11/30/2013
Because I don't have anything better to do beside dusting, laundry or cleaning bathrooms (ick), I decided to see if I could get my recipes under control. I have in one kitchen drawer a higgledy piggledy mess of recipes. Some are neatly typed, others handwritten and I even have a few that just list ingredients and nothing else (a mystery dish I suppose).
I decided today was as good a time as ever to get these recipes under control, i.e., get them typed up and saved on the computer. My theory being that once they are stored electronically they could be found easily (perhaps). That is unless you forget exactly which folder you put them in!
After I emptied out an entire drawer, gathered up all the loose 3x5 recipe cards, as well as a really disorganized recipe box (do people even use these anymore?), I was ready to begin organizing, hopefully for the last time.
When I typed in the recipes, I actually added a blurb about where and from whom I had received the recipe from. Don't I sound very Martha-Steward like? Everything was going pretty well until I got bogged down in Memory Lane.
I have typed recipe cards from my mother-in-law, a lot of handwritten recipes from my mother and even some handwritten ones from my Grandmother.
One of the recipes from my Grandmother was written in purple ink and by now the paper is very thin and has been folded many times causing part of the paper to be torn, but still readable. The recipe in question is for Oatmeal Cake and calls for 11 ingredients! I've never made it and don't even know if it's any good. What I can't bring myself to do is to type out the recipe to add to my electronic recipe box and toss out this very old and worn piece of paper.
I also have a typed recipe from Jeff's Great Aunt Ruby for Pound Cake that is to die for - truly! The paper is also getting a bit thin and I should probably type it in to preserve it for the future. But I know that even if I do this, I won't be able to toss out a recipe from a wonderful woman that I, unfortunately, didn't know near long enough. I will tell you this about the pound cake. One summer Jeff, myself and the three boys traveled to Arkansas for a family reunion and we stayed with Aunt Ruby. I remember coming down for breakfast one morning and finding the boys all eating rather large pieces of cake. I fussed a bit until Aunt Ruby told me it was the perfect breakfast. "Honey all it's got in there is eggs and butter" Admittedly, those were key ingredients but it also has 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of Crisco! I don't make this cake near often enough but perhaps I will surprise the boys at Christmas.
Time to change gears, which means I will swap my computer chair for my recliner and one of my library books I picked up yesterday!
P
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Merry Coffee!
11/30/2013
Yesterday Jeff came home with a new coffee maker, a Keurig brewer complete with a drawer that will hold all the little pods of different flavored coffees. We are definitely uptown now! During the past 39 years we have had coffee pots that brewed while on the stove, Corning Ware ones, any number of Mr. Coffee units and even one that brewed into a thermal container which kept the coffee hot without burning.
The thing is that Jeff and I love coffee (that's with a capital "L"). Normally, Jeff doesn't drink coffee all day long, but I do. When we were dating oh about a hundred years ago, I only drank hot tea and had never tried coffee. Jeff assured me that when we went to somebody's house, we were never offered a cup of tea, just coffee. Much as an athlete goes into training for a big event, I went into coffee drinking training in a big way. The other thing that Jeff said was that if you were going to drink coffee - you must drink it black. No sissy cup filled with cream and/or sugar.
Admittedly, initially the taste of coffee wasn't one I liked very much at all, but I continued drinking the black, unsweetened stuff and eventually developed quite a taste for it. This many years later, I can literally drink Jeff under the table when it comes to coffee. At any one time in the house, there may be several cups of cold coffee just waiting for my return to finish drinking. I now drink coffee hot, warm and/or room temperature. I almost never actually finish a cup of coffee. I have a cup sitting in front of me as I blog this morning. Am I likely to finish drinking? Not likely. I will finish the blog, head off to do some mind-numbing chore and forget about the coffee entirely. Mind you the coffee will not go to waste, because once I return to my desk, I will resume drinking whatever is in my cup and won't even bother to warm it up.
What I do not like is super duper hot coffee. If the coffee is really hot, I drop one or two ice cubes into the cup to get the coffee at room temperature. I do not under any circumstances want to burn my tongue. I also don't like drinking out of any kind of commuter cup, because I can't see how much coffee is actually inside.
So as I finish this morning's blog, my cup is empty (I had Hazelnut) and when I want another cup of coffee, I simply need to pick a flavor (Jeff bought several different flavors for us to try), put the little pod into the machine and hit the button. Mere seconds later I'll have coffee minus the bean grinding and coffee grounds - just coffee and one used pod to toss in the trash. This just couldn't get any easier and I'm in heaven with all my choices.
