[Jean]

Good Morning! The sun is shining again this morning! Yay! I have been up since 5:30 and multiple times during the night with a stuffy nose. Sometimes I think eating at card club during the evening affects how I sleep. But then again maybe not since sometimes I sleep really good all night. ‘Tis a mystery! Bob left in the dark this morning so he could get the loaded semi to the elevator by 7 when it opened. The guys are hoping to be done in that field and move equipment back home at the end of the day. My cards were so-so last night and my score was in the middle of the bunch. I’m getting a much needed hair cut after lunch and plan to sort through a closet this morning. I am always surprised at how much stuff I have accumulated!

Ceejay, congrats on going to the gym! I wish I had someone to go with and maybe I would get motivated. Exercising is not my favorite thing to do and I know I should. I hope the cat scratch doesn’t materialize into something more serious. I have a tendency towards the infection from cat bites so try to be very careful with the orphans I feed. They are not tame but come close when I put the food bowl out. My own cat has sent me to the ER a couple times from bites. I’ve never been brave enough to cut his claws. I’m glad you found your Fitbit! There was a discussion about the wrist bands for them at card club last night. I know nothing about them but I have worn a watch for many years and would be lost without it. I had trouble coordinating my feet with the organ pedals too! I was in high school when I took lessons and just didn’t have time to practice so they didn’t last long.

The church rummage sale is coming up and I need to get busy. Hope you enjoy a terrific Tuesday!

[gma22]

Good evening! Chilly and rainy all day today. I actually got to wear one of my new sweaters today as it was cold enough. Hopefully the rain is done with us.

Jack had his followup and everything looks good. He put in one of his contacts so he can see decent until he has the other eye done. He slept in the recliner last night because he isn’t supposed to sleep on his side and he was afraid he’d roll over in his sleep. He decided to sleep in the bed tonight, but lift it all the way up to sitting position. I told him if we had a whoopee cushion we could stick it next to him and when he rolled over it would make a noise. He was not a fan.

I am going to try and get housecleaning and a load of laundry done tomorrow. I am putting Jack to work doing things he can do like vacuuming, wiping down countertops, etc. This is commissary weekend but I think we’ll go on Friday since he is off work. I have to lug it all in so we are only doing one week instead of two.

CeeJay: Yay for you exercising. I miss not walking. A few years ago I walked a 5k which was not bad considering my age and weight. Be careful with that scratch. You don’t want it to turn into something bad, expecially since it bled a lot.

Jean: You are a farm widow a lot. I am sure you’ll enjoy holiday stuff where you don’t have to spit shine your own house. I lowered the head of my bed last night and woke up with a terrible sinus headache. I sleep almost setting up most nights, but lowered 8t last night and paid for it. I haven’t been sleeping well lately either for some reason. My grandson, who is 18 plays trumpet, violin, piano. He really enjoys them I think.

Well gals, time to get out of here. Have a good one.

[gma22]

Good morning. Jack is snoozing in the recliner and I have just be perusing photos of the latest royal wedding. Doesn’t seem quite as cold this morning as it had been.

We have been having an awful time with the dopes across from us parking multiple cars along the garages. With his surgery, Jack hasn’t been able to go out and tag them. He got up early and went out and no cars, not one. Considering it’s $160+ to get your car back, one time is all it would take and they’d stop it. It is really difficult to get out of our garage when they are parked like that. They are junkers to boot.

I am well on my way with the sweater collar finally so hopefully I can finish it up soon. I was having a terrible time putting it in the right direction. I finally figured out what to do. Sometimes being left handed and reading knitting instructions for right handed knitters can be frustrating.

I was supposed to get a couple sweaters today, but some nitwit at UPS sent the package from Nashville back to Chicago instead of Memphis so now it will be Saturday before I get them.

Hope you all have a good Thursday!

