Pot Bellied Stove / Water Cooler
Replies
-
Hello, hello, hello. Quiet here. Week is going okay. Youngest is sleeping downstairs now - not on a sofa by herself but in the bed on the floor with oldest brother. We went and worked with the 4-H pigs 2 days but didn't yesterday cause so hot and I wanted Paige to have a nap. They worked very hard on their 4-H crafts though. Good turnout for Bible School and the kids are all enjoying and learning. Boot camp starts this afternoon so during it I'll have three that are staying here (Thomas goes to boot camp) and then Alan's 4. That will go two days and I hope to get my errands done tomorrow morning during Bible School so it's been a full week. Meals (easy ones) and being with the kids is about all I've done. Doing my best to get 10000 steps a day but that's a challenge in itself.
Isabel, good finds at the farmer's market.
Marcie, cool on getting in the pool and no skin irritation. You gave yourself a workout though. Wow. We've been getting up in the 90's all week. I do much better inside then. Good you checked with you vet and didn't feel you had to keep Cisco home. The bird flue is making agencies cut out all poultry shows so they won't be at the county or state shows this year.
Love the Pokey story. Glad to hear you are smarter than a slug.
Sheryl has been on my mind a lot. It is a huge change for her mom. Friend of mine lost her dad last night. It's never easy.
I've been enjoying the girl I pick up. She enjoys Bible School so much. I found out in this day and age some families still have no idea mom is expecting. She had to quit going to the Bible school last week to go to her cousins but she didn't know it was because her mom was having a baby and they weren't told until Friday. So different. But they are all enjoying the new baby now.
Better go do a bit before it's time to let the kids out - ha. Nice to know I have a bit of quiet time for sure. Have a great day.0 -
Hi everyone.
I don't know where this week has gone. Just flying by.
We got up to 106 degrees on Monday, Tuesday was about 100 degrees, then yesterday it was cloudy and rainy and only got to 71 degrees. Today were headed by into triple digit weather. That cool rainy day has made it real muggy here. I hate humidity!
Our lawn is starting to turn yellow now. It's still has a little green in it, but the hot weather has really sped up the killing of the lawn. We still water it and the trees/shubs every Saturday, but one day a week isn't enough for the lawn. With the exception of the neighbor to our right, the surrounding lawns are all dying too. The neighbor to our right cut his lawn in half last year, so it's not very big and not needing as much water. Still, I think he is cheating and watering more than once a week. It's becoming real obvious now throughout the neighborhood who isn't reducing their watering. I was out walking the other night and one guy on the other side of the block was not only watering his lawn on a non-watering day, he was also hosing down the sides of his house, the driveway, and the sidewalk in front of his house. I guess he thought no one would see if he did it at night! I'm not one to get in other's business, so I just kept on walking.
Been a day of meetings, and I have another one coming up in an hour. I don't like meeting days. Being cooped up in a meeting room gets stifling. I'm also finding it hard to read script that is being projected on the wall. I think it's time to get some new glasses. Been squinting all morning.
I was going to go for a long walk this morning, but I had an unscheduled meeting. Just no time today to walk. Maybe tonight if it cools down enough.
Debora, you sound like you are so good with kids. I guess you've gotten a lot of practice! I'm and only child, never babysitted, and rarely around kids.
Better close and get something to eat before the next meeting. I did get a smoothie this morning, but not an especially healthy one. It's called a "Purple Haze" and has blue berries, strawberries, banana, frozen yogurt all blended with a little peach juice. Refreshing, but a definite sugar bomb! Have a great day everyone.0 -
Good morning. Today is Communion Sunday so we don't have Sunday School so I have a little more time before we go. I put a pork roast with potatoes and carrots in the oven. Thursday and Friday were full days. I ended up with six kids most of the time on Thursday afternoon/evening. One DGD had a certain idea in her mind and was unhappy when it didn't happen. So we worked through that. Friday I quickly did my errands during Bible School time. Came past the house and put the cold stuff away and got to church as they were singing the last song. Had the seven kids again. Pizza for supper and ice cream sundaes. Now we'll be eating leftovers this next week. I'll freeze some of it. The kids were all gone by 10.
