Morning all. TGIF!! Chilly today, but I'm happy to see the sun.

Ceejay - Did you get to the gym yesterday? I totally get the ho-hum mindset - must be the onset of late fall/early winter.

Annie - I guess there's no rushing things w/ little Jake - he'll get the hang of breathing soon enough. You'd think no one in last night's exercise class knew how - the instructor kept hollering for us to breathe, LOL!! Guess some folks tend to hold their breath while doing certain moves. Hope Sissy is feeling better. Must be so stressful for all of you worrying about the little guy.

Shad - Ah, I'd been wondering about the wall. Still in the works. You'll have to provide tips - we might want to build a fire pit w/ a wall/bench around it. We'll see if that's even permitted in village... We actually do have an extra fridge in the house over which I feel guilt whenever the electric bill arrives w/ its little insert urging customers to get rid of that old inefficient, underused refrigerator because they are big electricity wasters. Especially ours - sitting mostly empty most of the time. And much of what does go into that freezer quickly becomes forgotten. But when I choose to buy in bulk, it comes in handy. But in the case of the tortillas, this wasn't my choice. Boo. So who exactly is your boyfriend on TV??? I'd like to IMDB.com him and take a look.

Mel - Well, well, well, you've got the maintenance man nicely trained. Nice to have books for the long weekend. Re the produce selection at the market the other day - I noticed they seem to have reduced the amount they carry - fewer displays. Just another sign of the tough times this store is having. I hope they can survive, because I'd sure hate to have another empty space in the area. There's still filling for the chicken tacos, so come 'n' get it!! If I were more motivated, I could've brought the filling and the tortillas to work and heated it in the microwave for lunch... So -with those space bags - I always envision permanent wrinkles after all the air is sucked out of them and they are flat as pancakes with compressed items. Is that what happens?? Or do comforters and stuffed animals return to their original fluffiness?

Annie - LOL, Curtis checked for your breathing!!! Gosh, hope Hella doesn't make those overnight potty breaks a habit. Maybe less water after a certain time, and a mandatory potty break before bedtime?? When it rains, I'm amazed how long Coal can go without going out. (Walks, however, are another matter.) You sound so comfy today! I don't much care about jeans if I can't wear sneakers (or maybe slippers) with them. But if we did a decent job with our fundraiser this year (results pending), our head honcho might give us jeans days during the first quarter of next year, like he's done in the past. We'll see. Scary situation at that school. I'd keep my kid home too! Surprised they don't have today off for Vets Day anyway...Totally agree - too many parents are way too permissive with their kids and want to be their pal instead of parents. Plenty of time for that after they're grown!! I still have oodles of tomatoes - need to pull the really green ones out of the bag and onto cookie sheets (and the window sill) to ripen. Salsa sounds like an excellent idea!!

Michelle - Glad dh is feeling less pain in his knee. You be careful cleaning those gutters!! (wagging my finger at you, lol) We have gutter covers called Leaf Relief (I think), and it's nice that the leaves may fall onto them but they will just blow away - no gutter cleaning necessary. We have a lot of leaves to rake this weekend - two of our 4 big trees are now bare, and the maple leaves didn't change color, but are falling nonetheless. The oak has turned a russet brown, but its leaves are hanging on, as usual. Can't imagine the quantities of leaves from 11 trees!! You could sell that leaf mulch for a profit, haha. Glad it won't be too cold for our outdoor work this weekend! I might skip exercise class tomorrow morning since there's a lot of raking to be done. I'm just worried it could all be for naught because it's supposed to be super windy on Sunday!!

Happy - Safe travels to you and DH!!
===
Despite sore hamstrings yesterday, I went to the Tighter Assets class last night. Wow, I must enjoy torture! Those wonderful across the room squats, and then a killer lunge routine, and a standing ab routine that was done entirely while on our toes. My calves are feeling it, and I'm sure I will be suffering more later on today. Probably good that I skip a class tomorrow and just get a good upper body workout by raking.

