Howdy all,

Monday rolls around the corner again. Sure does come fast. I have a quiet week ahead which is nice. Think I'm going to skip yoga today. I had a very bad night - pain in the bones again, I must have woke up every hour - I'd lay on my side and wake up to intense pain in the hip. Not sure if it's weather or food related, probably a bit of both. Today's yoga session is rather intensive, sometimes that's a bit much and makes the pain worse so I think I'll stay in and do one of the Peggy Cappy Yoga for Pain DVDs for an hour. I did get the 3 boxes of books off the living room floor that have been sitting there for over a year Sorted through them, organized them into the bookcase. I am going to set a goal and try and read 2 books a week. More than half of the books in the case are one time reads and donates back to the thrift shop. Have to empty my bookcase to make room for all the good books that will be coming in May when people come back up north here and donate their winter's reading to the shop - that's when we get the best stuff.

Are any of you still watching Downton Abbey? What do you think of the current season? I'm not as fascinated as I was at first. I don't like it when they do a period piece and then put modern situations in it. For example - Lady Mary "sampling" lovers for a new husband? While I know that since time began people have been sexually active, I just think the prim and proper Brits of nobility would not be following the same urges as the peasants. The men of course always had mistresses but it just doesn't fit to me with Lady Mary doing the same. Too much opportunity for scandal. Same with Lady Edith chasing her child. Downright scandalous for a woman to have a child out of wedlock, I somehow don't think that would have been handled in that way. And then there is Thomas the servant - why is it now a days there must be a gay role in every show on TV? I'm sure in those times there might have been a "funny uncle" everyone whispered about but I don't think homosexuality would have been tolerated amongst the servants as portrayed on the show. I still enjoy the show but it seems as if the story lines are a bit stretched.

I am up 2 pounds this weigh in. Mostly salt I'm sure. Need to get back in gear with the meal planning and up the water intake.

Annie - glad you had a good time with the family this weekend. Yikes on the big medical bills. I hope you can spread out the deductible payments. Hope nothing is serious with the bleeding. Keep us posted

Shad - how about if you send a bit of your heat over this way and I'll send you a cool breeze or two? Dinner looks nice and refreshing. Is that parsley on the top - don't you cut it a bit finer? Would think it's a bit on the strong side that way. I misread one of your posts quickly when you were talking about offering food, taking it up and setting it back to be eaten later - thought you were talking about DS and his partner, not the cats!

Ceejay - yes, there can be all sorts of noise outside in the woods. Branches snapping as critters walk, winds through the tree branches. That and an overactive imagination (like mine) make for some "what was that " moments What do you use your tablet for outside of the house? I was thinking the opposite when considering the all in one - we rarely take a laptop because we hardly travel any more although now so many places have Wi-Fi hot spots.

Terra - happy shoe shopping!

Susie - thanks for the tip on the sale for laptops in April. That may come in handy and we certainly can wait until then. I'm glad you got a nap in and are tempering some of your at home work. How was your group discussion at work? I wish they would talk about some of the things that really mattered instead some of this rah rah Gartner stuff that is mostly lip service Ok don't mind me, my jadedness is coming out...

Hello to the rest of the chicks - will catch up with you later. Kitty is giving me "the look" because I keep bouncing her head while resting on my hand as I type. Can't you see I'm trying to nap...

Morning all. Happy Monday.

Shad - So much to consider now when deciding to buy a new computer given all the options available today. Good luck making your decision. Your food looks yummy. It would be nice if bf & I were better planners and could turn out meals that were healthier (and prettier to look at, lol). Did you get a good amount done on your Australia Day holiday?

Dee – Yummm, those no-bake cookies sound so tasty. What’s not to love – they have butter, sugar & cocoa in them! Re the book club – if you host the book club gathering, you’re the one who gets to choose the book, but other members provide input. Our book club was formed as “book club lite” – nothing too long or “heavy”. I’m pretty much the odd person out – they’re all moms with kids in about the same age group. I’ve been easing myself out of the club very slowly – I frequently don’t enjoy the gatherings because of all the time spent talking about kids and school and extracurricular activity and not so much on the book. Very informal in that way – maybe too informal for me. One of my work buddies is in a book club at the other extreme – one woman hosts the club all the time and “runs” the club – leads discussion, etc. I don’t know how the books are chosen in her club, but it just sounds a bit too formal to me. I wouldn’t mind finding one that suits me more. Yeh, the Piloxing is very heavy on the cardio – I’d rather focus on the strength. But I’m glad I tried it. Did you get out for a snowshoe session over the weekend??