[Jean]

Good Morning! The sun is coming up in my neighborhood and Bob is out the door on his way to the farm. It is warmer this morning and supposed to be in the 60s this afternoon. Ian’s last regular game, before play offs, is tonight. It will be a game between #1 and #2 teams, Ian’s being #2 with one loss, so anything can happen. I have had a scratchy throat for a couple days; I blame it on a stuffy nose and sleeping with my mouth open. I also found out a couple days ago, there is a difference in flu shots. One is for under 65 and the other for over 65. The hospital gives the under 65 to volunteers, which I found interesting assuming most of us would be over 65. So I visited my favorite Walgreens and got the over 65 one. They didn’t charge me for it but I had some other things so didn’t notice until I got home. Kolby’s concert was “short and sweet,” three pieces. We went to Beth’s favorite restaurant afterwards. Another piece of news I learned is our WM will be remodeling after Christmas. The big change will be eliminating most of the checkouts opting for more self checkouts. I want them to monitor the “20 items or less” checkout and kick out the people who can’t count! That would be a novel idea. Ok, enough grumping about WM!

”Gma,” I would be in trouble if I couldn’t sleep on my side. My eyes have not changed since I got my new glasses after surgery. I do have a floater which just showed up a couple weeks ago. I kept thinking it was one of those tiny little bugs that managed to survive the frost. Once harvest gets going I just know that I won’t see much of Bob. The other agents cover for him and sometimes he stops by the office at night, to sign papers or get email messages. He has helped them all at one time or another so it works out ok. I thought it was tacky of Harry and Megan to announce her pregnancy at the royal wedding. I don’t blame the bride for being mad. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live like a royal, or even a rich person over here. We get the weekenders, across the street, parking all over when they show up during the summer. They have a double driveway but never park in it. Last summer I parked my car in front of our house so they finally got the hint. They would park so close to the mailbox the carrier couldn’t get near it; one of the subs won’t deliver if he has to get out of his vehicle, but the regular guy will. Of course, he gets a good tip at Christmas too. We have been getting more packages delivered by the mail carrier than UPS lately. I have asked the kids for Christmas lists but so far no luck.

I need to do some laundry and make a grocery list. Bob doesn’t come home for lunch so I fall back on frozen dinners. Not my favorite but easy to do. Hope you enjoy a terrific Thursday!

[ceejay52]

It's been a busy couple of days. I'm cleaning out the closets in my master bathroom. It has a his and hers but I'm making them a spring, summer and a fall winter closet. I need to get the clothes out of the office closet and I should be done with those two I've also been working on the linen closet I've also gotten rid of some clothes that were too big and took them to a donation box. I'll have another bag when I'm through.
Miley let me sleep till 8.30 this morning. It was 43 degrees when I woke up. I love this kind of weather.

I'll be back later for personals.

[Jean]

Good Afternoon! We got up to rain and wind this morning. The wind is still blowing but the sun has come out so hopefully will be drying the fields. There was a major combine breakdown after Bob left yesterday. Finding the part was a challenge this morning and involved some travel time to go get it. The guys are hoping to get it put back together yet today and be back in the fields tomorrow. This morning was my once a month coffee date and I need to pick up the gift shop money later this afternoon. I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days and now have no voice. I feel like a nap! Just got a message that Ian’s first playoff game is the 25th on his home field. They play a team they haven’t played before so that will be interesting. Zowie has three soccer games to go and then will be done until spring.

Ceejay, I/we have clothes in the spare bedroom closets and I forget which clothes are where. Every once in awhile I find something I forgot I had. I could use a couple more tops for church or a little dressier than sweatshirts. Some of my favorite sweatshirts are getting faded and ratty looking but I still wear them around home. My problem is I shut closet doors and what is out of sight is out of mind. Not good!

Not much newsy going on for the rest of the day. I need to work on rummage sale sorting! Hope you all are having a good day and enjoy the weekend!

[gma22]

Good afternoon. It is quite chilly today and some wind. We decided to just go to WM for groceries since I was going to get my nails done. The parking lot was packed and the store was nuts so no nails. Took us two hours to shop and get checked out.