P
Yesterday Jeff came home with a new coffee maker, a Keurig brewer complete with a drawer that will hold all the little pods of different flavored coffees. We are definitely uptown now! During the past 39 years we have had coffee pots that brewed while on the stove, Corning Ware ones, any number of Mr. Coffee units and even one that brewed into a thermal container which kept the coffee hot without burning.
The thing is that Jeff and I love coffee (that's with a capital "L"). Normally, Jeff doesn't drink coffee all day long, but I do. When we were dating oh about a hundred years ago, I only drank hot tea and had never tried coffee. Jeff assured me that when we went to somebody's house, we were never offered a cup of tea, just coffee. Much as an athlete goes into training for a big event, I went into coffee drinking training in a big way. The other thing that Jeff said was that if you were going to drink coffee - you must drink it black. No sissy cup filled with cream and/or sugar.
Admittedly, initially the taste of coffee wasn't one I liked very much at all, but I continued drinking the black, unsweetened stuff and eventually developed quite a taste for it. This many years later, I can literally drink Jeff under the table when it comes to coffee. At any one time in the house, there may be several cups of cold coffee just waiting for my return to finish drinking. I now drink coffee hot, warm and/or room temperature. I almost never actually finish a cup of coffee. I have a cup sitting in front of me as I blog this morning. Am I likely to finish drinking? Not likely. I will finish the blog, head off to do some mind-numbing chore and forget about the coffee entirely. Mind you the coffee will not go to waste, because once I return to my desk, I will resume drinking whatever is in my cup and won't even bother to warm it up.
What I do not like is super duper hot coffee. If the coffee is really hot, I drop one or two ice cubes into the cup to get the coffee at room temperature. I do not under any circumstances want to burn my tongue. I also don't like drinking out of any kind of commuter cup, because I can't see how much coffee is actually inside.
So as I finish this morning's blog, my cup is empty (I had Hazelnut) and when I want another cup of coffee, I simply need to pick a flavor (Jeff bought several different flavors for us to try), put the little pod into the machine and hit the button. Mere seconds later I'll have coffee minus the bean grinding and coffee grounds - just coffee and one used pod to toss in the trash. This just couldn't get any easier and I'm in heaven with all my choices.
P
Friday, November 29, 2013
Black Friday and Christmas
11/29/2013
Did you groan leaving the dining room table yesterday or fall into a stupor after the big meal? If so you joined the ranks of most Americans. Thanksgiving, more than any other holiday, really does center around eating. I know for my family we bring out all the favorite dishes on Thanksgiving and our meal at Christmas is in comparison is so much easier to prepare - having a ham requires no stuffing or gravy, so you've saved yourself quite a bit of a work right there.
Jeff and I went to Andrew's house yesterday, the food was wonderful and so was the company. Benjamin was not really sure about all the dishes being served. but he did try most everything at least once. When you're a kid you are supposed and/or required to eat some of everything. But when you're an adult you are allowed to take a pass on things you don't want to eat, which in my case is cranberries and stuffing. Why would you waste precious calories on stuffing when instead you could have potatoes!
After the food was stored and the dishes done, we got out the Wii and bowled. I'm happy to say that for the second game I had the high score of 185! I used to really enjoy league playing, trouble was swinging the ball (even though my ball only weighed 8 pounds!).
Now that Thanksgiving is over and done with - except for leftovers, it's time to officially move into the Christmas season, starting with Black Friday. Yesterday's paper had the sales insert which must have weighed 5 pounds. Diligently, as if I was actually going to practice good buying technique, I went through each and every ad. Truthfully, I mostly just gazed quickly at most ads because I have never shopped on the day after Thanksgiving and I see no reason to start now.
I saw that flannel shirts cost "x" at one store and "y" at another; but, the price difference isn't enough to have me driving from one store to another to save a few bucks. I have the stores that I frequent and even my favored websites. I have never gone to one of those sales that starts at midnight where people trample one another to buy something that is only in limited supply. If, and it's a big if, you really needed to buy a requested toy for a child, chances are you have already bought it, long before the madness set in.
Gone are the days when Scott would climb all over the house to put up lights. He did an amazing job and it was always nice to come home after dark and know that the glowing light we saw from a distance, was ours. Scott now decorates his own home and I'm sure even without seeing it, that he has or will do an amazing job in making sure that you can see his house from a distance.
I did create a wish list of sorts of things that Jeff and I would like and gave that to Stacey yesterday. I don't want anybody to try and think what we would like. I remember how hard it was buying something for my Mother - it was agonizing.
So if you're determined to hit the stores today, wear comfy shoes, don't bundle yourself up in a winter coat which will be way too hot once you are inside a store and bring some kind of a tote bag for your purchases. And remember not everything has to be bought today - the stores will open again tomorrow and even the day after that!