Happy – Of course your shutterbug dh is considering how important the photo quality is in selling his guitars – good for him. I have to say, it’s entertaining to see how some sellers in the virtual garage sale FB groups and even Craigslist display their items for sale. So many poorly lit photos, and then there’s the people putting an article on a tablecloth or bedspread with a really busy print – too funny. Not to mention the way they write the ad – some have almost nothing except a dollar amount and the item in the photo is a mystery due to the poor photo quality. You mean you can’t turn on a light and lay the item on a plain towel or bedsheet in a contrasting color? Too funny.---Sounds like you’re in the same techy he!! Shad’s in with the computer shopping. I hope you can troubleshoot your issues and get your computers to last a bit longer until the other big $$ projects are done. Re restaurants & cold weather – even if I’m bundled up, I still have an issue with a cold space and my food getting cold quickly - just not pleasant. Glad your lard turned out good. I think you need to plan a nice fried egg breakfast or dinner (why not?) to see how they taste cooked in lard. Interesting that jewelry is a big seller at your shop. The little shop I go to doesn’t have all that much jewelry that I like. They do have a lot of pins though! Not surprised about the books and I imagine household items would sell well anywhere. What do you do with donated items that are unsaleable – such as clothes in poor condition?

Ceejay – Glad you had a good visit with the uncles.

Susie – Great loss at TOPS! Keep it up. I think I agree with you re the elephant book – just more work on top of your already heavy workload. It sounds like you’ve got some great exercises going in your PT regimen. Those ball exercises can really be intense – even when you’re doing what would be the simplest thing if you were doing them while standing or sitting on a bench. Re the treadmill – I would never have thought the surface was worse than running out doors on pavement, but I do think it changes the way people walk or run – i.e., stride - just by the nature of the length and width of the belt and, of course, the speed and incline that are set.

Terra – I’m glad you’re feeling better and that you can get back to your activities this week. I hope your shoe consultation goes well. I have a couple pairs of custom orthotics that have helped provide me with good arch support and make my shoes more comfortable to walk in.

Annie – Your weekend sounds nice. Yikes, bleeding – hope it’s nothing serious!! Don’t let anything get in the way of yoga class this week. You and sissy just need to make sure your calendars are clear for that each week going forward.

Hi Michelle! Hope you had a good weekend.

Hey Claygirl – Hope all is well with you. Don't be a stranger!

==

On Friday night, I made the easy Korean beef bbq recipe Happy posted here a while back. Bf and I liked it a lot. Bf and I decided we’d increase more of the flavorings – red pepper, ginger especially. Bf always likes more sauce, so next time we’ll probably double the sauce ingredients too. We added mushrooms to the recipe, and next time we’d probably also add some broccoli and carrots.

Saturday morning I went to Jazzercise class. Afterwards, I got some laundry going. I drove up to Costco and bought some gas, and then headed over to the thrift shop. I bought a shower curtain for $3. After that I went to the bakery next door to buy a loaf of rye bread. Yum. I also had a sample of coffee cake – delish. So tempted to buy one, especially since they were $2 off that day, but I resisted. Yay me.

While still in the strip mall’s parking lot, I heard from a seller in one of the FB garage sale groups. She was selling a few exercise dvd’s and I wanted the Pilates dvd. I went straight there to pick it up. Turns out she lives less than a mile from me. The dvd is “The Method – Pilates Target Specifics – abs, arms hips, thighs”. I paid $5, selling new on Amazon for $38.99. Good ratings on Amazon, so I hope I like it.

Just the usual the rest of the weekend. Lunch out at the taqueria (I had a torta.) Dog walk. TV, reading. Sunday was tea, newspaper, more laundry, puttering. I’d washed the bedskirt and shower curtain so I ironed those, and while I was at it, a couple blouses. It was the most time I spent ironing in a long time. I had the ironing board set up in front of the tv, so it wasn't too bad.