Yesterday I had most of the morning at home. I got the house straightened (kids had done the basement) and did some of the food. We got more rain so Ralph went along. We went to the bookstore, ate, picked up Lucy from her party and then headed to Lori's old house. 6 from their SS class came to help clean. I spent a good part of my time scrubbing stickers off the back of the front door. The second bathroom needs to be finished and then a couple of smaller things and it can be on the market - hopefully by July. Oh yea, the garage still needs to be emptied out. Praying it will then sell quickly. We went and ate pizza then and then home. Got the carrots peeled and cut, trash out and the rest that needed to be done.
Today is church, a visitation and the program tonight (or watching Emily so Jim can go to the program) - full day anyway.
Did you all see the picture on Facebook of Sheryl and her mother. Such a good picture. Today will be the memorial service if I remember correctly.
Marcie, funny that you only like to walk if you are doing a walk walk. I like seeing the number go up. Found out with kids you don't get the number of steps you think you do. I did much better yesterday.
You have some days warmer than us and some about the same. We've gotten a bit of rain about everyday so Alan can't finish planting. The humidity is usually bad here. You've had your share of meetings. Funny about the guy doing the water stuff at night. Green grass will soon be obvious. You've had a number of unplanned meetings lately. Hope it slows down so you have the time to take care of other things that are probably piling up. Your "purple haze" sounds good.
I have been around kids a lot. I started babysitting in high school and did it all through college. I was the younger bunch in the family so didn't get it there. Guess I don't figure I have a choice with the grands and I do enjoy it for the most part. I do make use of DVDs and taped shows. Other people do more with their but we are all different and mine seem happy. We made progress on their craft projects. What I want to work on now is getting the kids out once a week to work with their pigs and do it first thing in the morning when it's not so hot.
I don't know what you all have planned but enjoy whatever you do.
0 -
Good morning all,
Still trying to get bids on getting the wall replaced. Dan has contacted 8 contractors and has only gotten 1 trust worthy estimate which was $8,800. The one he felt really good about sent an e-mail that another big job came up and he won't be bidding on our wall after all. Dan was very disappointed and angry since he'd been waiting 10 days to hear from this guy.
My friend Jami gave me 3 GIANT zucchinis that got away from her son while she was on vacation. Dan shredded 1 1/2 of them for me so we made zucchini bread together and froze enough to make 2 more batches. It came out excellent and was nice doing it together. I sliced up half of one and made a zucchini parmesan casserole. It came out very good and we got 3 meals out of it.
Really miss Sheryl. I'll have to go over to face book and see if I can find that pic you're talking about. Hope the memorial today goes well for them.
Marcie, so glad to hear that you were able to get into the pool and didn't have any skin issues! With your temps in the triple digits you are going to need it. Not to mention that it is great exercise. Sounds like you found muscles you didn't know you had!
I'm sorry I would have had to find a way to do away with pokey even if I had to pick him up with a paper towel and dispose of him or something. I had no idea they are such persistent critters. I bet that is what's getting at my tomato plant.
Debora, sounds like you are surviving all the kids quite well. Glad to hear it. You do amazingly well!
OK, I'm off to church. Have a great day!0 -
Hi all.
Been a busy weekend. Got lots of housework done, and last night I had to clean out my freezer and refrigerator. There was some funky smell in there that I finally found was due to a bag of forgotten lemons that had just about liquified. Yuck. Well, at least the refrigerator is sparkling clean again.
Today dad and I went to another dog park/people park and spent a couple hours there. Once Dad and Cisco were settled in the dog park, I threw on my walking shoes and walked around the rest of the park. Dad said Cisco whined at the gate for me the whole time I was gone. We'll have to rethink that process next time. Before we left we harnessed up Cisco and walked him through the people park too. You can tell he's had enough when his tail is no longer up in the air (see last pic by the truck).
The weather was perfect for the park today. It topped out in the low 90s and there was a nice breeze going.
I drove Dad's truck for the first time today. I like the way it handles and how high up it is.
Debora, those kids sure keep you on your toes! You guys sure must like pizza!
Isabella, zucchini bread sounds good!
Well, I've got to get in the kitchen and finish up my weekly cooking...still need to hard boil the eggs and make a batch of pumpkin, banana protein bars. So far all I have done is I made a pot of pink beans before we left for the park.0 -
Hi, here it is the middle of the week. Jim decided to stay home so I got to go to the Bible School program. It was good and then we had some good visiting while enjoying ice cream afterwards.
