we had lots of the wet stuff! But NJ was in a drought condition so it was much needed rain. We haven't had a lot and last years snows weren't enough either. It's going to be gloomy till Thursday so I might just go and find some closets to clean again or maybe the dresser drawers.
I took a pause day yesterday...not because i wanted one but because the day was filled with trips to the loo. I wasn't sick, it was just a necessary, planned thing. too many bananas!
Now it's too much information!!! Because of the high winds, Jen and Rich didn't go away but I don't see anyone coming to take Birdy home!!! I had to cancel the eye doctor and they left a message on my machine that the next one available is in January!! Hope the eyes stay good till then! better get going or I might just go back to bed!

Happy~ I wake the same way. Living alone I have to force myself out of bed! Hope the car got a good check up and BTW...a friend of mine is a loyal Toyota fan too! He keeps buying their small pickups. wouldn't own anything else. Funny you should say "soup" cause a neighbor dropped of chicken soop with those little orzo pasta things. I love them!!! :eat2:

Shad~ DS is lucky to have a good and thoughtful Mum like you! Bet Chris is looking forward to seeing a real friend and hope she's feeling better more every day. Any new news?
I wondered where the hammock was!!! maybe it got a bit chilly and decided to wrap itself around something warm. Hope you tied an anchor on your butt if you went out!!!

Meadow~ I am sorry to hear about the computer problems. I wanted to ask if it could be all the graphics you do? I was going to ask the pc man that comes here about that cause i remember one of the former ones telling me about how a computer "supports" them, cross bands and im forget what else.
We had gotten on the subject because another website I use crashed and that was part(or all) of the problem. Anyway....hope you keep it up and running!!! I agree....they do very strange things and don't even ask permission!!!! Thanks for the rainbow...it's the first i've seen in a very long time! lol

Ceejay~ I know you will love the trip. Nice babysitting job! backwards You cracked me up!!!! surprised you didn't take the kid for a ride on the lawnmower or did that get returned?!? LOL enjoy the holiday weekend!!! Hope it's good weather your way too.

I see Holly snuck in there while I was typing....have a great day Miss Holly and enjoy the bird. I am droooooling over here just thinking of it!!! YUM!!!! Glad you're rested and happy. Have fun.

Happy Holiday to all of our Canadian friends hope you enjoy good food and family! I does seem to be the wet windy weekend lots of places in the world this weekend.
I took my puppy Toby on his first big hike yesterday in the rain. Met with my friend Maria and we did about 51/2 miles up one of our old trails. Heard an elk bugle and enjoyed the soft rain and smells. Toby did very well and he is good about letting me know if he needs picked up at all.
I made some soup this weekend too and am busy trying once again to get to some of the todo's on my list.
How is our little man CJ? hope he is resting well with his mum!
Mel, how are you feeling? your eyes good? Enjoy the birdie! Shad you are going to enjoy your trip so much hope all goes well for you.
Everyone have a great weekend and hope the challenge is holding up for everyone....so far I have been good!
Blessings,
Nae

Mel - You asked about the trainee. This morning I think she was fishing for a compliment, because she told me she wanted to go back to school to be a nurse. Believe me I do not want her to take care of me. but to get the grant she needed she would have to quit. She's called wolf to many times. I'm not going to give her the compliment that she so desires just to keep her here. If she wants to go so be it, let her go.

Holly Happy Thanksgiving. You'll have to share that bird. Have a good day.

Nae--The soup sounds good.

The phone has started to ring. The power is out in the neighborhood.

HUGs CJ, Nae, Melster, Chicks...I am about to pop a 15 lb turkey in the oven for the 4 of us.Tomorrow I will be bagging up 4 0z packages for me for in the freezer and then making soup stock and some stew and 1 tiny batch of turkey tetrazini,YUM.

Church was peaceful and lovely. The day is following suit. The kids just gathered up twigs,leaves etc to make decorations for the house. I have a speedy clean thru to do and we will decorate for fall( late I know). Oh happy sigh. DH just left to watch the race with the boys and will be home for dinner. The kids will love surprising him with the decorations.
Today will not be super on plan with the diet but I will decline the potatoes and have a tiny bit of stuffing and a small slice o pie. Back in the saddle tomorrow. Oh and couple of glasses of wine.
Feeling insanely happy and totally blissed out with love for my sweet little family.

We are going to the lake tomorrow for lunch. They are having their big do today.