The shower curtain is nice enough. It’s cream-colored, a silky material that has satiny stripes that alternate with more nubby/matte stripes. It’s lighter than our other shower curtain and really brightens up the bathroom, and lets the light into the tub area better than the other curtain. (We don't have a window or light in our tub area.) I have to say I never took note of how high our shower curtain rod is mounted – this “new” curtain is a little bit short, and I think it’s because the rod is higher than the norm. Not that we’d change anything right now (this is the rod that was in place when we moved in), but I wouldn’t mind knowing. Just to confirm yet again that the previous owners were idiots. If the rod were at the proper height, more light would come in from the bathroom window and the lights...in the meantime, a lighter shower curtain helps.

I’m behind on my pushup challenge. I hadn’t done any since Thursday…but I started up again yesterday. I will probably run through the challenge again after I finish this one.

Two of my library books are coming due and I haven't finished them, including the overeating book. I've already renewed them once, so I have to bring them back. I should be able to re-check them but I think the library has a rule that they do have to be reshelved before I could re-check them. Sigh. This makes me want to forget about the overeating book...

Okay, I'll stop rambling and get this posted. TTFN.
That’s about it for me.

Happy, you're always typing over my head! Sorry you had a bad night. Good to skip the rigorous class, but still do something that will hopefully help stretch you out and relieve the aches.

I'm still watching DA. I haven't watched last night's episode yet...but in general, I guess I understand that viewers want romance and/or sex in the storylines. Anything to widen the viewing audience, right?? Same thing with having a homosexual character - more viewers. As with modern day tv programs - always more drama than in real life, lol. (Thank goodness, right?)

Haha, I misread Shad's comment too re the leftovers!!

HAPPY....I agree with you on DA. It is just not as interesting as it once was, hopefully it will get better. I loved your Lady Mary "sampling" men, I think she has become a HOH. Pun intended. I went ahead and pre-ordered the 5th season as I have missed at least 2 episodes from the this year. I keep forgetting it is on Sunday nites. I have a ton of books I need to read also, I just cannot get into anything these days. I think I have just recently developed ADHD or whatever it is when you cannot focus. lol.

LAURA...you, like HAPPY are a great scavenger on thrift buying. I don't have the patience to do that. Probably why I am not a garage saler either. Is the shower curtain for your bathroom or the remodeled half bath? Curtis installed new rods in both of our bathrooms. The newer kind that bow outward to give more room in the tub. The rod allows more light to get in as it is closer to the lights around the mirror. We bought the paint for our bathroom almost a year ago and still have not painted it. I HATE painting and cannot get C motivated enough to do it. I guess I just need to set a Saturday for painting, get up and do it. Bleh

Later chickies

Oh and I misread SHADs comment on the food also. LOL.

Happy Monday ladies,

Another busy weekend for me, and not enough time to do everything I wanted to do. I didn't even get my mammogram on Friday because one of their machines stopped working and there were 7 women ahead of me and it was at least an hour delay. I rescheduled for this coming Friday.

I saw Bob on Thursday night, Friday afternoon, Saturday evening and yesterday afternoon. The nurses finally have his pain meds balanced so he's a bit more awake and coherent. I knew that he'd have good days and not so good days.

I went over to my step-mom's on Friday night and last night for dinner, and I was there on Saturday to play some Scrabble.

Santa vomited Thursday and Friday evenings, so I took him to the vet on Saturday morning. He has pancreatitis again, and is back on a prescription diet. Since he seems to be prone to pancreatitis, it might be best for him to be on the prescription diet...whatever it takes to get him healthy and keep him that way. Santa is doing much better on the prescription food. I'd been thinking he was getting too thin. He weighs 18 lbs. I asked the vet if I should feed him more and she said no, he's perfect at precisely the weight he's at. Santa still has his energy and loves to run and trot around the dog park when we went there on Saturday afternoon. One of the women at the dog park invited some of us "regulars" to go to her house to watch the Super Bowl, and we can bring out dogs and all the dogs will play in their backyard. It's so nice to be invited to a dog-friendly party.

I'm sorry I've been so bad with personals. I hope you all know I love and appreciate you more than words can say!

Love and hugs,

Happy
I gave up on DA last year. I like the era and the setting but the story content just wasn't interesting to me. Sounds like you got a lot of errands out of the way with the trip up north. I don't use a computer except for getting online. I have a portable wi-fi thing also. So now after the alarm system is turned on at the uncles I have something to do. i also have a portable DVD player that I can take with me.