Quote for the Day:
Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have. Anonymous
Whatever you're doing today, shopping, addressing Christmas cards or just reading a good book, enjoy yourself.
P
Did you groan leaving the dining room table yesterday or fall into a stupor after the big meal? If so you joined the ranks of most Americans. Thanksgiving, more than any other holiday, really does center around eating. I know for my family we bring out all the favorite dishes on Thanksgiving and our meal at Christmas is in comparison is so much easier to prepare - having a ham requires no stuffing or gravy, so you've saved yourself quite a bit of a work right there.
Jeff and I went to Andrew's house yesterday, the food was wonderful and so was the company. Benjamin was not really sure about all the dishes being served. but he did try most everything at least once. When you're a kid you are supposed and/or required to eat some of everything. But when you're an adult you are allowed to take a pass on things you don't want to eat, which in my case is cranberries and stuffing. Why would you waste precious calories on stuffing when instead you could have potatoes!
After the food was stored and the dishes done, we got out the Wii and bowled. I'm happy to say that for the second game I had the high score of 185! I used to really enjoy league playing, trouble was swinging the ball (even though my ball only weighed 8 pounds!).
Now that Thanksgiving is over and done with - except for leftovers, it's time to officially move into the Christmas season, starting with Black Friday. Yesterday's paper had the sales insert which must have weighed 5 pounds. Diligently, as if I was actually going to practice good buying technique, I went through each and every ad. Truthfully, I mostly just gazed quickly at most ads because I have never shopped on the day after Thanksgiving and I see no reason to start now.
I saw that flannel shirts cost "x" at one store and "y" at another; but, the price difference isn't enough to have me driving from one store to another to save a few bucks. I have the stores that I frequent and even my favored websites. I have never gone to one of those sales that starts at midnight where people trample one another to buy something that is only in limited supply. If, and it's a big if, you really needed to buy a requested toy for a child, chances are you have already bought it, long before the madness set in.
Gone are the days when Scott would climb all over the house to put up lights. He did an amazing job and it was always nice to come home after dark and know that the glowing light we saw from a distance, was ours. Scott now decorates his own home and I'm sure even without seeing it, that he has or will do an amazing job in making sure that you can see his house from a distance.
I did create a wish list of sorts of things that Jeff and I would like and gave that to Stacey yesterday. I don't want anybody to try and think what we would like. I remember how hard it was buying something for my Mother - it was agonizing.
So if you're determined to hit the stores today, wear comfy shoes, don't bundle yourself up in a winter coat which will be way too hot once you are inside a store and bring some kind of a tote bag for your purchases. And remember not everything has to be bought today - the stores will open again tomorrow and even the day after that!
Quote for the Day:
Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have. Anonymous
Whatever you're doing today, shopping, addressing Christmas cards or just reading a good book, enjoy yourself.
P
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Cooking
11/27/2013
For most of you I imagine you're at work today and counting the hours and minutes until you get to leave and battle rush hour traffic! Traffic will be more difficult today because of all the people who are getting on the road to drive to Granny's house, and hoping to beat the traffic (good luck with that).
Then there are those of us who, for one reason or another, aren't working. Some folks took this day off adding an extra day to an already long weekend. I'm home and once I've published my blog will get busy preparing the dishes I'm bringing to Andrew's house tomorrow. While I blog I tune in to Pandora radio and have programmed an "oldie" channel that for the most part plays songs from my teen years. The neat part about Pandora is that you can give any song a thumbs up or down. Once you have thumbed a song down, it never plays again on your personal station. Every now and again they sneak in a commercial, but it's brief and I just tune that stuff out.
When I've finished communicating with all of you, it will be time to get busy in the kitchen. One of my dishes calls for crushed pretzels. You put the pretzels in a zippy bag and then beat the heck out of it. How therapeutic is that? Very I can assure you.
Jeff is in charge of stuffing which has never been the best part of a Thanksgiving meal for me. I'm more of a potato,gravy girl and of course rolls and dessert. Jeff is not a sugar nut, his vice is salt. As for me it's always been and always will be sugar. I don't recall ever eating something sweet and not liking it. Who doesn't like sugar, except Jeff of course?
I'm also in charge of bringing cranberries, another food that I think is a waste of calories. For years we used the cranberry sauce (more like a blob actually) from a can. For whatever reason one year we decided to boil real cranberries and the canned stuff is now just a distant memory. By making the cranberries today they will be nicely chilled for our meal tomorrow.
I wish that each and everyone of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. Oh and if you are into football (as most people are), that your team wins!