HUGS!!! H
Ps listening to some "seasonal"*giggle* rock and roll, kids are dancing, LOL!!

Lessons I have learned.

Eat breakfast early. If I do not eat breakfast I tend to graze my way through the day, especially if I am at home. It's a bit easier at work.

Do not cook for the DS2. I have to taste it to see if it is too spicy (he's not that fond of chilli) too bland (likes a bit of salt - probably too much) too Indian (not fond of Asian food) too Pacific (meat eater not veges). Actually he is not as fussy as that sounds, so he now has meals in the freezer for:-
1. tandoori chicken (not spicy because it is a commercial brand) with pilaf and harvest mix.
2 Roast lamb and potatoes with beans and corn (and gravy which he will not eat but keeps it moist)
3. Ham fried rice
4. Braised lamb cooked tomatoes, onion, bacon, red wine and oregano, some with potato and some with rice and all with harvest mix.
5. Sausages and mash with peas and corn.
6. Chicken spaghetti bolognaise - lots of tomatoes, lots of pepper and basil.

There is at least two of each. So there should be enough for every day that I am away. I hope he is happy about that. And I have cleaned out the freezer of all the meat which should have been eaten this month. There is only a few bits of chicken thighs and fish fillets to eat before I go away.

Went to finish off the taxes last night and I have lost the PAYG group certificate. I have no doubt the wind has blown it off my desk but where it has blown it to I have no idea. I will find it and get the thing cracking by tonight. And next year I will keep better records and do it straight off. Straight up I will (yeah Shaddie - who are you trying to convince?)

Meadow, my old computer did that. For some reason it would revert to 16 bit. I can't remember whether it should be 32bit or 256 colours. I think that is when it went haywire - on the 256 colours. Anyway, I had new graphic card, new monitor, new something else and nothing worked. It would and still does go for ages perfectly well and then whammy something shifts in it's brain and it does a nose dive. Love the photo of the rainbow. We are getting incredible sunsets at the moment because of the dust flying through the air. Most of it seems to land in my house - the dust not the sunsets.

Ceejay - Glad you had a good time with the niece and the family. Enjoy that 4 day weekend. I could do with one of those. Just keep plugging along with the new person. One day you will say something and it will just click in her head. Sometimes those days are a long way off and it becomes frustrating. When do you plan to go to Dallas to see your sister?

Holly - there will always be people who think they know better than you do. Some may actually be right. However these good folk just can't seem to spread the knowledge around, they hug it to themselves and criticise those who are trying hard to communicate, help and just be downright neighbourly. Forgive them their sins for they are just not worthy. I really get grumpy about those who criticise but don't do anything about it. Enjoy the turkey and the gardening. Put out the best dinnerset, table decorations and crystal glasses. It only gets to be Thanksgiving once a year. Encourage the DS to enjoy the formal side of life - it may be what he is looking for.

Mel - Bananas!!!! - does that prove you are not a monkey??? I don't know about DS being grateful. I'll ask him when I see him and let you know. Chris reckons she'll be at about 80% by the time I get there. She tells me she has dispensed with the stick except for going upstairs (or is it downstairs). But she is fed up and frustrated with herself for not getting better quicker. I keep saying it will happen in time. She may not have yet read the blurb that Jenny sent up to her about complete recovery could be 2 -3 years!! We will see in about 17 days time.

Roseblush - that walk sounded good. Enjoy the trails while you can. Glad to hear you are going well on the challenge.

I saw Tig in here sometime around Friday or Saturday. Hiya Tig. Glad to hear the thugs are speaking Japanese. I may have to call on them if I get stuck or take a wrong turn and end up in Okinawa. Love the names of these fun runs you go on. Creaky bones indeed, sounds like me getting out of bed.

Okay, time to run along. Who are we missing? Teel LindaT (she's probably cooking as well) Painterwoman

Someone mentioned the turtle. She's back posting on PIC thread. Saw her there the other day. Gotta run.

umm I love tandoori chicken - especially the not so spicy kind. Do you cook it in a clay pot? I would be willing to house sit if you were to feed me tandoori chicken. However if I'm going to spend an entire day and night on a plane to get to your house, I'd probably prefer it more if you were home and we could spend some time together. Besides, between not being able to stay on your side of the road and trying to decipher the Aussie language where they forget to add the second and third sylables of the words, it might be best if I have a guide along with me.

Tiny American children speaking Japanese - now that's got to be a hoot!