Annie
Thanks for not spoiling Gone Girl. I bought the DVD last week. I'd forgotten about it until you mentioned it. I understand about the insurance problem. I have a three thousand dollar deductible. This is definitely going to make me work harder at being healthy. And the one reason I didn't retire is because of the no insurance. dah. I might as well not have any if I'm going to have to pay for my visit's anyway.

Michelle
Poor Santa. It's probably a good idea to keep him on the prescription food.

Terra
Are you going to a podiatrist for the consult for your new shoes?

Susie
Congrats on the pounds lost.

Laura
I've not been keeping up with my push ups as well as I should have. But I can tell a difference.

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When I got home last night I did a couple of small loads of laundry, ate dinner and got things ready for this work week. I'm a little better organized. Depending on my stamina tonight when I get home, I will do either a DVD or ride my bike.

Evening all,
I've just finished work for the day - first day of working from home. It didn't go too badly but I will do better tomorrow. Seems like it is a good idea to start early, have a break in the middle of the day because it gets quite slow and finish later. All things one must remember.

Seems I confused everyone with the cats leftovers. Aaah well. You don't see me leaving much on my plate.

Susie - congrats on the pounds lost. I guess I didn't see it until Ceejay pointed it out.

Michelle - hope you get Santa back on track. As always, it is what we eat that keeps us healthy. Even dogs. Glad to hear Bob is more comfortable. Hope he gets a bit of quality of life for the time he has left.

Annie - has CRAFT and ADHD. Powerful combination there. Hope it settles down okay. Sorry to hear that you had blood today. Hope there is nothing serious in that. Yikes Annie on that medical bill. Why do you have insurance if you have to pay so much. Don't answer that, I already know and think that insurance companies have too much control.

Laura - glad that the Korean beef turned out well. That Happy finds some good recipes. I forgot all about my pushup challenge or rather plank challenge - I really should get back into it. Print off the instructions and leave them in an 'in ya face place' so I won't forget.

Happy - Beg to differ, the gentry of everywhere mucked up big time in the 'good old days'. Especially the men. The women did too, just a little less often since it wasn't the done thing to bear children that were not your husbands. However it did happen and I saw one of the 'Who do you think you are' episodes where the person thought he was descended from nobility but in actual fact he was the product of the lady of the house and the under footman. Were they under foot or were they just lowly gofers? The child had been placed in a 'school' and given an education but was not part of the family. I guess the under footman got given his marching orders too.
It wasn't often though that the 'lady' kept the baby.

I guess that is about it. I am having Spag Bol tonight. The cat is having left overs and as usual is reluctant to eat it. It goes away shortly and this time I will have to throw it out. Guess she will be hungry come morning.

Gotta go. Hello to all the others. Have we lost Claygirl already? or is she disappointed that she isn't pregnant.

See ya later. I'll be back to post dinner pics soon. Oh and while I think of it, when I came back from NZ in July, I weighed in at 86.6 Kilos Last week weighin I was at 82.6 which I was happy about until I saw 82.0 later in the week, however probably due to all the fluids I have been drinking to beat the thirst and heat, I weighed in this morning at 83.4. That's 3.2kg gone. About 6.8lbs near enough 7. So although I would rather lose the water I am still reasonably happy. According to the scales, my BMI has gone from 38.9 to 31.7 and I am apparently no longer obese. Yeah??? Well tell that to the doctor.

Here's my food for tonight. Couldn't eat it all. Not the biggest pasta fan in the world but it was okay. Really not the best pasta cook either

Blasted cat! I was just finishing up 15 minutes of typing and about to post when Queenie here HAD to jump up on me and settle down on the keyboard when she somehow hit a key that wiped out everything I was just typing Now she is looking up at me with this look of adoration. Perhaps it is victory. I'm not sure.

Anyway, I have to dash off to the shower to get ready for my thrift shop shift so I have no time to retype. Have a good day today. I'll be back tonight.

Good morning ladies,

A quick check in for me...at least for now. I've got to create an appointment scheduling form by end of day today and I just learned about it near the end of day yesterday.

I'll try and get back later.

Love and hugs,

Good Morning...