We came home and put everything away, I’m finishing a couple loads of laundry. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher so as soon as the second load is done that’s it. If I feel up to it I’ll go get my nails done tomorrow then Jack has a cardiology appt in the afternoon. It’s basically to get his yearly meds.

Tuesday I have a waxing appt then housecleaning the rest of the week

CJ: We live in a three bedroom condo that is 40+ yrs old. It has terribly small closets, the garage leaks so you can’t store anything on the floor and the attic isn’t floored in except one small space. I have a ton of clothes, shoes and handbags and they are breeding I think. One bedroom looks like a hoarders house and the other, my husband’s office has stuff piled up in there too. My goal is during the cool months to go through closets and pitch and make the spare bedroom a closet. Like I said will take a lot of work.

Jean: So you still have to wear glasses? Jack’s vision in his left eye is now 20/25. He bought himself a couple pair of readers and seems to be pleased. We don’t think she’ll get to his other eye until Dec. She only does surgery one day a week. She goes to Africa with a Catholic mission several times a year and does eye surgeries and such. Jack will go back to work Nov 1, take Nov 7 off so he can stay up and watch election results late and he’s taking the day before Thanksgiving off as we are going out of town for a couple days. I got the boys’ cards today so will mail their money this weekend. It’s not as much fun with them getting older.

Well the laundry is calling my name. Have a good day and good week.

[ceejay52]

Hello, I'm still here. I just have had a busy couple of days. Trouble with that is I can't remember what I did on Saturday. Yesterday was church and after that our book clubs went to a members house for lunch and after lunch was the discussion. This book has been interesting. I'll have to remember to write down the book title.
Today the service repair man came to clean and diagnose the furnace. It's working alright at the moment but last year it started to give me some trouble. It needs some parts replaced so hopefully sis who is my land lord will do that soon.
The growth of he grass has slowed down but I'm going to mow tomorrow. Think I'm going to use the push mower in front and the riding mower in the back. Praying this is the last time to mow.
I do remember one things about Saturday. I binged on a small pizza from Godfather's. I woke up n Sunday morning with a terrible headache. I'm wondering if that was the cause.. Maybe all the sodium! I still eat like a 16 year old.

gma
My closets were beginning to get to me. Now my bedroom is because of the clutter that I've taken out of the closets. I'm throwing part of it away but my niece is moving to Florida soon and she will need some of the things. I need to get rid of some old meds and vitamins etc so I've found a drop off place to discard those. I may do that tomorrow. I think the last day is 10/27 for this year.A bedroom for a closet would be an excellent idea.

Jean
I think that scratchy, sore throat and then no voice is going around up here too. I had it about two weeks ago. Makes you feel awful. I say take that nap. You deserve it.

More later. I'm going to dry a load of clothes and go to bed a bit earlier tonight. I might have to miss Perry Mason but that's okay. I can watch him any time.

[Jean]

Good Afternoon! It’s another beautiful fall day in my neighborhood, sunny and no wind. I have four little fuzz balls playing on my deck. The mother cat brought them once, then took them to the house behind us where she has kept her other kittens under their enclosed deck. She has disappeared and the kittens have come back to us. I thought they were too little to survive but they are eating cat food and drinking water. All four fit in the little house Bob made for another orphan a few years ago. I made a list for WM and the grocery store. I don’t think I forgot anything this time! Farmers are working long hours to beat the predicted rain tomorrow night and Thursday. Maybe the weatherman will be wrong since he has talked about it for a few days. Then again a break would be nice. I have a couple robbins in the bird bath! Most of them have been gone for over a month or more, these two are confused!

“Gma,” I knew before I had the cataract surgery I would need reading glasses. I have one eye that is quite a bit weaker than the other but my prescription tested the same as a year ago. I could go without my glasses for the most part but reading smaller print, like a newspaper, makes my eyes tired. I usually just wear them rather than have to look where I laid them down last. There was a an article in the Sioux City paper about Ian’s team beating the #1 team so I cut it out and sent it to him. It mentioned a couple kids on his team, by name, so thought he would get a kick out of it. I asked him if he felt kind of left out since he is the only sophomore on the varsity team. He said no, that the guys have been good about including him. The local restaurants take turns feeding the team before their home games. I need to get my Halloween cards ready to go too.