Nothing much else to report. The rewards program on my debit card ended in July, so I'm taking my remaining points and redeeming them for some gift cards. I have some "mending" to do - maybe Sunday. The most recent item to need mending is my nylon purse - the stitching that held one end of the strap to the bag came apart in the elevator when I was leaving work yesterday. And guess what - I'd just re-stitched the other end of the strap a few weeks ago! What's the deal - my other bag (same exact bag, different color) didn't do that. And that's the one I'm carrying today. Sigh.

Okay, enough goofing off, back to work. Have a good weekend everyone!

Cheers!

Happy Veterans' Day to all of us in the U.S. ... sorry to fly in and outta the great thread here. Seems little time in the day recently.

Melody, love the look o' that cake slice! So pretty, looks like those nougat candies with taffy and fruit.

I am doing great, have to go get my chicken and rice back out of the oven.

Have a great day, Wordlies! Woot!

Ceejay - Pine needles would be hard to mulch. Luckily the evergreens in the neighbor's yard just behind our back fence don't drop in our yard...just the neighbor's. It's good you're staying home and relaxing. Sorry to hear about your uncle losing his hearing. I thought my hearing was going as I say "What?" and "Huh?" a lot. So I had it checked. The audiologist said that my hearing is fine. I can hear all pitches. She said that what happens as we age is that when there is background noise or if we are focusing on something else, our brain can't discern the words people are saying to us. We can "hear" them...but our aging brain has trouble making them out. She said this can start happening in the mid- to late-40s (right where I am, thanks). I guess I missed what "plug ins" the landlord is replacing. I need to do LOTS of cleaning this weekend and next. I REALLY need the storage space, and DMIL is coming on 11/21.

Laura - For some reason, people tend to hold their breath when doing certain yoga, pilates and strength training moves. Weird, huh? Lunges and Squats? I can do squats okay...but the across the room lunges get me EVERY TIME! I think Shad's TV boyfriend is Holmes from Mike Holmes on Homes...but I'm not 100% sure of that. We put the doggies out at bedtime, and we still have to get up at least once with them during the night. Of course, we have 3...and they're never on the same potty schedule. Getting gutter covers is on our "wish list" for the house. Hopefully next year.

Amarantha - Glad to hear from you! I have the time shortage too. If I can check in 4 times a week, that's pretty good for me. Chicken and rice sounds really yummy! Recipe please?

diyana: The chicken and brown rice bake was just chicken breast fillets, cooked brown rice, frozen broccoli and one can of lower sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup. I layered into a square general purpose baking pan, added 3/4 cup water and baked at 400 degrees for a long time (about an hour) as I like chicken quite well cooked. I then cooled it slightly and cut the chicken and broccoli into smaller pieces and stirred the casserole and spread evenly and baked until brown in a 350 oven (about 10 minutes more), then divided into five servings and froze four (ate one). I entered this as a meal in my diet software, cals 375. For some reason it is not calculating the rest of the totals but I only care about the cals, to be honest. This isn't meant to be a health recipe, just comfort food.

NOW I am going to have the Nana Nap for the rest of the day, although need to do yoga or something later.

Quick post before I leave for the day. My entire lower body is sore. Looking forward to my walk to the train.

Ceejay - Enjoy your weekend at home.

Mel - So what are rice bubbles??!! Not a fan of shortening or white chocolate! Guess I need to Google that, and also look up the word "dessicate".

Amarantha - The rice & chicken sound tasty - I like comfort food!

Michelle - Mike Holmes is a pretty likeable guy! Gosh, I hope we're lucky enough to not have the overnight potty breaks from Coal. It's bad enough I get up once or more for that!

I'm off! Toodles!

Morning all,
So Mel what do you call Rice Bubbles? I thought everyone called them rice bubbles 'snap, crackle and pop'.
Desicated coconut is dried shredded coconut meat. Yes it is called meat. You buy it at the supermarket in a packet. You don't have to make it! Desicated coconut is used extensively on Aussies favourite cake - Lamingtons. Go google that and you will see desicated coconut.
And what do you think you are doing eating that stuff anyway?? It is so sweet it sets my teeth on edge. Would be even sweeter with white chocolate. I prefer rum balls if I am going to eat anything like that. Get out of the Christmas cooking sites and books - naughty girl.