Monday I got a little done at home and then headed off with Ralph. We spent an hour finishing the one research study he was in so he no longer has a jawbone - it kept shocking him so he's glad it's gone. When we went back to start the process for the next study, they let me look at the phone and write down how many steps he did every day. We could tell when he did a lot of tractor driving cause his count went way up with all that bouncing around. Setting up for the new one took almost 4 hours. Then we went to the thrift store and bookstore in town and then went to some of the grandson's ballgame. I went between the two games. Ralph just stayed at one. He had had his eyes dialated so couldn't see really well anyway.
Yesterday afternoon the 4-H foods groups took cakes and did the birthday party at Wheat State Manor. They did a great job of serving and interacting with the residents. One of the residents loves babies so she held the one baby and then wanted to rub Lori's tummy. Sweet. Then we went over to the church for a foods meeting with a focus on breakfast foods. Almost every family had a talk. We had muffins with bacon, apple muffins, banana muffins, eggs in a bacon crust, an egg casserole and peanut butter breakfast cookies. Some of the sibling groups working together brought smiles to our faces. We were very impressed at how well they did with breaking eggs. When everything was baked, we all got to enjoy everything. So that took care of my supper. I heated the last of the pancakes and sausage for Ralph.
Today I've had the day at home. I got the house straightened and have things ready for prayer group meeting tonight. Ralph is outside mowing the lawn now. So far I've kept up with what I want to get done. Alan was here and we celebrate his and Owen's birthdays on Sunday. I asked for favorite foods and he said Owen likes pizza but baking pizzas for 20 is too hard. So I'm looking for a pizza casserole recipe. Most take noodles - wonder if they make gluten free noodles. I'm making a cheesecake for dessert and found some pig cupcakes I might do for the kids.
Isabella, that wall is not going to be cheap to replace no matter who does it. Zucchini bread sounds good. I've never tried it in a casserole since my husband won't try it.
Marcie, nice park for walking. I was reading quickly and I read that your dad and Cisco whined. Was glad it was just Cisco. You guys wore him out.
Yes, we do like pizza. It would take a lot to be tired of it. Makes for an easy meal. I'm working on using up leftovers from last week now. I "cheer" every time I have another empty container.
Sun still has not come out but it's still up to 84. Driveway is looking a bit drier. Someday I'll be able to walk around it again. Enjoy the rest of your day.
0 -
Hi all...I got home Monday night, but this is the first chance I've had to pop in here. I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and John just NEEDS lots of attention right now. He thinks that I was gone for over a month. So, I've got to lavish all my attention on him now. My neighbors are great, but it's not like someone here, in the house, 24/7.
I better get back outside, just took a little break and came here to see what's going on. Not too many comments to catch up on.
As usual, love the photos Marcie.0 -
Good to hear from you Sheryl. I sure hope everything went as well as it could, and that John didn't rearrange the whole house while you were gone! Your absence must have been really hard for him.
Deborah, Pizza for 20 would be hard! A pizza casserole sounds like a good compromise. I think I've seen gluten free noodles in the grocery store. Usually in the section of the store where they have gluten free items, not the isle where they have the regular noodles.
Been a busy meeting-filled week this week. Next week is going to be more of the same. I suspect it's going to be a meeting-filled summer. They are pulling me into a bunch of different projects right now. That, along with the heat, has really put me behind in my daily steps. Excuses, excuses! I am swimming more now though, so that helps some.
Earlier today I decided to have a diet root beer that I've had in my little fridge under my desk at work. I rarely drink soda anymore and it's been in there for a long time. Apparently I had it sitting too close to the little freezer that's inside the little fridge and when I went to open it soda exploded out of the bottle all over me, my glasses, my desk, the carpet, my keyboard, my mouse, etc. What a mess! I got it all cleaned up, except my blouse is stained. I'll have to try and get that cleaned when I get home. I mopped up the carpet as best I could, but there is a stain there too so I had to call building maintenance to come take a look at it. Apparently they will have to replace that square of carpet. That's what I get for drinking a soda!
Well, it's getting close to time to go home, so I'd better finish out my day. You all have a wonderful evening.
Yep, this was definitely me today (me being Wile E. Coyote and the soda being the Acme TNT)...