P
For most of you I imagine you're at work today and counting the hours and minutes until you get to leave and battle rush hour traffic! Traffic will be more difficult today because of all the people who are getting on the road to drive to Granny's house, and hoping to beat the traffic (good luck with that).
Then there are those of us who, for one reason or another, aren't working. Some folks took this day off adding an extra day to an already long weekend. I'm home and once I've published my blog will get busy preparing the dishes I'm bringing to Andrew's house tomorrow. While I blog I tune in to Pandora radio and have programmed an "oldie" channel that for the most part plays songs from my teen years. The neat part about Pandora is that you can give any song a thumbs up or down. Once you have thumbed a song down, it never plays again on your personal station. Every now and again they sneak in a commercial, but it's brief and I just tune that stuff out.
When I've finished communicating with all of you, it will be time to get busy in the kitchen. One of my dishes calls for crushed pretzels. You put the pretzels in a zippy bag and then beat the heck out of it. How therapeutic is that? Very I can assure you.
Jeff is in charge of stuffing which has never been the best part of a Thanksgiving meal for me. I'm more of a potato,gravy girl and of course rolls and dessert. Jeff is not a sugar nut, his vice is salt. As for me it's always been and always will be sugar. I don't recall ever eating something sweet and not liking it. Who doesn't like sugar, except Jeff of course?
I'm also in charge of bringing cranberries, another food that I think is a waste of calories. For years we used the cranberry sauce (more like a blob actually) from a can. For whatever reason one year we decided to boil real cranberries and the canned stuff is now just a distant memory. By making the cranberries today they will be nicely chilled for our meal tomorrow.
I wish that each and everyone of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. Oh and if you are into football (as most people are), that your team wins!
P
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Silver and China Patterns
11/25/2013
After spending more than two hours trying to identify the pattern of silver flatware yesterday morning, I have one bit of advice for everybody hanging on to china, silverware, etc. Write the pattern names down somewhere! It is probably likely that when said china and silver passes on to the next generation, they are most likely not going to want the family treasures. This is just the way it is. In the 60's as a teenager, we girls were all really into china patterns for our new home. Today's bride perhaps not so much. I believe I can count on one hand - or perhaps two fingers how many times I have used my china. Maybe once. You have to take the china down from the cabinet above the refrigerator (super handy). wash it and after it's used, return it to that cabinet, where it will remain for another decade or so!
I'm sure that there are still people who are really into entertaining with a capital E. For those people then owning china,flatware and perhaps crystal does matters. For the rest of us mortals, owning and using these things - not so much. Gone are the days when it was almost mandatory for a new bride to select patterns. Most people, me included, have some "everyday" dishes that get used when they have company. These dishes don't require special handling, nor do they waste away in the cabinet above the refrigerator! You know as well as me, that anything stored above the refrigerator isn't going to get used very much. I for one am against anything that requires a step stool!
Should I save these things for the next generation so they can collect dust for another fifty years? I know two things for sure: (1) I shouldn't have bought into the china pattern hype when I got married 39 years ago; and (2) since I succumbed to the pressure, I should have at least used it!
Jeff brought down my China this morning because I needed to know what the name of the pattern was. I have offered the China to my daughter-in-law, and if she doesn't want them, I'm going to try and sell them. What I do know for sure is that if I have to put the dishes back in the cabinet, they aren't going to stay there. I intend to find a new home for these dishes because yours truly sure doesn't want them.
Tomorrow at this time Jeff and I will be busy preparing our dishes to take to Andrew's house on Thursday. Everybody looks forward to their Thanksgiving meal and I look forward to preparing my dishes because we generally eat these dishes once a year, because they are calorie laden!
P
After spending more than two hours trying to identify the pattern of silver flatware yesterday morning, I have one bit of advice for everybody hanging on to china, silverware, etc. Write the pattern names down somewhere! It is probably likely that when said china and silver passes on to the next generation, they are most likely not going to want the family treasures. This is just the way it is. In the 60's as a teenager, we girls were all really into china patterns for our new home. Today's bride perhaps not so much. I believe I can count on one hand - or perhaps two fingers how many times I have used my china. Maybe once. You have to take the china down from the cabinet above the refrigerator (super handy). wash it and after it's used, return it to that cabinet, where it will remain for another decade or so!
I'm sure that there are still people who are really into entertaining with a capital E. For those people then owning china,flatware and perhaps crystal does matters. For the rest of us mortals, owning and using these things - not so much. Gone are the days when it was almost mandatory for a new bride to select patterns. Most people, me included, have some "everyday" dishes that get used when they have company. These dishes don't require special handling, nor do they waste away in the cabinet above the refrigerator! You know as well as me, that anything stored above the refrigerator isn't going to get used very much. I for one am against anything that requires a step stool!