Laura - Michelle is right. Mike Holmes is my tv boyfriend. Don't mind ogling some of his crew either. Isn't it wonderful, straps on bags always break at the worst possible time. Happy sewing.

Amarantha - that chicken does sound good. Might have to give it a go myself.
Good to have you back.

Michelle - Hope you have maximised your talents for the day. Of course you have talent. We all have talent of one sort or another - just depends on whether the talent is fashionable or not as to whether we get famous or not!

Ceejay - sometimes a weekend (or in my case a week) at home is just what the body or brain needs. I have really enjoyed my week by myself. DS2 is away house sitting for friends. But I am ready to rejoin the world on Monday. Need to put some time sheets in so I can get paid as well. That always helps.

Annie - maybe Bella is feeling a little jealous of the roomie. Try putting her out for half an hour or so before bedtime and then let C let her in. Good to hear that lil Jake is still putting on weight. Wish he would put as much effort into breathing tho'.

Happy - still motoring along I guess. Have a good trip and don't forget to take breaks - doesn't do anyone any good to have to have a winch to get a stiffened body out of a car. Been there done that. Stop the car. Walk around it 15 times, change drivers, get back in, drive 2 hours. Repeat.

Okay - gotta go. I didn't post my parcel yesterday. Better get it on it's way today.

MR. MOON WAS OUT TO GREET ME THIS MORNING.
GUESS HE'S NOT READY FOR BED YET.
I HAVE A SMALL CONFESSION.
I ATE ONE PORK CHOP COOKED BY AN OFFICE WORKER ON THURSDAY.
BEEN IN THE LOO EVER SINCE. NEVER AGAIN
I CANNOT DIGEST THAT KIND OF "HARD" MEAT AND.....
I AM HOPING FOR A CURE!!
NOTHING ELSE IS NEW.
PLAYING CATCH UP WITH THE CLEANING A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME.
WATCHING THE HARRY POTTER MARATHON.
WAS DANG COLD YESTERDAY AND LAST NIGHT. SUPPOSED TO WARM UP TODAY.
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY





MICHELLE....HOPE THE DH DOES FEEL BETTER MORE EACH DAY
SORRY THE WEEKEND WILL BE A LOT OF WORK AND NO PLAY!!
REMEMBER TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF TOO!!
PLEASE DON'T OVER DO IT AND END UP WITH SHOTS IN YOUR BACK!!!!!!





CEEJAY......HOPE YOU HAVE A NICE RESTFUL WEEKEND.
TOO Bad THE GUYS COULDN'T FIX THE PLUG INS WHILE THEY WERE THERE.
SORRY TO HeAR ABOUT THE UNCLE'S EARS.
SERIOUS SINUS PROBS CAN ALSO MUTE SOUNDS.
I THOUGHT I WAS GOING DEAF BUTHE SAID IT'S THE CONSTANT FLUID IN MY EARS.





LAURA....THEY JUST DON'T MAKE BAGS LIKE THEY USED TO.
SOMETIMES I LIKE A BAG AND BUY 2. ONE ALWAYS FALLS APART.
TACOS AT WORK WOULD HAVE BROUGT THE WHOLE OFFICE TO YOUR DESK WANTING ONE!!
JUST DON'T BE DOING ANY KILLER LUNGES WHILE RAKING LEAVES!!!!!
HOPE THE HAMSTRINGS SURVIVED!!!

**DESICATED COCONUT IS HEATING SHREDDED COCONUT IN THE OVEN AND THEN MASHING OR GRINDING IT TO A MORE POWDERY CONSISTENCY. RICE BUBBLES ARE RICE KRISPIES CEREAL THE SHORTENING IS MADE FROM PURE COCONUT OIL. IT'S CALLED COPHA.





SHAD......HOW IS THE WEEK GOING? GET THE CHORES ALL DONE??
HAVE YOUDEFINITELY DECIDED WHERE YOU WILL TRAVEL TO NEXT?
BET SUNDAY IS CLINGING ON TO YOUR FOR DEAR LIFE.
I WILL HAVE TO STAY OFF THE COMNPUTER THIS WEEKEND.....TOO MANY SWEETS OUT THERE.
AND IT'S SOOO EASY FOR ME TO FIND THEM ALL WITH SUCH A FAST COMPUTER!
SO NOW WHO'S FAULT IS THAT??