Dinner last night a Jockamo's pizza, so yummy. Sissy and I had a spinach/mushroom small pizza and the boys had slaughterhouse five medium. (beef, pork, ham, bacon, and some special sausage), sounds yucky to me.

Today we woke to icy side streets however the main streets were fine. Feel sorry for the east coast at they are getting slammed hard today. I am glad is bypassed us as I am in no mood for that crappy white stuff.

Started wearing my pedometer today. Co-worker and I did 5 laps around the floor before 7:30 even rolled around. Added about 1200 steps. Today is taco Tuesday so we will be walking 3 blocks there and back. Not much but everything counts. It is 10:10 am and I am already at 3340 steps.

C is not feeling well at all today and having a hard time with weak legs, watery eyes, and runny nose, plus the colon stuff. He won't let me take him to the ER and insists to wait till his Feb 11 appt with the internist. I mean heck, we have met our deductible and all but 500 bucks of our out of pocket expense, why not go. He is so stubborn when it comes to going to the doc, but I think most men are that way.

SHADDIE...you dinner looks yummy again. I am not much of a pasta eater either but can cook it. Sounds like working from home is going ok for you. That is a plus. Congrats on the WL. Yahooo!! I saw on another thread that CLAYGIRL was not preggers and having TOM. Maybe why she is not posting.

HAPPY...sounds like you need to get a CATswatter, similar to a FLYswatter. Or maybe a spray bottle and squirt the little dickens a couple of times when she tries to overtake your keyboard. It might detour her the next time. haha. I doubt it, cats do what they like regardless. Hope your day at the shop was smooth and you had many customers.

CEEG...good job on getting organized for the week. A little exercise is better than none at all. Good for you. Laundry..seems like I can do a load or two on a daily basis. Cannot figure out where it all comes from.

CHELLE...busy beaver as usual. Take care of you first and get your rest otherwise you will be no good to anyone else.

Going to hop off of here and get to ordering Verizon upgrades for all the sales people. What a PIA.

Hello to all ya'll!! Make it a terrific Tuesday/night all.

Hugs

Afternoon all.

Annie – Re DA, I agree the storyline have not been as interesting as in the past, and some similarity/repetition of the plot lines with the same characters! I do, however, find the passage of time interesting from the historical aspect. The shower curtain was for the full bath. The half bath doesn’t have a tub/shower. I think those curved shower rods are a great idea and if we ever get around to remodeling our full bath, we’d be using one of those. This is the one room of the house in which we’ve done almost nothing since we moved in 15 years ago – all we did was paint the walls and hang a couple framed prints. I know how you feel about painting – bleh. Yikes, that’s a lot of medical expense! If the high-deductible plans had been around when I was in my 20’s I would have given it a go, but not now - we’ve got a few prescriptions, we see specialists from time to time, and last year bf had that appendix removal surgery, etc….I’d hate to be on the hook for such steep amounts. HR tries to tell you we make up for the covered items with the hefty PPO premiums - okay, but not when something significant comes up. I recently saw in the coupon supplements that my allergy med, Flonase, is going to be over the counter now. With my mail-order prescription coverage, I pay $20 for a 90-day rx. Now a 30-day supply will be sold for about $23 as per the Walmart advert. It’s not horrific, but still... I have to see if the mail order pharm will still sell it and if I can get it cheaper from them. Anyone familiar with this situation? Yum to pizza, but yuck for the guy’s pie with all those meats!!! I don’t even like sub sandwiches with all the different lunchmeats on them. Your veg pizza sounds much better. Gosh, did C eat any of that meat-laden pizza?? No wonder he’s not feeling well! Seriously, I hope he feels better soon – I wonder if he’s got the flu?

Michelle – I’m glad Bob’s pain meds have been dialed in now. I hope he’s more comfortable at home than he was. Poor Santa, I hope the rx diet gets him back to his usual self quickly. How fun that you will be going to a SB party and that you can bring Santa with you.

Ceejay – You’ve got a high deductible too huh. Oy. It would be wonderful to be able to retire at 62, but I should think most people can’t afford the medical insurance and really need to work until 65 just to stay insured until Medicare coverage kicks in. I hope you enjoy Gone Girl.

Shad – Yeh, even with the sheet printed out for the pushups, it can get buried on my end table and I manage to forget. Yay for the weight loss and the drop in the BMI!!!