Should I save these things for the next generation so they can collect dust for another fifty years? I know two things for sure: (1) I shouldn't have bought into the china pattern hype when I got married 39 years ago; and (2) since I succumbed to the pressure, I should have at least used it!
Jeff brought down my China this morning because I needed to know what the name of the pattern was. I have offered the China to my daughter-in-law, and if she doesn't want them, I'm going to try and sell them. What I do know for sure is that if I have to put the dishes back in the cabinet, they aren't going to stay there. I intend to find a new home for these dishes because yours truly sure doesn't want them.
Tomorrow at this time Jeff and I will be busy preparing our dishes to take to Andrew's house on Thursday. Everybody looks forward to their Thanksgiving meal and I look forward to preparing my dishes because we generally eat these dishes once a year, because they are calorie laden!
P
Monday, November 25, 2013
Pot Pies and Chicken Chow Mein
11/25/2013
A blog about pot pies? Seriously? I have always been what Jeff and I refer to as a cheap date. Meaning that it doesn't take mega dollars to make me happy, which is a good thing. I enjoy, and always have, the little things and the inexpensive things, which brings me to pot pies.
Growing up I'm sure Mom bought pot pies for dinner during a lean economic period and I am also quite sure that we kids revolted at having to eat those pies. So fast forward 46 or so years and guess what I'm picking up every week at WalMart? If you guessed pot pies you'd be a winner. And I'm not talking about the high end pot pies which cost several dollars a box. Nope, I'm really satisfied with Banquet pot pies that cost roughly 80 cents a box. There is even a selection: turkey, chicken or beef. Oh and to round out your meal, Banquet also sells fruit pies and for the price and the minimal effort needed, are also pretty good.
When I was growing up, and again during a lean financial period, Mom would fix us canned Chicken Chow Mein. Unfortunately, this same product is still being offered today, but I assure you will never land in my grocery cart, either by accident or on purpose. I remember those two cans which are taped together being warmed up and served over the crunchy noodles. Getting this food down was never easy nor was it the least bit enjoyable. That may be the reason I have never served it to my family and never will. The top can has the veggies and the bottom can has the chicken and "gravy". The fact that this product is still being sold is surely some kind of testament that people, probably millions of them, use this product to feed their families. I understand.
I didn't eat real Asian food until I was an adult partly due to the memory of that food in a can. I was leery of all Asian food fearing that I would receive a dish similar to something served to me as a child. I'm glad I finally went outside of the box, because the food I'm eating today has nothing even remotely similar to the canned food. Thank goodness.
It's Monday and a short week with most everyone, except retail people, having Friday off. Good news is that you generally don't have to cook on Friday - you can live on leftovers!
P
A blog about pot pies? Seriously? I have always been what Jeff and I refer to as a cheap date. Meaning that it doesn't take mega dollars to make me happy, which is a good thing. I enjoy, and always have, the little things and the inexpensive things, which brings me to pot pies.
Growing up I'm sure Mom bought pot pies for dinner during a lean economic period and I am also quite sure that we kids revolted at having to eat those pies. So fast forward 46 or so years and guess what I'm picking up every week at WalMart? If you guessed pot pies you'd be a winner. And I'm not talking about the high end pot pies which cost several dollars a box. Nope, I'm really satisfied with Banquet pot pies that cost roughly 80 cents a box. There is even a selection: turkey, chicken or beef. Oh and to round out your meal, Banquet also sells fruit pies and for the price and the minimal effort needed, are also pretty good.
When I was growing up, and again during a lean financial period, Mom would fix us canned Chicken Chow Mein. Unfortunately, this same product is still being offered today, but I assure you will never land in my grocery cart, either by accident or on purpose. I remember those two cans which are taped together being warmed up and served over the crunchy noodles. Getting this food down was never easy nor was it the least bit enjoyable. That may be the reason I have never served it to my family and never will. The top can has the veggies and the bottom can has the chicken and "gravy". The fact that this product is still being sold is surely some kind of testament that people, probably millions of them, use this product to feed their families. I understand.
I didn't eat real Asian food until I was an adult partly due to the memory of that food in a can. I was leery of all Asian food fearing that I would receive a dish similar to something served to me as a child. I'm glad I finally went outside of the box, because the food I'm eating today has nothing even remotely similar to the canned food. Thank goodness.
It's Monday and a short week with most everyone, except retail people, having Friday off. Good news is that you generally don't have to cook on Friday - you can live on leftovers!
P
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Thankful
11/24/2013
With Thanksgiving only days away, this seems like a good time to give thanks to the people who are in my life. These people are my personal angels and they never gave up on me during what has to be the worst year I've ever had.
