips.
Jean: I imagine Kelly would put the foot down about colored stripes in Thomas's hair, but the rich kids here aren't into that and he goes to a nicer jr high school. I keep telling Jack I am going to dye my hair pink sometime and I think he believes me. Who knows, maybe I will! Some kids use koolaid as dye as it is cheap, and it doesn't last a long time.
Maggie: I just read an article that said people lose twice as much weight on an organized program versus one by your doctor! I think it is because a lot of times the dr programs are very restrictive and people give up on it because they don't want to have to eat what is on it. WW is the best because of the variety it allows you. I am going to buy the "Eat This Not That" books to have for restaurant choices and such.
Well this is not getting breakfast and getting the day going. You all have a nice weekend. Faye
Good Morning, Flowers! It's another sunny cool morning in my corner of the world. The temperature was 60 degrees when I went downstairs this morning but is supposed to hit the low 80s by afternoon. Since I never made it to the grocery store yesterday that is my first "to do" chore once my hair dries. You'd think I would learn never to go on Fridays or Saturdays. Old habits are hard to break in more ways than one! Bob is off working on his tractor that is leaking oil; he has a plow job coming up so has to get it fixed first.
For any of you who might be die hard Sears applicance fans, Whirlpool no longer makes them. Sears' parts come from China, Japan, or Korea. I finally bit the bullet and inquired about having the repairman come to fix my oven. Well, the first appt. would be Sept. 30th between 8 and 5. There are no local repair people even though we now have a small local hard lines store. The charge is $129 to walk in the door, plus parts and labor. The local sales clerk said that another appliance store would/could do the repairs also. So I called and they no longer work on Sears things; he was the one who told me that Whirlpool no longer makes Sears parts but makes several other brands, Maytag being one. Bob said to check out a new stove at the applicance store so I did and it will be delivered on Monday. I told the guy about my oven and said if the new one didn't bake evenly I would bring them the sloppy goo to show them! I think I might make a cake and take it to them just to see how it bakes. My mom and Bob's mom both had Sears appliances so that's why we leaned towards that brand. Like everything else, "they don't make 'em like they used to!"
"Gma" -- I didn't realize there was Thursday night football now. I know that there seems to be a game on several different channels on any given day. I don't surf like Bob does; I'm just glad he just likes to watch a good game and doesn't care who is playing. Today is the "big" Iowa vs. Iowa State game and you'd think the fans will never see another game the way they carry on about it all week prior to the game. There will be fights and tailgating scuffles take place. What really irriates me is that they don't show the half time band or entertainment but the goofus announcers rehasing the first half! The author of Eat This and Not That was just on the Today Show. Every once in awhile they will show various choices of meals then give the why we should choose one rather than the other. I don't remember the choice now, but the bad choice was 24 Hostess cupcakes vs an entire healthy meal! You and Fortune be sure to get in a catnap today!
My hair is dry so need to get going. Have a super Saturday and enjoy!
It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I have my "to do this day" list made and will tackle it when I get off here. That book you have been talking about Eat This And Not That sounds interesting. I will probably add that one to my arsenal. I have a really good book put out by BH&G folks that is called Eat Well & Lose Weight which has lightened 500+ recipes of things that folks like for instance burgers, lasagna, pizza and cookies. Developed by registered dietitions, the recipes are packed with good for you ingredients, including whole grains, fruits, and veggies. They aren't wierd recipes but favorites revisited and revised to be good for you and tasty. Cooking Light has also put out a book called Fresh Food Fast which is for 5 ingredient 15 minute recipes that have been lightened and are really good. I have cooked lots and lots of recipes from both books that I have tags on to re-do. WW has that little paper back book called Fresh, Fabulous, Fast which is a plus+ book with all recipes under 30 minutes. I always keep my eye out for a good cook book for my program. Life is good. I think tonight for dinner we will have left over spaghetti. It's funny, our guest goes to bed earlier than we do and when I was in my office late last night I could hear him snoring. His bedroom is directly under my office and the heater vent carries sounds. Reminded me that while he is here I need to not be noisey up here. Especially not grind any glass for that machine makes a bit of noise and may even vibrate the floor which is his ceiling. Maybe not, but I will try not to be noisey and disturb him.
DONNA FAYE My doctor out in CA was doing WW and we could talk about the program when I visited which made it nice. We traded recipes even. My doctor here is nice and thin and female and doesn't get on my case at all about my weight. Every time I go to her once a year I have shown a loss and then I get praise. She is young and very bright. I like her. She asked me what was the best program to lose weight and I told her about WW and she said if she ever had to lose she would go there. She recomments the WW program to her hefty patients.