Happy – Sorry you lost your post. Very frustrating!!

Hi Dee! I saw your post and now I don’t!

Hellos to Susie & Terra.
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Nothing much to report. We got a bit more snow here and some spots were slippery on area roads. But nothing like what the East coast is getting. Whew.

Last night I did my pushup challenge. Then it was on to the new Pilates DVD. I did the abs part only. Very quick – less than 15 minutes, but challenging. Then I did one Body Electric workout.

I have to find some new snow boots. My current ones are several years old now and don’t have the support they once did, even with an orthotic in them. My timing is probably not too good, and I would also need to get a wide width – it’ll probably be a challenge to find something. I'll give it a go though.

I think that’s about it, so I’ll get this posted. TTFN.

Laura, I did a Edit & reposted OOPS

Hello Girls
What's r your meal plans for today: Lunch - Supper

Breakfast: a spinach & fruit Smoothie & a c. of hot tea.
Snack: a glass of almond-coconut milk.
Lunch: black bean soup.
Snack: walnuts & almonds, w a pear, to keep my energy Up
Supper: turkey meatballs w scalloped potatoes (russet slices, alternating w sweet potato slices)

A fun weekend w our nice weather. Saturday we hiked/snow-shoed exploring our woods. Sunday we splurged $$ renting skis/lift ticket & went down-hill skiing. Ron's skied since elementary school & can do all the slopes, tall & fast/scary hills. Not me, I ski for fun & I know my speed-limit ability. He plays w me for awhile on the slopes & then he does his hills. We sold our skis' after he got his abdominal cancer 11 yr. ago, his oncologist said 'twisting your lower torso/gut after 40 yr. is a no-no' after a abdominal or back surgery. So we just ski 1 or 2 x a winter now, that's fine. Our ski bindings needed replaced & the newer skis & boots r much nicer now.

Susie, for the -3 pound loss. 'Boo' on the 'unnecessary meeting poo-poo' that somebody wrote to sell to corporations & for employees wasting time on Is your balance ball @ PT sitting on a chair like Hap got @ Amazon or does it sit on a floor stabilizer disk? My ball rolled a few times & I fell off Did u do body measurements to see where your 2015 losses r, fun to see what body part is responding to the activity u r currently doing.

Ceej, If u slept @ my house I'm sure u would hear our owls in the winter & rabbits munching on my evergreen shrubs surrounding my home & in the summer frogs croaking, deer in the woods/brush & wake-up to birds & whooping Cranes, etc. Our guests don't really mind... Mother Nature's talking But 1 of my homes was on a busy town street & with very annoying noises daytime & nighttime even w a enclosed backyard. We'd b willing to have a home in town, but only if it was on 1 or 2 acres to have our own small paradise. Do u have any special plans for the week-weekend? I hope your migraines/sinus prob don't return for a few months.

Annie, 1200 steps your tacos r gonna taste better now. Your weather has been lots worse than mine Re: 'icy side streets', we've only gotten 6"-7" of snow all winter & No ice so far Just enough snow to play on & then melt away. I hope that 2015 will start treating u & your Loved ones Awesomely, No more bad news for u... Sending u healing vibes & hoping your doctor appt. went well, that the bleeding was only a minor prob. R u a loan officer, I thought u said something about that once working w finances. Yumm, spinach/mushroom pizza. Ewe on the Slaughterhouse five pizza, sounds kinda greasy & where's the veggie on that pizza?

Shad, It's awesome that u r able to work @ home for awhile. I agree about the water weight & weather. At least we can wear a dress to slip over a bloated tummy & many clothes have elastic for those days we get. In the summer my pasta carbs r spaghetti salad & a few pasta-veggie salads w crab or shrimp . (I lie to myself saying I 'need the carbs to increase my energy for being outdoors half' of my day) Pasta is only good if it's cooked right & the ingredients r quality veggies, otherwise I won't eat much.

Michelle, Poor Santa being sick, I hope he feels much better before the weekend. I Love playing Scrabble, mine is on a turntable. I think your step-mom would also enjoy playing: Cribbage, 1 of the many Monopoly theme games, Uno Attack, that shoots the cards out & the Rummy game w tiles. Dh & I have more fun playing these w ppl, the g-babes & together, more than electronic games. A card game that's fun for everyone & for our almost 4 yr. g-babe that we play, 'Spoons' we do our matches slowly so he gets time for his 'match'. We got tired of 'Go Fish', etc. w him. Your friend had a Fun idea to b @ her house to watch the Super Bowl & let the doggies have a 'playdate' for themselves since they r all buddies too.