First and foremost, Jeff leads the list, as he should. For everything I've put him through this year, both emotionally and financially, he has remained a rock - my rock. I consider myself a very lucky woman to have a man who is still my best friend and has never let me down. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about myself. Thirty-nine years of marriage that started with a blind date. I remember my Dad telling me after I met Jeff that he was a keeper - Dad was right. Here's what I can promise Jeff: that 2014 will be a better year and that I'm going to stay in the game, even when my depression is at its worst. I am trying to come to terms with my depression and hopefully can keep it manageable, that's going to be my New Year resolution.
I have two friends in the neighborhood, Kim and Cathy who are good friends and have gotten me out of the house, which is a feat in itself as I am reclusive and prefer to stay inside the house. Thank you for your friendship.
To Angela and Sharon, who visited me in the hospital, have called to check on me and yesterday took me to the craft fair and out to dinner. We ladies had an amazing time browsing (mostly) though I did buy a kit for making wine slush. Trust me on this, it's quite tasty. You add water, wine and the mixture in a plastic bag and freeze. Yummy. Now all I have to do is actually buy wine! After we were through browsing and shopping at the craft fair, we went out for dinner. We settled on Mexican and the restaurant was quiet and we were able to talk. It's pretty hard to have a conversation at the fair while you deal with the crowds as well as the noise. My Saturday was a super busy one for me and I had an amazing time.
Thanks to Andrew and Stacey for being non-judgmental, loving and supportive. And allowing me to have time with Benjamin, which both he and I enjoy.
Thanks to many others who sent me positive emails or supportive comments here on the blog. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I appreciate and love each and every one of you.
P
With Thanksgiving only days away, this seems like a good time to give thanks to the people who are in my life. These people are my personal angels and they never gave up on me during what has to be the worst year I've ever had.
First and foremost, Jeff leads the list, as he should. For everything I've put him through this year, both emotionally and financially, he has remained a rock - my rock. I consider myself a very lucky woman to have a man who is still my best friend and has never let me down. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about myself. Thirty-nine years of marriage that started with a blind date. I remember my Dad telling me after I met Jeff that he was a keeper - Dad was right. Here's what I can promise Jeff: that 2014 will be a better year and that I'm going to stay in the game, even when my depression is at its worst. I am trying to come to terms with my depression and hopefully can keep it manageable, that's going to be my New Year resolution.
I have two friends in the neighborhood, Kim and Cathy who are good friends and have gotten me out of the house, which is a feat in itself as I am reclusive and prefer to stay inside the house. Thank you for your friendship.
To Angela and Sharon, who visited me in the hospital, have called to check on me and yesterday took me to the craft fair and out to dinner. We ladies had an amazing time browsing (mostly) though I did buy a kit for making wine slush. Trust me on this, it's quite tasty. You add water, wine and the mixture in a plastic bag and freeze. Yummy. Now all I have to do is actually buy wine! After we were through browsing and shopping at the craft fair, we went out for dinner. We settled on Mexican and the restaurant was quiet and we were able to talk. It's pretty hard to have a conversation at the fair while you deal with the crowds as well as the noise. My Saturday was a super busy one for me and I had an amazing time.
Thanks to Andrew and Stacey for being non-judgmental, loving and supportive. And allowing me to have time with Benjamin, which both he and I enjoy.
Thanks to many others who sent me positive emails or supportive comments here on the blog. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I appreciate and love each and every one of you.
Quote for the Day:
Dear Past, thank you for all the lessons;
Dear Future, I'm now ready (author unknown)
P
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Volunteering
11/23/2013
I have just returned from volunteer orientation at the local Methodist Retirement facility. The orientation was 2 hours long and included standing up and having your clothing critiqued for suitability - I passed). We also took turns pushing someone in a wheelchair which included practicing speaking to the resident, complimenting them on their outfit, etc. I passed the wheelchair test also.
We were also taken to see the volunteer offices where we will check in/out each time we are working. Out of the say 30 or so people at the orientation, there were only about 4 of us that weren't junior or high school students.
While you don't want to think of yourself as older, or even getting older, being around so many very young people will certainly make you feel your age. I suppose to teenagers people my age, for instance, must look really old! I know I felt that way when I was their age. Even if I could I would never want to go back to being a teenager or young adult again. By the time you get to be my age you have gained so much wisdom, and you can't put a price on that.
The ladies are picking me up shortly and we are going to spend the day at a local crafts fair. I have very little money to spend, but thankfully it doesn't cost anything to look! It's a bit chilly here today so I have taken my winter coat out of the closet and will put it into service today.