JEAN I don't care for the striped hair look and haven't seen any of that around here but I have seen it on TV. Guess this place isn't "hip." I have seen the dark at the neck and light on the top look and some outrageous colors. I was probably radical when I was a teen for I wore my hair spiked then and it drove my drama teacher nuts. She said it looked great on me but it certainly wasn't glamerous. I left the "glamerous" to other hoitey toitey gals in the class and they hated it because I (not to brag - just the truth) was more popular than they were. Such is life. It was funny when the coastal fog made their curls droop. Life was so much simpeler back then. I liked my hair short for my swimming - life guard class. I always went in with wet hair to my last class of the day so it was best handled being short. Just a bit of my history there. A new cook stove ~ what kind are you getting? I would love to have a gen-aire (sp) which are really trick.
SUSAN Never had baked kale chips. I have never had kale that I recall but I am willing to try it. How would you crisp such a leafy plant into chips? Do you have a recipe for it? I have had Jicama Chips which are real tasty. I have known Jicama all my life, I do believe, and have had it numerous ways. I have a wonderful Jicama salad recipe. That book is a fun read for sure.
GAIL How art thou?
Have a great Saturday my Magnolia friends. Type at y'all later
I was telling Will about that book Eat This Not That and he got on his computer and found it new for $7.88 including shipping. That author has a ton of books and I may buy more if I like this one.
Here is that Jicama Chip recipe I spoke about.
SPICY JICAMA CHIPS
The whole batch for 3 POINTS+
Preheat oven to 425º
Peel ½ small Jicama
Cut into paper thin slices
Blot with paper towels
Toss Jicama with:
1 tsp olive oil
¾ tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp salt
Spread evenly on a baking pan
sprayed w/nonstick
Roast until edges are brown & crisp
about 15 minutes
Serve with ¼ cup fat-free salsa
Maggie -- It is a "warm" evening with a full moon shining over the lake -- so pretty. We just got back from town to get an ice cream cone and Bob put gas in my car enroute. Bob's doctor told him to go by the South Beach Diet guidelines. We did buy the book. My doctor just says eat a "balanced" diet. I picked out a Whirlpool stove that has a couple more features than what I have now -- a warming burner and the oven steam cleans as well as self-cleans. When the salesman told me all the brands that Whirlpool makes I was impressed. I have a friend who has a Jenn air range; her only complaint is that the oven is smaller so that when she has big holiday meals everything won't fit in the oven. She ends up using roasters and crockpots. Thanks for sharing your recipe; I will have to check and see if I have the salad recipe.
JEAN Your new stove sounds wonderful. I wasn't aware the Jenn Air stove had such a small oven. I have the South Beach Diet and The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs books that has been completely revised and updated and they are both by the same author. The second book has the diet broken down in phases and has the foods listed where I can count P/C/F/F on my WW calculator to figure the points. I have tried several recipes out of the book that were very good. You can eat a balanced diet on the South Beach Diet and on WW but I believe you can make the WW program one you can eat the rest of your life. I e-mailed you my Jicama Salad recipe and hope you try it for it is real tasty.
I am fixin' to go cut some zzzzzzzzz's now. Type at y'all later.
Good morning ladies. It isn't as cool this morning as it has been. At least it doesn't seem that way to me. Looks like we are going to get a lot of rain while we are in Branson so it may cut out any outside activities like swimming, miniature golf, that sort of stuff. Otherwise, everything we want to do is pretty much inside.
I did get all the laundry caught up yesterday and am going to put it all away today and get the upstairs cleaned I think. My list is growing by the day. I have lots of things I definitely don't want to forget like stopping the mail, etc so lists save my bacon.
Jean: When our dryer gave out, we bought a Maytag and I love it. When the washer says its last goodbye I imagine we will buy a Maytag with it too. I think our stove is a GE, I am not sure without looking. We have one of those ceramic flattops, which I really like and we have no gas lines here at the condos so only have electric stoves anyway. Glad you got your new stove. We sure do depend on our appliances in this day and age, that's for sure.
Maggie: Thanks for the recipe. I keep wanting to try jicama, but don't know if I would like it and don't know if I should spend money on something I may not like. I guess I should experiment with new veggies some.
Kelly and Tom have already booked next year's adventure and it is a doozy. They are going to Amsterdam, part of which is they are trying to rent a houseboat. She is planning on going to see the Corrie Ten Boom house, which will be cool. I actually have a book signed by Corrie Ten Boom. Then, like I said T told me several months ago, they are going to go up Killamanjaro. They are not mountain climbing as such with the pick and ropes and all that, they are mountain hiking I guess, but going clear to the top. This was not Kelly's idea so she told them that 2013 SHE is picking the vacation! I am sure Thomas will have his usual good time though.