Laura, Thanks for the Book Club info. it's obvious I've never been in one. We have so many things going on, I don't have time to commit to reading a specific book for somebody. I think it's wonderful that u go to the movies w friends, I haven't had a best friend since I divorced my x-h 19 yr. ago. I married Ron 18 yr. ago moving 2 hours north from my home to his world; & my life changed socially, my friendships r just casual chatting here, w nobody I'd phone in a emergency (possibly his friends, the guys r nice). I never put myself out-there to make friendships in the 2 area's, Ron & I have lived together, life is so busy. During my x-h divorce, my best friend from high school dumped me after she saw her dh frequently chatting w me & she found a pic of me, that her dh took, that I was unaware he had it. So in my circle of close friends I became a outcast after my divorce, they worried that their hubby would become closer to me than just a friend. Female emotions...

Happ, I still watch D.Abbey & was so surprised about the 'birth control-herbs'? Also surprised to see Mary's sexual compatibility test. DA isn't as good as the prior seasons. I do watch a few other PBS shows, Doc Martin, Saving Appearances, Mr. Selfridge, the British shows r good. My 12 yr. granddaughter asked me questions from school class project, If I was a 'Hippie' in the 1970's. Did I: wear flowers/Flower Power, do bra burning, go to school drunk, sit-downs strike against The-Man, get arrested, skinny-dip, take drugs, streak naked, "No" to those questions.. And "Yes" to, I wore bell bottom jeans, mini-dresses/skirts, mood rings, disco danced, on the Pom-Pom squad, skipped class, went to a drive-in movie & kissed my date, dances did have funny names, how old was I when I stopped being a virgin (age 20 yr./my honeymoon) (just 3 guys, both my dh's & 1 guy I thought I Loved, before grandpa Ron) Loved dancing, roller-skated @ a roller-rink, got my drivers license @ 16 yr., Yes hamburgers/French fries & potato chips were invented & I ate them, I wore hair-curlers @ night, a Girl Scout until 14 yrs., went to school dances every Friday night, I did Chinese 'fire drills' around cars, went to pajama parties-played w Ouija board. Her teacher had a list to ask all the grandparents their experiences & told the kids to ask their own questions but not write down our answers; we don't know which of these questions r the teachers or the kids, so the kids wouldn't b embarrassed. The purpose was for the kids to 'open the door' about life & learn & communicate w adults & to talk to their parents about life, good & bad w/o feeling embarrassed. Life has certainly changed since we were 12 yr. old. I told her in the summer when she didn't have to go to sleep @ 8pm for school, to watch the 'Goldberg's' on TV & she'd get a good idea about what I was talking about in the 1970's-early 1980's.

Hi Terra, I hope u r having a happy week. Is that sweet puppy your holding in your avatar your Clyde, or did u get another baby to Luv?

From The Doctors TV show January 27, 2015
Cauliflower Chicken Nuggets
For a healthy alternative to the home favorite, try this delicious vegetarian recipe for cauliflower "chicken" nuggets!

Ingredients:
•1 head cauliflower, broken into pieces
•1cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
•1 egg
•Salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder, to taste
•Dipping sauce of your choice

Instructions:

•Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
•In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and seasonings. Taste the mix to make sure you like the flavor.
•Crack an egg into a large, sealable freezer bag, then add the cauliflower pieces to the bag. Close seal and mix well until the cauliflower is fully covered in egg.
•Open the bag and pour the bread crumb mix inside. Seal the bag again and mix the cauliflower with the bread crumbs until the pieces are coated.
•Pour the coated cauliflower onto a baking sheet and place it in the oven for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
•When the edges of the cauliflower start to crisp, use a spatula to turn the cauliflower for even cooking.
•Continue cooking until the outside is modestly crisp and the inside is cooked through.
•Serve with dipping sauce of choice.

Have a Wonderful Week Everyone

Hi all, back from the coal mine.