DH took my car in for me. Bless him. He even said he'd wash it too. And I didn't even have to promise him he'd get lucky for it That allowed me time to do 7 loads of laundry, clean 4 baths and a kitchen and sift through the recipes to plan out meals and make the grocery list. Soups are on the menu this week along with some baked chicken and a meatloaf recipe from my friend at work. I'm learning to eat with a bit more spice in my life. I found a recipe from a friend who's a fabulous cook - it's for a spicy pumpkin soup - will pass along the recipe if you want it Shad - probably doesn't have enough curry for you but you could add more. What is harvest mix? Inquiring cooks want to know!

My exercise today besides being on my feet for 14 hours had to settle for crunches. My leg really hurts. I think I'm slow to get going on the weekends because once I get going, I don't sit down until late evening supper. Then it's up to wash the dishes and finish up all the things I didn't get to but wanted to. I guess I make up for sitting too much during the week with non stop marathoning on the weekends. I did take 30 minutes out to soak my feet with some eucalyptus salts. That helped ease the pain. I picked up a few magazines too including this Looking Good that I think Java Turtle was raving about. It's pretty good. Reminded me that it's good positive reinforcement to include some reading on a regular basis.

Tonight's dinner was yum. Grilled salmon, fresh steamed green beans with red bell pepper strips, a few slices of nuked yellow squash and a small lettuce and tomato salad. Geez I even measured portions and used the butter spray instead of the real stuff. Feeling virtuous. Dessert was one small coconut macaroon which I nibbled and thoroughly enjoyed just one. No desire for more than that. The way DH scarfed them down I won't have to worry about them being around for much longer anyway. Friday we grilled fish too - sea bass for me and swordfish for him. We grilled it on cedar planks. Smelled heavenly, looked just like a magazine photo but taste. The bass was oily, DH said the swordfish was so so, the marinated cucumbers were bitter - the only thing that came out ok was the sugar snap peas. It's amazing how it's impossible to overeat when the food doesn't taste that good. I should probably learn to yuck up my cooking and I'd do better at portion control.

Mel, your comment reminded me to go looking for some orzo pasta in the pantry here. Found it. Love that stuff and since it's so tiny you can have some and not feel so guilty. It's wonderful in soups.

Sounds like everyone had some good eatings on the table this weekend. Enjoy. Eat, move, breathe...

where they forget to add the second and third sylables of the words, it might be best if I have a guide along with me. Huh!!!!

Oh now come on happy, where's your sense of adventure?

They always shorten things to Jono for johnny or prego for pregnant or arvo for afternoon. But even I have some trouble understanding some of them. And the further north you go the worse it gets. They speak slower up there, but they shorten the words so it doesn't take so long.
Me I speak perfect English!!!

I well remember Beamo who said,

I...m... from....the...norfn...teritry....'bout 12hunrd K..... sart.... o... Kafrin.
I...m....on cattle....lot...an'I...work....t'bulls.....Im dry..

Yep right on Beamo - here you go, have another tequila.

In case you didn't get that lot. He is from the Northern Territory and he works on a cattle station 1200 kilometres south of Kathrine. He's the stud manager and he is now thirsty from all this talk. Easy really isn't it?

You do speak perfect English! Is it that the closer to the equator you go, the slower you talk because the hotter it gets? Crikey, I'd think you'd talk faster before you burnt up

New smilies. Got all excited, thought we had some pumpkins and the like...

THANKS FOR POINTING THIS OUT MISS HAPPY!!! I LOVE NEW TOYS! BUT WHERE ARE OUR PUMPKINS?!?! WE COULD HAVE USED HIM ALL MONTH! IT'S GOOD TO SEE EVERYONE IS COOKING, STANDING AROUND ALL WEEKEND, CELEBRATING AND RESTING AND HAVING A GRAND OLD TIME DOING IT. I HAVE BEEN PUTSING AROUND THE HOUSE DOING ODD JOBS. JUST THE LITTLE THINGS THAT GET PUSHED OFF. I REALLY NEED TO SORT THROUGH THE VCR TAPES I TAPED FROM CABLE TV. I HAVE LOADS OF THEM AND NEVER WATCH THEM!!! MUST MAKE A PILE FOR JEN AND SEE IF SHE WANTS ANY OF THEM. TODAY IS THE LAST OF THE HOLIDAY SO I WILL MAKE THE BEST OF THE SILENCE. YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD OF ME. A GENT CAME TO ASK FOR HELP FILLING OUR FORMS, A CRANKY OLD CUSS TOO, AND I SAID I'M SORRY BUT IT WILL HAVE TO WAIT TIL TUESDAY AFTER I FOOD SHOP. HE WAS SO STUNNED HE STOOD THER AND THEN ASKED WHY. I TOLD HIM I HAD OVERNIGHT COMAPANY AND WAS BUSY, SAID GOODBYE AND CLOSED THE DOOR! I KNOW IT WAS A LIE BUT IT WAS KINDER WITH THE EXCUSE AND AT LEAST I GOT IT OUT! WELL THE MORNING IS RUNNING AWAY FROM ME SO ADIOS TILL TOMORROW.