When we get back from Branson, I will then start paying for things for the cruise like reserving Jack a tux on the ship, paying for excursions ahead of time, buying drink cards, making show reservations, that sort of things. A lot of it I can do now, but some things you can only do a couple months in advance. We also have to get passports, which have gone up dramatically since Jack got his first one. His first one only cost $25 and they are now about $120 apiece!!! I also told him I want matched luggage so in December I am going to order us luggage to take. Mine is going to be PINK! We like the soft sided rolling duffle style over regular suitcases and LL Bean has great stuff with high praise from customers about them so that is what we are going to get.
Well gals, I am going to go and start this other sock. I am hoping they "return" my ebook today early so I can take on an audiobook. It makes it so much faster to knit socks listening to an audiobook. Have a great Sunday. Faye
Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's sunny and a nice 81 degrees in my corner of the world this afternoon. We went to church earlier than ususal thinking we had to set up for serving coffee. The men's group was going to serve a breakfast at the same time, so offered to do the whole thing so we lucked out! Church lasted an hour and a half today! We started out by saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the National Anthem which we have never done before. I was impressed. We had communion and Sunday School teachers recognized individually so that all took extra time. The breakfast casserole looked like pancake batter with round sausage pieces and peach slices on top, all baked together. They sprinkled pancake syrup on top as they served it along with fresh fruit. It was good! I've read the Sunday paper and now am waiting for Bob to pull out the stove so I can clean behind it.
"Gma" -- It is warmer here than it has been, but it is supposed to cool down again midweek. You are wise to pay for as much of your cruise expenses beforehand as you can. I've paid for our half of the car and the condo in Maui, as well as the airline tickets. It sounds like Thomas and family are planning quite the trip. Mountain climbing wouldn't be my choice either. Kelly is a good sport. I need a new piece of luggage as mine travelled down the runway, behind the plane, on our last trip . . . or at least that's what it looked like! Mine is red, Bob's is black, and we had the bright yellow straps with our last name printed on them; my strap disappeared!
Maggie -- Thanks for the salad recipe!
Bob just came in so I'm off! Enjoy the rest of your day!
Good morning to you ladies. I am tackling the downstairs today with my buddy helping me, which is nice. He is going to do the vacuuming and already put the dishes in the dishwasher away so that in itself is a plus for me. I hate vacuuming!
It is again kind of sticky outside this morning so those cool mornings have gone away for a bit I guess. I know the ac stayed on most of last night even having it turned up. Looks like a lot of rain over the vacation though, but you get what you get. It looks like 60% rain clear through Tuesday at least. At least we aren't taking a beach vacation, right? Ahh well.
My shoulder is giving me fits this morning. I must have slept on it wrong. I seem to do that once in awhile and boy is it sore for a day or so then. I remember the good ole days of being young and none of that happening! I noticed my knees have been aching more the last few days so I expect we will get rain here as well. I have my own little weather center right in my body.
Jean: Since we aren't flying and the cruise ship has no limits, we are each taking two extra large rolling duffles, a small duffle with our swim suits, change of clothing, etc since our bags don't get to our rooms until around 6 pm or so and a large what LL Bean calls a personal organizer where we can carry our own hygience stuff and this thing hangs over the door and just folds down with all the stuff inside, which is nice because space is limited. Jack is also going to take a garment bag with our dress clothing for formal night. When we get back from Branson, I am going to buy our luggage and purchase our excursions I think then come January start hacking away at the rest, paying off the cruise and buying our passports with our tax refund. It takes more money than people think to go on a cruise if you want to do anything. I mean you can strip it bare, but then you have no money for incidentals and such let alone shopping, souvenirs, etc. Yes, your cruise is all inclusive, but only as far as eating certain places, drinking only what they offer free, which is coffee, tea, and I think lemonade anything else you pay for. Since I am a soft drinker, I am buying us soft drink cards, which are like $50 apiece but allows you to drink as much as you want during the cruise. So you add things up and it can get steep even if you stay in the cheapest room and such. I just finished the cutest book. It was a funny murder mystery called Elvis and the Dearly Departed. It is set in Moorville Mississippi, close to Tupelo of course, and Elvis is a bassett hound that thinks he is Elvis reincarnated. It is a cute and quick read. I got it last night from the library online and finished it this morning already. I am on hold for the next one.