I hope you are enjoying your Saturday.
P
I have just returned from volunteer orientation at the local Methodist Retirement facility. The orientation was 2 hours long and included standing up and having your clothing critiqued for suitability - I passed). We also took turns pushing someone in a wheelchair which included practicing speaking to the resident, complimenting them on their outfit, etc. I passed the wheelchair test also.
We were also taken to see the volunteer offices where we will check in/out each time we are working. Out of the say 30 or so people at the orientation, there were only about 4 of us that weren't junior or high school students.
While you don't want to think of yourself as older, or even getting older, being around so many very young people will certainly make you feel your age. I suppose to teenagers people my age, for instance, must look really old! I know I felt that way when I was their age. Even if I could I would never want to go back to being a teenager or young adult again. By the time you get to be my age you have gained so much wisdom, and you can't put a price on that.
The ladies are picking me up shortly and we are going to spend the day at a local crafts fair. I have very little money to spend, but thankfully it doesn't cost anything to look! It's a bit chilly here today so I have taken my winter coat out of the closet and will put it into service today.
I hope you are enjoying your Saturday.
P
Friday, November 22, 2013
Books
11/22/2013
Okay people we have a long weekend coming up and assuming that you've gotten your fill of turkey and football games, I've got a few book suggestions that you might find interesting. Disclaimer: I haven't read any of these books, but the excerpts captured my attention and are definitely on my personal "must read" book list.
Maeve Binchy: A Week in Winter (this book was written just a few weeks before she passed away)
Fannie Flag: The All Girl Filling Station Reunion. If you haven't read any of her books you should. The books are really funny and perfect for a gloomy winter day.
Elinor Lipman: The Inn at Lake Devine
John Grisham: Sycamore Row
Jonathan Miles: The Unopened Box
Hope Ramsey: Last Chance Christmas
These books are just a few on my reading list and you can drop me a comment if you would like me to give you other titles, I'd be happy to do that. Mind you I haven't read any of these yet, but in my partial "retirement", I have plenty of free time for reading and the library has oodles of books to choose from. Even though winter and possible bad weather is coming, I have no worries. Why? We installed a whole house generator a couple of years ago and it runs on natural gas. We can literally use every appliance, light, furnace, etc. and be perfectly fine. How cool is that? I wish we had had a generator years ago when Benjamin was a toddler and we lost power and heat - that sure wasn't pretty!
Happy Friday.
P
Okay people we have a long weekend coming up and assuming that you've gotten your fill of turkey and football games, I've got a few book suggestions that you might find interesting. Disclaimer: I haven't read any of these books, but the excerpts captured my attention and are definitely on my personal "must read" book list.
Maeve Binchy: A Week in Winter (this book was written just a few weeks before she passed away)
Fannie Flag: The All Girl Filling Station Reunion. If you haven't read any of her books you should. The books are really funny and perfect for a gloomy winter day.
Elinor Lipman: The Inn at Lake Devine
John Grisham: Sycamore Row
Jonathan Miles: The Unopened Box
Hope Ramsey: Last Chance Christmas
These books are just a few on my reading list and you can drop me a comment if you would like me to give you other titles, I'd be happy to do that. Mind you I haven't read any of these yet, but in my partial "retirement", I have plenty of free time for reading and the library has oodles of books to choose from. Even though winter and possible bad weather is coming, I have no worries. Why? We installed a whole house generator a couple of years ago and it runs on natural gas. We can literally use every appliance, light, furnace, etc. and be perfectly fine. How cool is that? I wish we had had a generator years ago when Benjamin was a toddler and we lost power and heat - that sure wasn't pretty!
Happy Friday.
P
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Extreme Couponers
11/21/2013
It is a given that once you stop working, for whatever reason, you have a lot of time on your hands. That is certainly true for me. I don't feel comfortable driving because of some of the medicine I take every day which makes me a bit drowsy.
There is only so much dusting and vacuuming a person can do (or not) and toilets to be cleaned (boring). So I programmed the Tivo for some super cheesy tv shows - Extreme Couponers and Extreme Cheapskates. Neither of these shows will win any, and I do mean any, kind of award for being great television; but, they are darn entertaining.
Last night one of the episodes of Extreme Couponers had a college student, living in a dorm, who went to the grocery store with coupons on hand. What baffles me about these coupon people is the shear quantity of the food they buy. The college student goes to the grocery store with a few of his friends to help carry the groceries back, because he has no car. I can't remember everything that he bought but the one item that stood out for me was that he had a coupon for a feminine product, and he bought them. I can only imagine what the conversation would be like when he presents a girl with her very own package. Creepy is all I can say. Just because you have a coupon doesn't mean you have to use it. He also bought 44 containers of yogurt that he was going to try and it in the dorm's mini refrigerator - good luck with that.