CEEJAY~ I KNOW THAT TYPE VERY WELL AND AS I GROW OLDER AND WISER I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO PATIENCE OR TIME FOR PEOPLE LIKE THAT. HAPPY HOLIDAY. HOPE THA AUNT AND UNCLE HAVE A GREAT TIME.

NAE~ TOBY SOUNDS LIKE A REAL TROOPER! WHEN I READ YOUR POST I THOUGHT AT FIRST YOU BOTH HAD WALKED 51 MILES....DID A DOUBLE TAKE AND REALIZED I WAS WRONG. I WAS GOING TO TELL YOU THAT YOU WOULD HAVE HAD TO CARRY ME TOO! THAT WAS SOME GREAT EXERCISE!

SHAD~ HAD I KNOWN YOU WERE FILLING THE FREEZER I WOULD HAVE FLOWN OVER AND HOUSE SAT. HAPPY AND I WOULD HAVE WATCHED THE DUST COLLECT AND THE GECKOS RUN AROUND AND HELD THE HAMMOCK DOWN TILL YOU GOT BACK! PRAYERS FOR CHRIS. IT'S SO HARD ON ACTIVE PEOPLE WHEN THIS KIND OF THING HAPPENS.

HAPPY~ STILL WITH THE SALMON HUH?! LOL I MUST GO TO YOUR HOUSE AND HAVE YOU COOK FOR ME TOO!!!
YOU SOUND LIKE YOU HAVE A GREAT HUBBY. CARS, BIKES, GARDENS, BUTTERFLIES AND ALL. HOW IS ROCKY AND HAVE YOU SEEN THE CAT LATELY?

THE BIRD IS SQUAWKING CAUSE THE TYPING IS KEEPING HIM FROM HIS NA!!! BEST GET THE DAY GOING ANYWAY. HAVE A GREAT ONE AND TO ALL THE REST!

It's almost 8:30 a.m. I'm at work but just don't feel like doing to much today. My other foot is starting to give me problems. I'll be calling the podiatrist sometime this morning to make an appointment, and I need to work on that manual so I guess I need to get started.

I went to sleep earlier than usual last night. I need to start going to bed by 9:30 p.m. then I could get up and do my 30 minutes of aerobics before I came to work. I only got to do 20 minutes this morning, but I did wash and dry a load of white clothes.

Hello to all the chicks. I'll try to come back later and talk.

You know Mel, when I was talking about housesitting for Shad, I was thinking that I'd bring you along and we'd stir up quite the ruckus in her neighborhood. that we are Probably wouldn't let us both enter the country at the same time - our pics with the big red circle and slash at the customs gate

And yes, I do have a great hubby. And he has an equally fantatic wife. Must be good that we found each other

Rocky is still around but he comes in the dead of the night so I don't see him much. Feral cat came late last night. I put out some food when I saw her but she's hyper skittish and took off running. Didn't come back until 6am and when I was passing by the doorway it scared her off again. I wonder if someone tried to catch her.

I am SO VERY PROUD OF YOU for standing your ground and sending the old cuss off to wait until the regular crew showed up. Yay Mel I had to laugh at your taping of the videos. My dad did that too. He had a wall's worth of tapes - probably every movie HBO ever broadcast. He couldn't understand why we were not as excited about them as he was Hope someone takes them off your hands or better still, works a trade swap with you.

Ceejay - what's going on with the foot? I know the feeling, fix one side and the other poops out.