Ceejay, I know what you mean about remembering what you did a day or two ago. I met a “bleacher friend from our son’s high school days” at WM this morning. We were catching up when another friend walked by and said hello, then neither one of us could remember what we had been talking about. I hope your whole furnace won’t have to be replaced; nothing lasts as long as in the good old days. Bob uses the mower to bag leaves but our large maple trees are the last to drop their leaves. Sometimes we have snow and the leaves are still there in the spring.

I have a load of laundry ready for the dryer so better get that going. Hope you enjoy a terrific Tuesday!

[ceejay52]

Afternoon. I went to the gym instead of mowing the lawn. Had a good work out and then to the grocery store, but will have to return to the grocery tomorrow. I forgot the beef broth for my taco soup that I'm going to make. I love soup.
I'm thinking about going to a WW meeting tomorrow or Thursday. I joined online a month ago and couldn't get up enough courage to go. Think I'm ready now.
I will have to wait to take back the old meds etc until the 27th of this month.

Jean
Oh how cute about the kitten playing on the deck! Will you keep them?

[gma22]

Good evening. Got a load of laundry done, called and caneled my waxing appt and now just sitting here dozing off from taking a Zyrtec for my allergies. They have been wicked since the cold snap. I am even wheezy the last couple days. I haven’t slept really well because of it either. I am hoping I can get rest tonight.

We are going to go to Fresh Market and finish up what we need. I have to decide on something for dinner tomorrow. Maybe I’ll treat Jack to Spaghetti Carbonara. It’s fattening, but haven’t fixed it for him in a long time. I can get better padta and cheese at Fresh Market.

CeeJay: Hope you enjoy WW. I watch Perry Mason sometimes in the daytime. I like watching Hazel. You’ll have to tell us what your book is. I read a lot so I go through a lot of books of all kinds. I recently bought the book about the USS Indianapolis tragedy, but haven’t gotten brave enough to read it yet.

Jean: Aww new kittens. I have a friend who was a librarian her whole life and her pets are named after To Kill a Mockingbird characters. Her black lab is named Scout and her cat Atticus. I’m glad Ian has such a good attitude about the guys on the team. I saw the kids picture on FB and Ian’s shoes kind of jumped out at me like he had big feet.

Everyone have a good evening. I’m going to take a nice warm shower and go to bed real early I think.

[Jean]

Good Evening! It was a cooler day today but sunny and no wind again. Nice. My four little fuzz balls are playing in/on/under what is left of a a couple plants on the deck. I’m glad the frost got to them first or they would be shredded for sure. Today was my day to work in the gift shop and I was the best customer! The buyers are starting to put out Christmas items. I saw red battery operated candles when I was there on Monday and only one was still there! I put it under the counter along with a candle ring of holly and pine cones sprinkled with sparkley snow. I went to church for bell practice later and the rummage sale starts tomorrow. I found a crystal cat! A couple who died within a few months of each other, son donated all their furniture, clothes, etc., to the rummage sale. She had a whole collection of cat figurines and I couldn’t pass one up knowing how much she loved cats. They ran out of tables and took our bell tables, so no practice today. We have a huge fellowship hall and there is so much stuff the aisles between tables is barely wide enough to squeeze by another person. The overflow items are down another hall with furniture items down yet another hall. Most everything is $.25 but bigger items are priced otherwise. The gal in charge said they’ve never had so much stuff and this will be the last year for her. I’m not a rummage/garage sale fan so have never gone before. Bob is farming again today in hopes of getting ahead of the rain predicted for tomorrow. Ian has his first playoff game tomorrow night and I hope it doesn’t rain or this chick will be at their house with Zowie and the kittens!