Kitty is behind my screen hanging her face over the top thinking I have started her mouse game but instead I am furiously typing hoping she stays there away from my keyboard. It was a sort of quiet day at the shop, we had moderate sales for the day. I picked up a book and a counted cross stitch embroidery thing for a couple of dollars. I also took some pictures of things we had on display and updated the Facebook page.

Talking about balance balls ... I did not know until I looked at the exercises on the gym wall that they have different sized balls depending on how tall you are. I was of course using the amazon sized ball (figured it was sturdier) but that was actually a totally inappropriate size for me. The one I have in my chair is the correct size. So far I have just used it for stretching as illustrated in the accompanying book but I do like it. I have not used it as a chair yet - have it in the living room so I will work out on it.

Dee - glad you got out for a nice ski run. Bah that you can't do it regularly - but I guess that makes the occasional run all the more fun. Boy what a reminiscence over your granddaughter's questions of the 70's. That would make for some fun and interesting conversations. Boy - no kidding how life has changed since then. Uno Attack is lots of fun and I recently played Mexican Train for the first time and loved it! Today we were discussing a Parcheesi game that someone donated. I remember playing it as a kid but not much about how it is played anymore.

Annie - sounds like the meat pizza is one for the boys. I would need to down a bottle of Pepcid after all that salt, grease and fat. I'll share the veggie one with you any day. We got one of those round shower curtain bars in the old house and I replaced the ones here with the same. It does let in more light and definitely keeps you from sticking to the shower curtain I do have a cat swatter/spray bottle but that would be a disaster if I got water mist on the computer I usually use the sprayer when she chases her sister around the house and now I don't even have to get the water out - she runs at the sound of the sprayer pumping, even if it's dry. Yay for you for getting lots of steps in today!!!!

A general comment about health insurance savings - if your company allows you to put money in for a future health account, by all means - do so. It was the ONLY way were were able to make the move up here after both our jobs were outsourced. I am upset that we had to use money we probably could have used for medical expenses in the future but we could not afford to pay the premiums (more than a mortgage payment) if it had to come out of our savings on hand. Hopefully our medical premiums will be less now that DH is eligible for medicare. It's horrendous what we pay and what little we get out of it. If I could, I'd join one of those exchanges that are popping up where you join, pay them a monthly premium and they have set prices for services. No insurance overhead that saves them and as long as the members don't all have catastrophic illnesses, the costs are spread among all and hopefully are less than what we are currently getting for our money.

Hello Michelle on the Run

Shad - I think I like the looks of the salad better than the bolognaise - it looks rather thick for me and I do like some sauce on my pasta. Actually I am more fond of marinara than meat sauces. It is a pretty picture though. And a big yay for you for getting the BMI down nicely!!! Good work!

Ceejay - do your uncles' have Wi-Fi so you can use your tablet when you visit? My mom does not so that's why I don't consider travelling with a device and when I'm at my sister's, I just use her computer. But I'm glad it is working out for you - certainly much less to carry and a full on laptop!

Laura - I did cook up 2 eggs the other day with just a teeny bit of the lard in the pan. I used just a smidge - far less than butter and I think it really gave some nice flavor to the eggs. Thanks for asking. To your other question about things we can't sell at the shop - like clothes that aren't fit for the boutique - we send them off to the Salvation army. If things are moldy, dirty, unsellable even with clean up - then they toss them out in the trash. In fact our coordinator called up the garbage company and complained they didn't pick up the trash last week (he was thinking we got skipped due to the MLK holiday). In fact trash did get picked up Monday but they filled up both cans to the brim again on Tuesday. I don't always agree with what they toss or re-donate but I find it easier just to avoid going in the back pricing area altogether. I'm glad you enjoyed the Korean BBQ recipe. All those vegetable additions can only improve it more. Yum. Did you make it with beef? What kind? Oh you reminded me of tortas - there was a small Mexican place in the strip mall near work in Memphis. We often went there for lunch and they had the best tortas! I miss that.

Just found an interesting article which may explain what was in the secret "brown bag" Anna purchased for Lady Mary at the chemist. I'm so glad we live in modern times.

Hi Susie and Terra. I guess we have lost Claygirl.

Time to get off the computer. I have set a goal for myself to read 1 book and 1 magazine a week to whittle down the piles here. Probably better for sleeping to read a book than take in the bad light from the computer. Good night everyone.