Man, WHAT is it about the bread down here? ONE side of it gets stale. Yep, one side is fresh as can be and one side gets stale. I was running late today (what else is new) and packed a sandwich as I didn't make the soups last night. Bread was fresh when I made the sandwich - well it's a few days old but still soft. Eating it now, one side is HARD. WTH?????? I have noticed this several times with the bread down here - same brands as I bought in Chicago but it doesn't last as well. I had a chicken breast sandwich, am getting ready to start on my carrots and cucumbers and will finish off with my plum for dessert. I did have a Coke and I'm chowing down fast between meetings so I'm swallowing alot of air. Between that and the fizz in the Coke I'm burping like crazy. My new cubemate must be really impressed - but hey, she chose to set her cube up so that she faces me instead of the way the rest of us sit. Only a short wall (which muffles NO sound) separates us. I am trying to be very very quiet. Cripes now my TUMMY is gurgling. Wish everyone would get back from lunch quick and start talking to muffle the noise.

Ok, my 10 minute dash and grab is over, I have just enough time for 3 laps around the office for a bit of exercise. Am really trying to step things up this week. Later ladies...

Morning all, glorious morning that it is and all.

I'm feeling fairly perky this morning. Darned if I know why, but I'm not complaining. The day will grind down as it passes no doubt.

Challenge going well. Have no idea what day I am up to but that is okay, I will figure it out.

Work is being dorky, whinging all around me. If I have to listen to another day of grumbles by the resident drama queen, I may just have to give her something to think about. Give me my blokes back.!!!!!

Rung the DS2 last night to tell him what I have learned of lens for Canon Digital cameras and he is impressed with his mummy's knowledge. Good onya mum was what he said. Then I told him about the home cooked meals now in the freezer. He tells me I am a 'legend'. I guess that must be good huh? Then I told him about a couple of other things and I am the 'best'. So maybe I have earned enough Brownie points for a month or two?

Still can't find that piece of paper that blew off the desk in the wind. I've looked absolutely everywhere, well maybe not everywhere since I haven't found it yet. I will ring the agency and see if I can get a copy sent. PIA. Have absolutely no idea where it could have gone.

Nice new smilies - what's with all the welcoming. Have we had an influx of people or something. Or maybe we should now be saying - you're

Hey Ceejay, you are in danger of becoming organised. All this washing and aerobics before work. Hope the foot comes right soon.

If I had known you two were keen on coming over and housesitting, I would have made some more dinners. Sunday would have preferred you too, since Mel is a sitting audience and she loves people who sit (because then she can sit on top of them and claw them to death and purr in their ear). The cockatoos are back - raucous monsters. Can't shut up for 2 minutes that lot. It's not as hot as it was in the weekend so you can relax in the terrace, I'll go sling the hammock out there when I get home. You won't need to mow the lawn or dig the garden - just concentrate on the geckos and swatting the BUGS.

Better go do some work. It could be novel experience.

Think I'm getting the hang of this challenge thing. I would like to try some yoga on Wednesday.

Went to the chiropractor today. He found the spot where my nerve is sore. The soreness is from twisting my hips back into place. DH said he noticed (without prompting) that my foot seems to be straightening out and is not nearly as pointing inward as it once was. Kinks are working their way down and out the foot. I'm hoping to be feeling better by the weekend at the very latest. Would like to get back on the treadmill by the end of the week. I'm going to try icing the spot as Tig suggested now that I know right where it hurts.

Shad, I daresay DS2 is buttering you up. Maybe he's hoping to find a new camera lens in the freezer next to the chicken

And just what are we supposed to do with the geckos? Over this way they put them in TV commercials and make them sell auto insurance I suppose I can't even post a picture lest we all get sued for copyright infringement

I made one of the soups tonight - a shrimp and corn chowder but it seems to be missing something and I added alot of cayenne pepper so it does have a kick to it.

I have to figure out how to get one of the other soups made tomorrow - a beef soup that will take a while to cook. We have a homeowners association meeting tomorrow night. Almost 200 homes in the subdivision and we'll be lucky if we get representation from 12 houses. Why doesn't anyone want to get involved anymore

Mel, here's a pumpkin for you. Tell Miss Suzanne to load us some smilies.

DH and I had to stop at the home improvement store tonight to pick up some nails. Of course they have all the Christmas decorations out. Among them this HUGE plastic snowglobe that must be 6 feet across with singing snowmen and tiny pellets of "snow" falling inside the globe. Lighted too of course. I poked DH and said "might be the only snow we see here" He said that's ok. The winds would catch it and it would go rolling down the street and cause a horrible bus accident. He has no sense of adventure (he must have rubbed off on me Shad)...