Well, I am stalling hoping the shoulder feels better, but it seems to still be the same so maybe some working it will make it feel better. Have a good start to the week. Faye
This is too wierd. My yesterday post has vanashed and here I am being the first to post this day. Supposed to be a mostly beautiful sunny day here in the Heartland in the 90's somewhere. I showed a pound down at weigh in this morning so am on my way to my goal for the end of the year. Onward and downward keeping my FOCUS, hanging on to it tightly as I go. I don't have much planned for this day. Need to figure what I am doing for dinner but that can be later. One thing I am going to do this day is go through my glass and supplies and figure out what I need to order next month to get going on my projects for Christmas. I don't want to jam myself up to tight in December. Our guest is back in town but went straight to the radio station so we will see him around dinner time. I get to get my teeth cleaned at 1:45 tomorrow. That puts a smile on my face, not that I don't already have one but I really like to get my teeth cleaned. I know I'm nuts but I can live with that. But as of yet I am not certifiable. We have been watching the series of Resident Evil and they are quite different for sure. The main gal is the same one that played in one of the Joan of Arc movies as Joan. Used to be a Canadian Model and her name escapes me but she is a good actress. We have gone through the first 3 and now we need to get the 4th today if Walmart has it. It is quiet a si-fi.
DONNA FAYE I really think you will like jacima. It has a mild crisp taste that blends well with fruit and veggies. I like to eat it sliced along with an orange or apple. I like the crunch. Sounds like Kelly and Tom are going on a neat vacation "not mountain climbing." House boats are fun to run. We used to do that on the delta in CA. We have known folks that live on their house boats. Instead of a motorhome on the road they have a houseboat on the waterways.
JEAN That mens breakfast sounds yummy. I have a good breakfast casserole recipe I need to dig out and make. We like to do that for dinner sometimes. How neat to do the pledge. Did you get your new stove delivered today? What is the first thing you are planning to bake in that oven that heats evenly?
SUSAN & GAIL I do hope you are both well and happy this beautiful day that the Lord hath made ~ rejoice and be glad in it.
Have a good day Magnolias. Gonna go see what I can get into.
Steel Magnolias #43
Faye
I've heard/read where sleep is the best thing when one is sick. 
I hope that the therapy isn't too painful for you next week.
on having your Christmas knitting projects finished so early! I know those in-the-know tell parents to pick their battles when it comes to their children. We attended a workshop many years ago, and the gist was that if it wasn't illegal, and it didn't hurt anyone then let it go. If we make a big deal out of something the kid will just drag it out longer. Kolby wanted a mohawk this summer and since no one said anything he had his dad shave it off. Your slippers turned out really cute; I like the colors! The socks turned out pretty -- I'm always surprised how even the stripes come out. 
Friday Finally
GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS
Interesting seeing the WW CEO on the Sean Hannity show on FOX NEWS last night. Interesting to see him animated and not just a picture in the magazine. Hannity had lost some weight on WW and sang its virtures. Did I mention that the new WW book has rated 16 different kinds of apples. Yep there are a lot of apples. It lists lots of other veggies also like there are 14 kinds of onions. It is an interesting book for it is a go-to glossary of 50 fruits and vegetables to keep you satisfied. I highly recommend it.
It will be interesting to meet our house guests wife. She speaks 5 different languages. I wonder if she will be teaching her little girl, when she is old enough, to speak all of them. Well she needs to be born first. But you can bet I will ask her that question when I finally get to meet her. A thought just hit me. Since he couldn't find a place to rent anywhere in town because of the collage students perhaps come December there still won't be any vacancies. Unless they are building some new homes in that tract at the edge of town and they can get in there. We just may end up with the whole family living here in the basement. What fun.
Around here the kids, young and older, are dyeing stripes of different colors in their hair. I think they look strange 
but they are happy so that's what counts. 
I get in a "stew" when I have to look for a mistake in the checkbook and it's usually something stupid that I did myself.
I don't mind the games so much, but why do men have to sit around and liste to hours of pregames with men endlessly talking about different teams and the players and coaches, etc, etc. UGH!
I am amazed at the number of different types of apples available now. My mom and grandma usually bought mcintosh for cooking and eating as they were cheaper. Grandma always handed them out for Halloween. They would buy bushels of them and the basement smelled like apples for weeks. I like the crisp and tart granny smith, don't care much for a lot of the softer fleshed apples though. If I want a sweet treat I have a granny smith with those little fat free carmel dips.
and Bob put gas in my car enroute. Bob's doctor told him to go by the South Beach Diet guidelines. We did buy the book. 
You are wise to pay for as much of your cruise expenses beforehand as you can. I've paid for our half of the car and the condo in Maui, as well as the airline tickets. It sounds like Thomas and family are planning quite the trip. Mountain climbing wouldn't be my choice either. 
Mine is red, Bob's is black, and we had the bright yellow straps with our last name printed on them; my strap disappeared! 