0 -
Sheryl, glad you're home safe and sound. I'm sure John did miss you. Not many comments - we're just quiet when you're not around. Come back when you can.
Prayer group went well last night. The couple with kids stayed longer and we visited. One offered to have it at their house next week so that will be nice for me. I went and visited the German Mennonite family with the new family. I was there longer than I thought I would be - so fun holding a little one. I learned a little more about them. The mom speaks English fairly well.
I'm going to Bible study tonight and tomorrow I'll do my errands and then help one of my Flylady friends who is emptying out her parents' house. I told Ralph I don't know how long I'll be gone.
I've been home enough the last couple of days that I'm getting to some things that have been on thelist for a long time. Hope I have more days like that next week. I'm fixing tuna sandwiches for supper.0 -
A pic of the pool. I'm so glad I can get in it this year. I would really like to get in while the sun is still on it, but with my skin I won't risk that. One of these days we need to resurface the bottom of the pool. It's showing its age now. That will be a bit cha-chingy though, so we keep putting it off.
0 -
Good morning all,
Pics of the park look great Marcie. Nice that you have several parks to choose from. Pool looks good too. MAJOR BUMMER about the soda exploding all over everything! Did you have to replace your keyboard? Once soda gets into a carpet the stain doesn't ever seem to really come out. We have a couple of spots at work that just keep coming back. The pool looks great too!
Debora, Glad that hubby's study is over. So nice that you've been able to go to a couple of the bible studies and that the study at your house is going well. Nice that you got to visit with the new family also. Yes, there is definitely gluten free pasta. My favorite is made with quinoa (comes in a turquoise box) but there are also noodles made with rice and with corn. They can be kinda expensive though depending on what kind you get. Let us know how the casserole comes out.
Sheryl, so good to see you! We're glad you're home too. When you get a chance you'll have to tell us how everything went. The pic of you and your mom is great. I look forward to hearing more on how John did while you were away also. Poor guy really missed you. Understandable - so did we!
Not much new here. We contacted another builder that my company works with. He is supposed to give us a quote on the wall today. I'm pretty sure his bid will be more reasonable than the last one. We'll see.
Our free concert last week was really good! Bluegrass music. Today, the guy who always hosts the free concerts is giving a talk on horse racing (he is originally from Kentucky) so we are going to go to that. Not that we are really that interested in horse racing but we want to support him. We've become friendly since we attend so many of the concerts. Then I have a coupon for buy one get one free personal pizza for Sammy's Wood Fired Pizza so I think Dan and I will go there afterward.
Dan had surgery on his mouth again Tuesday to remove a flap of tissue that was used to protect the sockets that they put in for the implants while they heal. He is finally getting close to the last step of this ordeal and hopefully it will be well worth it. I believe they will do the rest next month.
I sprinkled some fertilizer on my vegetable plants today. My pepper plants are doing well but my tomato plant isn't too happy and I think something is eating the tomatoes.
Well, I'm going to go and make us our usual fried eggs breakfast now. See you all later!0 -
Friday was a big day. I left the house about 6:45 and went to one town to do my usual errands as fast as I could. I did everything but the cold stuff. Then I headed about an hour away to a friend's parent's house. She's working on getting it cleaned and emptied out to sell it. I got there about 10 and left about 5:30. I filled boxes, carried boxes. The DAV came and got most of the furniture. I managed to get a number of things loaded into my car. About 2:30, we took a break. My friend ordered pizza and we sat outside to wait for one lady coming back to get some things. We got her loaded up and then I headed out. I stopped and got my cold stuff and came home in time to fix our supper. I did get everything unloaded and put at least out of the way. I got 8000 steps at my while helping my friend and by the end of the day, fitbit said I had done the stairs 41 times.
Today I was home except for one house when we went to a visitation of a guy Ralph knew. I knew his son better and went for him. But I kept busy here. I straightened the house, I made a cheesecake, made cupcakes and decorated them to look like pigs, browned 5 lbs. of ground beef, took the trash out and whatever else what on the list. I've combined a couple of recipes for my pizza casserole. I'll do it in the crockpot and am doing one with gluten free. I talked to someone who has uses them and they say they can't tell any difference so I'll have to try both. The price wasn't a lot different. I have to cook the pasta in the morning, stir it all together and load the crockpot. It was a little less for the fridge to wait. Derek is bringing the college guy who's staying with them this summer so we'll get to meet them. We have two birthdays to celebrate. Everyone usually hangs around till about 3 so the day should be quiet after than.