Ceejay, congrats on going to the gym! Do you have a regular routine or work with a trainer? I would need help if I ever get my courage up to go. Would you share your taco soup recipe please? Everyone’s food always sounds better than mine. I usually forget something at the the store that I specifically need. Good luck if you decide on the WW meeting. I’ve never tried online but think I need the commitment of going to the meeting and facing the scale. A long time ago I attended a WW meeting that was held over the noon hour at the hospital. The leader was good but attendance dwindled and then the hospital remodeled that area so that meeting was eliminated. The other local meeting is at night when I have bell practice so I no longer go. No, I won’t keep the kittens. I would bring one inside if I could get it tame enough but usually what happens is they get bigger and go their separate ways. The mother cat has been a regular for three years so I’m surprised she disappeared. We caught her in the live trap after she had her first litter but let her go knowing she had kittens hidden somewhere. She won’t go near the live trap now but I would love to catch her and have her spayed then release her again.

“Gma,” a kitten was dumped in the book return slot in a nearby town. The librarian adopted the kitten and kept it in the library. She wrote a couple books about him, naming him Dewey after the decimal system used in libraries. I have a couple given to me. People came from all over the U.S. to see him. I have read To Kill a Mockingbird too many times to count! It was required reading for sophomores and we always had to take turns reading it out loud. For some reason they thought the ESL students would remember it better; my thought was the teacher should have read it because by the time they figured out words they lost the thought process. But what did I know?! Was the FB picture of Ian a recent one? If so I didn’t see it. He is usually standing in the back row because he is the tallest. He does have big feet! Hope you sleep better tonight!

Hope you enjoy your evening and have a terrific Thursday tomorrow!

[Jean]

Good Afternoon! It is cloudy and spitting rain drops off and on. I had books to go back to the library and a couple other errands this morning. Now we are just killing time until it’s time to leave for Ian’s game. The game is at six but the gate opens at five. I may send Bob to save seats and stay in the car as long as I can. My fuzz balls are chasing the squirrels’ peanuts around the deck. They are so fun to watch. All four fit in the kitty house right now, but I think only two spent the night in there. I can hardly wait for the November election so the political ads are gone again!

I need to find my long johns and winter jacket so I’m ready when Bob is. Hope you all are having a good day!

[ceejay52]

Jean
I will find the recipe I used which was easy to make but it was on the spicy side for me. I had to tone it down. It was better today and I found the same recipe that used chicken instead of beef so I will make that one next. The chicken taco soup recipe was a WW recipe. I think WW is having trouble keeping clients.

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I have been in a ho hum state of mind this week. Think part of it is boredom. Made myself go to the gym today to get out of the house. The leaves on the trees are beginning to get full with color.
I need to get something to eat and then cuddle with the cat.

[Jean]

Good Evening! It looked like it was going to rain most of the day until late afternoon when the sun came out. We did have a few sprinkles last night but not enough to stop the farmers from continuing the harvest today. I spent the morning at church working on the rummage sale. I thought it didn’t look like we had sold much yesterday but the ladies who worked said a lot was sold. Today was “fill a grocery sack for $1.00” and most of the shoppers were nonwhite. It was only going to be open until 5:30 which didn’t give workers who couldn’t come until after 5 much time to shop. Like I said before, this is not my idea of a good time. The gal in charge said this is the last one. Maybe someone else will take it over; it’s a lot of work! I had to do the end of the week paperwork for the gift shop, brought the money home and have it ready for the bank, then took my glasses to have new lenses put in. I paid extra for “no scratch” so didn’t have to pay anything. Bob left for the farm early this morning and should be home pretty soon.

Ceejay, our big maple tree has finally turned yellow with some orange leaves in the mix. It lost quite a few leaves today; it wasn’t windy so they just drifted down gently. Three more trees to go. I have a couple soup recipes shared by friends but they just don’t taste as good as their’s when I make them. I just am not a good cook, period. I even tried a copy cat recipe from Olive Garden and it was yucky. Congrats on going to the gym again today! I think several gloomy days in a row make me ho hum to lack ambition to do anything.

I have towels to fold and put away as well as socks to match together so better get that done. Hope you enjoy a nice evening!