AMARANTHA.....CHICKEN & RICE....YUM!!
I TRY NOT TO DO COMFORT FOODS BUT IT'S HARD NOT TO.

Good morning from Lincoln, IL. It took the movers 3 days to pack the house so we didn't get out until 2pm Friday. Stopped in middle Illinois to crash for the night. Both of us are sore as oh hey. Tired too and we have another 14 hours to drive. But we'll get there. Just wanted to check in. Will post more once we get home and get the Internet going. Have a good weekend!

Happy
Just think a few more hours and you'll be home sweet home in your new home. Then the fun starts--unpacking.

Mel
The landlord's guy's might have to wait till Thursday. I want to be there when the start to make sure all things get done. One said that they didn't go inside once they heard the alarm. I thought to myself oh the talking door. My uncle thought he was having some ear problems due to sinus problems

Shad
I fully understand about being home. I've really needed the quiet time and doing things I've wanted to do. I'm back to work tomorrow also.

Learned something new--didn't know chicken and rice was a comfort food!!!!

Reached up in the cabint yesterday for something and found something sticky. Ended up throwing away the whole contents of the cabinet. One of the can's exploded--didn't know it would do this--was afraid of botulism but as I looked at the dates oh my back to 2007. I bleached the cabinet and took out one part of the shelf paper. That took all afternoon.

Today I went to super Walmart in Blytheville and bought a few more can's. I will not be over stocked. I need to look in the freezer and do the same thing.

Afternoon all,
Spent the morning going for my run/ walk and diggin over the garden and I transplanted the rhubarb plant and a couple of stray lettuces, planted the lettuces and rocket. Then I washed towels and DS2's doona cover and pillowslips. While the mouse is away..... mother mouse gets up and cleans up his stuff. Then I cleaned, dusted and tidied up in the lounge room. Just need to sweep up this end of the house now and it is done.
Now I am off for a nana nap. Don't know how I am going to get through next week with no naps.

Mel - your moon picture reminded me of the other night when I was sitting in the lounge I could see this orange through the blinds. I got up to go have a look and found an orange moon rising. It was gorgeous. But it was a full moon and soon enough I could here the sirens going in the distance as the idiots ran into each other and overdosed and did all those things that come with a full moon.

Happy - I see through facebook that you are well into your drive. Safe travels and happy landings.

Ceejay - cans can and will explode if there is a problem with the process or they are too old and somehow air can get in. Had the same thing with cans of beetroot once. They started to bulge and I rung the company that made them and asked what the use by date was. Apparently they were out of date, so they sent me a whole lot of more recent ones. Since I had got the original cans for free and wasn't overly worried whether they were good or not, I was surprised to say the least.

I suppose (not enthusiastically) that I should go and get ready for the coming week. Weekend has gone too fast.

Hello Worldies! I am still reading backwards on the thread a bit to try to catch up to thy doings so I can make more detailed responses!

This is a nice group!

Loved reading about the coconut. I am a huge coconut fan and especially fond of coconut water, which is widely available where I live and is a great sports drink with no added sugar (except one kind I get that is chocolate flavor and does have a bit of cane sugar). Coconut water has tons of potassium and other electrolytes and during our hot season, it is Nirvana to me.

I will be continuing the comfort food creation tomorrow (today, actually), keeping it relatively healthy for my diet plan.

Mel, loved the moon picture!

Ceejay, good thing the can exploded in the cabinet, maybe. Would have been awful if it did it when you were opening it.

Woot! See ye all! To all, mentioned or un- ... have a great week!