Marcie, sounds like they are piling the work on. They know you'll do a good job. Do you ever have trouble keeping the projects separate in your mind? Exploding pop does make a mess. Not too long after we were married, I thought I was being smart and froze our pop to use to keep our lunch cool on a family bus trip. Not so smart. Your pool looks inviting.
Isabella, hope the last quote is a good one and you can get things going so it can be off your minds. Those free concerts come around fairly often. That's so nice. You do good at finding coupons on things too. With more surgery, is Dan back on soft foods. I'm sure you'll be glad when this is all done.
Going to head for bed now. Hope you all have a good Sunday.0 -
Good Morning, what a week...being home has been just as busy and exhausting as being down in California moving my mom. John needs a lot of attention and every time a situation like this comes along, I say that I will never leave him again, but you never know, things happen. I know that if John had been with me in California, I would not have been able to get as much accomplished as I did. But, I hate leaving him too.
The move went very smoothly and the place is so nice. The staff and other residents are so friendly and helpful. I pray that my mom makes herself available for many of the activities that are offered. I talk to her on the phone and it sounds like she's trying. She went to a scrabble game one afternoon and watched. They kept encouraging her to play, but she just wanted to watch first. She was asked to play Bingo, but when she found out that she has to pay 10 cents a card, she declined. She's definitely not a gambler, even for 10 cents. She also went to a concert last Wednesday night (a church group came to perform in the big downstairs living room) and she said that she enjoyed that very much. Last night was the movie, "Driving Miss Daisy" with popcorn and root beer. I'll find out if she went, she wasn't sure if she'd feel up to it after dinner. Today, Norma will pick her up and take her to Brent's house for a family BBQ and tomorrow, Norma is taking her to the new doctor. Norma has her hands full...my Dad's benefits got cut off as of May 31st, so she has to find a new health insurance for Mom. Plus, the Tuesday after I got down there, Norma's first day back at work after helping Mom and Dad for a couple weeks, she got a phone call at 5:30 am telling her that her mother-in-law had passed away during the night. Norma is POA of her affairs and executrix of her will also, so more paperwork and things to deal with. I don't know how Norma does it all, I pray for her continued strength.
The Memorial service was very nice, Norma and her boys did a fantastic job of planning and executing it. Brent did the eulogy, Joel read scripture, and Brent and Beth put together a powerpoint of Dad's life in pictures. We had a wonderful time seeing and visiting with lots of family and friends.
My neighbors took off for a week's vacation this morning, so I will go across the street for them everyday and feed their animals. We really take good care of each other, I'm so thankful for good friends and neighbors like them.
Fun thing for tomorrow...Carla has a layover at Portland airport and I'll drive over and meet up with her. I'm sure we'll have a great couple of hours in between her flights.
0 -
Ha ha ha, the busiest post on the family page, while I was gone, was the Five-Letter game, 65 replies. I thought I'd just click and start fresh, but ended up reading all of them.
I also agree...very interesting definition on notme
And, Marcie Yvonne, is Marcie your legal first? or short for something else?
Now...I'm ALL caught up.0 -
Nice Sunday. Sunday School class went well even though the lesson didn't not have a lot I could do to stretch it. The message in church was good. And dinner went fine. The casseroles were well cooked. The pig cupcakes were a hit. I sent the gluten free casserole leftovers home with Alan's family along with the rest of the cheesecake. They like it, Ralph doesn't and I don't need. Julie took the rest of the cupcakes to take to work for fun. I did learn (really knew but wasn't thinking) that m&ms and other chocolate in hot weather do not hold up well. Owen liked opening his gifts - carried the two sacks they were all put in around all afternoon. Julie blew up the punching bag so he had one to play with. It was fun to meet the baseball player staying at Derek's. The last ones left about 4:30. So I've spent the evening doing my list, checking emails and facebook and other little things. I think I have the entire day at home tomorrow so hope to make a bit more progress on my list.
Sheryl, it was hard for you to leave John but you did what was best. Glad your mother is trying out things at the new place. My when it rains, it pours - Norma has her plate full but God gives us what we can handle. Nice that you can help your neighbors out now.