The people on the show make life's work out of getting ready to go to the store. They have built shelves and/or entire rooms devoted to their stockpile. One woman even dusts her cans! Who has time for that? Here is my question - how do they keep the food from going bad? I have a pantry that is well stocked, but not insanely so, and sometimes will find food that has been stored too long. Sodas flat, crackers and chips become stale and food in the freezer can get freezer burn. So I wonder how they do it? Most of the people on the show do not have large families that would necessitate buying food in such large quantities. I guess it's the hunt for the products, the thrill of watching the price get super high and then becoming super low with the use of all the mega coupons they have.
Watching these people on tv puts my very little coupon clipping in the minor league. To be sure I look at all the coupons on Sunday, just like everybody else does. I may even cut out one or two but they never make it to the store - I tend to forget where I put them! It has never occurred to me to clip coupons for products that I don't use or want. That doesn't make good sense to me. But I'm also not saving hundreds of dollars at the store and the one or two coupons I actually could use are generally forgotten on the kitchen counter!
It's a bit on the cold side here in the East and it's also leaf picking up day, an activity we do for many weeks until the trees are bare. Good exercise though.
Happy Thursday.
P
It is a given that once you stop working, for whatever reason, you have a lot of time on your hands. That is certainly true for me. I don't feel comfortable driving because of some of the medicine I take every day which makes me a bit drowsy.
There is only so much dusting and vacuuming a person can do (or not) and toilets to be cleaned (boring). So I programmed the Tivo for some super cheesy tv shows - Extreme Couponers and Extreme Cheapskates. Neither of these shows will win any, and I do mean any, kind of award for being great television; but, they are darn entertaining.
Last night one of the episodes of Extreme Couponers had a college student, living in a dorm, who went to the grocery store with coupons on hand. What baffles me about these coupon people is the shear quantity of the food they buy. The college student goes to the grocery store with a few of his friends to help carry the groceries back, because he has no car. I can't remember everything that he bought but the one item that stood out for me was that he had a coupon for a feminine product, and he bought them. I can only imagine what the conversation would be like when he presents a girl with her very own package. Creepy is all I can say. Just because you have a coupon doesn't mean you have to use it. He also bought 44 containers of yogurt that he was going to try and it in the dorm's mini refrigerator - good luck with that.
The people on the show make life's work out of getting ready to go to the store. They have built shelves and/or entire rooms devoted to their stockpile. One woman even dusts her cans! Who has time for that? Here is my question - how do they keep the food from going bad? I have a pantry that is well stocked, but not insanely so, and sometimes will find food that has been stored too long. Sodas flat, crackers and chips become stale and food in the freezer can get freezer burn. So I wonder how they do it? Most of the people on the show do not have large families that would necessitate buying food in such large quantities. I guess it's the hunt for the products, the thrill of watching the price get super high and then becoming super low with the use of all the mega coupons they have.
Watching these people on tv puts my very little coupon clipping in the minor league. To be sure I look at all the coupons on Sunday, just like everybody else does. I may even cut out one or two but they never make it to the store - I tend to forget where I put them! It has never occurred to me to clip coupons for products that I don't use or want. That doesn't make good sense to me. But I'm also not saving hundreds of dollars at the store and the one or two coupons I actually could use are generally forgotten on the kitchen counter!
It's a bit on the cold side here in the East and it's also leaf picking up day, an activity we do for many weeks until the trees are bare. Good exercise though.
Happy Thursday.
P
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Including a picture - guest blogger - Jeff
Ok, so I am here as a guest -
Patti was trying to include a picture in the blog the other day, and said it was not working, so I am here to help resolve this issue.
First, of course, I need some actual content to work with. So, I am going to fetch a picture of Ben from Facebook.. This is a picture of Patti (Mom Mom) and Ben - decorating the gingerbread house.
I hope that the picture actually shows up in the blog. The picture shows up fine in the editor, however, the tool is a little fussy about formatting.
here is another picture that I have re-sized using the Paint program
and there seems to be some issue
Patti was trying to include a picture in the blog the other day, and said it was not working, so I am here to help resolve this issue.
First, of course, I need some actual content to work with. So, I am going to fetch a picture of Ben from Facebook.. This is a picture of Patti (Mom Mom) and Ben - decorating the gingerbread house.
I hope that the picture actually shows up in the blog. The picture shows up fine in the editor, however, the tool is a little fussy about formatting.
here is another picture that I have re-sized using the Paint program
and there seems to be some issue
| Add caption |
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