MORNING CHICKS

HOPPE THE WEEKEND IS GOING WELL FOR EVERYONE.
HAD A PRODUCTIVE DAY ALL FOR MYSELF.
EVERY STITCH OF SUMMER STUFF IS IN THE BAGS AND SAFELY STORED AWAY.
BTW LAURA....I HAVE NEVER USED THESE BAGS BEFORE SO I'LL LET YOU KNOW NEXT SUMMER ABOUT WRINKLES!!
I AM ALSO NOT AN "IRONER" SO HOPE THE WASHER & DRYER CAN DO THE TRICK!!!!
THE WORST PROBLEM SO FAR THIS WEEKEND IS FALLEN LEAVES THAT BLEW INTO THE LOBBY.
THEIR MOVING ABOUT WAS HOLDING THE "MAGIC" DOORS OPEN
CALLED IN A MAN AND HE VACUUMED.
I ALMOST DID IT MYSELF. THEN SAID WTF ARE YOU NUTS?!?!
OK....IT'S BREKKIE TIME AND I AM HUNGRY THIS MORNING.
HAVE A SUPER DAY





CEEJAY.....CHICKEN & RICE IS REALLY NOT COMFORT FOOD TO ME.
AT LEAST NOT IN MY BOOKS. MAYBE MAC & CHEES IN HUGE BOWLS!!
HOPE THE MEN GET IT ALL DONE THURS.
HAD A LAUGH AT THE TALKING DOOR.
THANK GOD THE CAN EXPLODED IN THE CABINET. BUT WHAT A MESS YOU HAD.
THAT'S ONE WAY OF SPRING CLEANING!!!!





HAPPY.......HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GLAD TO SEE YOU REPORTED IN AND SAFE TRIP HOME!!!
CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR "NEW BEGINNING" STORIES.




SHAD.......OMG FULL MOONS!!! THEY CAN BE THE BANE OF MY EXISTANCE HERE.
THIS BUILDING GOES NUTSO AT TIME LIKE THAT. YOU CAN IMAGINE.
ABOUT THE ONLY THING THEY DON'T DO IS HOWL!!!
TOO RIGHT ABOUT THE SIRENS WHEN THE OL' FULL MOON COMES IN TO PLAY.
HOPE YPUR WEEK GOES BY QUICKLY WITHOUT A NANA NAP EACH DAY.
HOW ARE THE PLANS FOR A NZ TRIP COMING ALONG??
THINK YOU'RE GOING????





AMARANTHA......YOU HAVE A GREAT WEEK TOO.
WHERE IS YOUR HOME IF YOU DON'T MIND ME ASKING.
SEEMS TO BE A CHICKEN-Y WEEKEND.
I HAVE CHICKEN MARSALA YET TO EAT.

Mel
I thought of you this morning as I pulled up to the highway to go to work. There was the full moon in the daylight. It looked exactly like the picture you posted.

Amarantha
Read your journal last night. Most of my journal buddies are on FB now.

-----
It's been windy that past couple of day's. I don't like it. Rain is moving in tonight. Back to work today. Already had to call my super to change over the chlorine and put a couple of bags of lime in the lime machine.
All is well in my little corner of the world.

Morning all.

Shad - Happy Monday to you. Def make those time sheets a priority!! I love most sweets, but not coconut. I've had a can if coconut water I bought on clearance sitting around a couple months, too chicken to try it, but I like the idea of cooking rice in it, like u said u do...

Mel - Hope you've gotten over the pork experience. No, no killer lunges while raking, but the hamstrings got a bit more work from all the bending to gather twigs & scoop poop. My back was a bit sore after my 3 hours in the backyard, but my thrift store heat in the microwave bean bag heating pad did the trick.

Happy - Hope the rest of the trip went well. I bet getting that new bed set up was a top priority!! Get your rest- it'll all be waiting for you to unpack.

Ceejay- ugh, the exploding can sounds like a mess. I've got a couple cans in which I should check the date...

Amarantha - I didn't know there was flavored coconut water until last night when I watched a show about how people made their millions and the feature was a couple guys in the coconut water biz - I think it was vita-coco brand. That makes me think I'd have the same opinion as I do of green tea - needs flavoring to be palatable, lol.

Hellos to Annie & Michelle.
---
Nothing much to report. Windy as heck here. Glad we got the yard raked& the leaves out to the front curb - if the blow, at least there's a good chance they will blow off our property! Bf also raked/blew leaves in front. This is the last week of curb pickup, so any leaves we can get rid of now is key. After this week they will need to be bagged. Boo.

Today is laundry & my mending... After a bit more tea & newspaper reading.