Glad the service for your dad was nice.
So fun that you get to see Carla tomorrow.
Funny that you read all of the five-letter game entries.
I heard from Granny and she starts moving to her new place tomorrow. I hope it all goes well.
Sleep tight and be ready for your Monday. Good night.0 -
Good Afternoon, I have no idea where the morning went. Oh yes, I went across the street to feed the animals and then worked on the computer to finish draft a rental agreement for my Mom's house in Pasadena. We have someone who will rent the place with all our junk still in it. They are glad to have the furniture, but all the stuff in the closets have to get removed. Norma will spend part of Fourth of July weekend cramming everything from the back bedroom and den into the front bedroom closet.
I got a phone call from Norma this morning and she was totally relieved...she had gotten a letter from AT&T (my Dad worked there for 30 years) last Friday telling her that all benefits had been cut off as of May 31st. She didn't know how she could get health insurance for Mom, a 93 year old in poor health, ugh!
Well, Norma made a phone call this morning and Mom gets spousal benefits and will keep her health insurance. Norma is so thankful, she had a really sleepless weekend. We will never know who sent that letter or why, but it was a huge mistake.0 -
Hi everyone.
As usual, the weekend flew by too quickly. I didn't do much this weekend. Just the usual shopping, weekly cooking and laundry. Watched a movie last night, Gone Girl, that was pretty good. One of those twisty-turny plots.
The weather was perfect for swimming this weekend, so I took advantage of that. All the pool stuff (balls, kick board, floats, etc.) that we had had aged and needed replacing, so I went to the pool store to replace it all. They didn't have any 'adult' kick boards, so I wound up getting a kid's board that is bright pink and has a big picture of Minnie Mouse on it. Ha! Oh well, it still gets the job done. My favorite thing to use in the pool is a water soccer ball. I use it for pull ups while I'm under the water and for some stretching exercises.
Dad found a recipe online the other day for orange cream popsicles, so I made up a batch of those this weekend. They used 1.5 cups each of orange juice (I used the low sugar OJ) and lowfat vanilla yogurt. They were ok, but I probably won't make them again. I have a tub of lowfat vanilla ice cream out in the big freezer. I might trying making another batch, but replace the yogurt with ice cream (they are about the same calories). I like eating yogurt cold from the fridge, but in popsicle form there is a chalking aftertaste that Dad and I didn't care for.
Dad took Cisco into the vet on Saturday to have his anal glands expressed (Cisco's, not Dad's...ha!). It had been a few months and it needed to be done again. He's the first dog we ever had where we have to have that done. I keep telling dad he should learn how to do it, but he won't get onboard with that! I started the "that dog needs a bath" campaign this weekend, so I expect dad will be taking him in to the groomers soon. He always waits for me to start whining about it before taking him in! I woke the other morning and Cisco had gotten in bed with me and his paws were right by my face. Not a pleasant smell to wake up to! One thing I say though is his breath has been so much better ever since we had his teeth cleaned in April! He still has dog breath, but the breath so bad it makes your eyes water is gone. Woo hoo!
My Dad finally got himself a fitbit. He got the cheaper Fitbit Zip. Said he didn't want to shell out the money for a Fitbit One. It's not synching up right with his smart phone though. He says that doesn't matter because he'll just synch once a day on the PC. I have a feeling he may upgrade to another device, but for now he'll stick with the Zip. He likes it a lot better than his old pedometer.
Sheryl, you and Normal have sure had your hands full. Hopefully you all can breathe easy now that so much is behind you. I hope your Mom takes to the new place. It will take time for her to ease into the daily routines there. Marcie is a nickname for Marcella. Marcella Yvonne. The only time anyone ever used Marcella was my Mom when she was made at me about something, or in official paperwork. Ha!
Debora, wow, you sure had a busy day on Saturday! Glad the birthday boys enjoyed the food. I'll bet those pig cupcakes were cute. That was a lot of stair climbing and walking that day! Thanks for the update on Granny. I hope she is happy in the new place. She finally showed up in my Friends list on Fitbit. She did better than me last week!
Isabella, I hope Dan's mouth is healing up well. Sorry about the tomato plants! How frustrating!!
Back to work. Have a nice evening everyone.0 -
Enjoyed having all day home yesterday. The driveway's puddles have finally dried up so until it got too hot and windy I did my walking outside. Dry enough so Alan thinks he can plant one field today. Still waiting on one to dry. I didn't do anything exciting but marked some things off the list (and added more). House is mostly straightened from Sunday. Two oldest grandsons will help with one sofa when they are here next. It's now sitting at a slant. Today is supposed to be hot again. I plan to go to Lori's and help a bit before I go to Jeremiah's baseball game. I heard he's pitching a bit - changing teams was a good thing for him. The kids will maybe come home with me tonight and work with their pigs for a bit in the morning.
Sheryl, helping the neighbors will take time but I know you're glad to do it. What wonderful news Norma got. That was a good phone call to make.
Marcie, I think a kids kick board sounds more fun. Swimming with Minnie. You get a pretty good workout in the pool. I'm so glad you are able to use it this year. My daughter-in-law showed a picture of their almost two year old at the pool for the first time. Good thing he had floaties. He jumped right in. The other DIL took her 4 to their first day of swim lessons. A friend does them for free. She's even willing to work with Ava.
Orange creme sounds like a flavor Ralph would like but not me. Yuck on the aftertaste.
Your weekends are always full but I like how you get some fun stuff in too.
I'm sure your dad will enjoy his zip. His miles will add up quickly if he's still walking the same. My totals vary on what else is going on.
Oh, until you mentioned Marcella, I forgot that the Marcy I know here is Marcella too. You'll just be Marcie to me.
Well, I'd better get started on my day. Ralph was pretty sore when he came in yesterday so might be a bit slower going this morning. Since he's not sure if he can take tylenol on this study he's in, he's trying to stay off it till his next appointment. He fell asleep after he got home yesterday around 5 and we didn't eat supper till almost 8.
Enjoy your day and stay cool.0 -
Good Morning. I came by a little earlier today, better than yesterday, but will cut this short to go feed and then come back.
Just have to mention what a wonderful visit I had with Carla yesterday. She arrived at PDX about 4:30pm and her flight to San Diego departed at 8 pm, so we had a good 2 1/2 hours to sit and eat and gab. It was great. I am very ashamed of the Portland personnel though. Carla had trouble finding the waiting area where I was, and when she asked for help, got a very snotty "I don't know" from the one security person who should know, right down the aisle from where I was. Wow, I thought Portland prided itself on being friendly to everyone. Fortunately, Carla saw me as she turned away from this idiot.
We both got the same for dinner and it was delicious...grilled Mahi Mahi and prawns on a bed of black beans and rice. So Good!!!!!
time to go across the street...I'll be back.0 -
Hi again, I'm back and all critters are fed and watered, and fat and happy!
Carla and I dug into our dinner as soon as it arrived to the table and once again, taking a photo of it never crossed my mind. But, after we ate, we got the waitress to take a photo of us.
Marcie, your pool sounds so inviting and wonderful. We're expecting record heat later this week, suppose to hit triple digits for the weekend. We rarely get that hot, but fortunately, when we do, it doesn't last long. Just like our snow in winter, only for a day or two.
I just love your descriptions of Dad and Cisco's activities and that you distinguish between which of them gets the "treatment". Too funny.
Today, I should get outside with John and get more yard work done. He has done so much already, while I was gone and even yesterday afternoon, while I was in Portland. For hating yard work all his life, he sure is doing a great job of it this past year and now.
I will email Granny today and see how she is doing. I haven't had a chance to talk to her at all since I've been home.
0 -
Good morning everyone.
It's going to be hot today. It's already in the mid 70s. They say we'll be in the triple digits for the next few days. As long as I have someplace cool to go and don't have to be out in it much, I'm ok with the really hot weather. It was nearly 11 pm last night before it finally cooled down enough that I could turn off the AC and open some windows.
I think the UPS guy is mad at us! Apparently the other day when he delivered a package, he open our front gate to leave it on our porch, and didn't latch the gate closed when left. So when dad went out to get the package, Cisco followed him and got out because the gate wasn't closed. The UPS guy was just pulling out, so dad asked him to make sure to latch the gate in the future. The guy rudely said the gate wasn't latched to begin with. Yesterday when he delivered another package, instead of leaving it on the porch, he just dropped it over the gate where it was visible from the street. Sheesh.
Work has been crazy busy lately. I have 5 different projects going on right now and I don't know if I'm coming or going! I'm heading into a 3 hour meeting this morning to watch a demo from another state agency on the program they use to process their documents. I definitely need to dive into a cup of coffee before that meeting!
My uncle from Oregon called last night to let us know that while he was driving with his family to Mount Hood, a horse was in the road and before he could stop he hit the horse. The poor horse died and my uncle had to have surgery on his back. Everyone else in the car was thankfully ok. You just never know.
Dad has been enjoying his new FitBit Zip. I friended him the other day on FitBit, and he is rapidly climbing up the leader board. He was at #5 this morning. I'm not doing well with the walking this week at all. I'm following Granny right now! I need to pick it up. I get a lot of my walking during the work week in the morning when it's coolest, but lately my mornings have been filled with meetings. And, it's not cooling down at night very quickly. Gonna have to figure this out. At least I'm getting some pool time in. Here's a pic of the FitBit leader board. No one will ever knock Judy and Debra out of the top spots!!
Since the Fourth of July is almost here, I think we should consult with the vet about maybe getting Cisco some medication to help calm him that night. Last year he was really rattled by all the noise, and it took weeks before he was comfortable to go outside at night again.
Debora, I hope Ralph is feeling better. Poor guy. My Dad is with you on the orange cream popcicles. I made another batch on Monday night, but this time I used the lowfat vanilla ice cream instead of the yogurt. I liked it but he didn't. I think it's the OJ that he doesn't like in frozen form. I'm glad you're going to keep calling me Marcie. You can call me Marcella if you are ever mad at me about something. Ha!
Sheryl, love the pic of you and Carla. That was so nice that you could meet up like that. I'm always taking pictures of my meals. I participate in a couple posts in the main forum where we post pics of our meals. My dad always gives me "the look" when I snap off a pic of my meal when we go out. Ha!
Well, I guess I'd better close and get back to work. Have a great day everyone!
0 -
Good Morning. All critters fed and I helped John with a project this morning, so I'm finally here. But, won't stay too long, want to pull some weeds before it gets too hot.
Marcie, too funny about using your legal name when mad. My full name was only used by my grandmother and now, only gets used by John and is a term of endearment, Sheryl Ann. Or, as they always smoosh it together, Shirlannn.
So glad that your uncle will be OK and no one else was injured. Sometimes those animals get out and you just can't stop, it all happens so fast.
We are very fortunate that the birds and the llamas don't pay any attention to the loud noises of the Fourth of July. Many years, we would take our chairs out into the pasture to be there for comfort if needed, but it was never needed. Nice show though, the "rich folk" up in the hills would put on a spectacular display.
Wow, Debora is stepping all over the place. great job.
I emailed Granny, but have not received a reply yet. Sometimes, it takes days.
0 -
Good Morning. Already got 2 hours of weeding done while it was cool and I'm about done for the day. The only other "chore" on my list is to pick blueberries. They are ripe and I need to pick them before the birds eat all of them.
I talked to my Mom yesterday, harder to catch her at home, but I'm glad. She is participating in more activities and that is so great. Norma and I are both surprised and extremely pleased that she is pushing herself to be more social and active.
John's calling, gotta go.0 -
Good Morning, a quick pop in before I go across the street to feed. Trouble with internet connection this morning, I had to reboot the modem half a dozen times and it still did not make an internet connection, so I pulled out the old modem, with an Ethernet cable and hooked it up to the old Dell. So, now this computer works, but I won't have internet on the HP desktop in the back bedroom because this modem is not for wireless. Oh well, I'll sneak in here whenever John is not on it.
Going to be a scorcher for us today and worse tomorrow...forecast 98 and 101. At least it will start to cool down on Sunday. (forecast 88) We'll see how all the critters take the heat. I'll put out some sprinklers to help cool them down.
See you later.0 -
Hi all.
This week flew by. I sure am ready for the weekend to arrive.
We had a scorcher yesterday. My Dad and his walking group even cut their walk short yesterday morning because it was already getting hot. Today they are going to stick it out. On the last Friday each month they walk to one of the local restaurants for breakfast.
I actually got my 10,000 steps in yesterday. Yesterday morning I had no meetings so I took a long walk around the city. It was fine when I started out, but by the time I got back to the office it had gotten hot. Today is supposed to the be hottest day of the week. We may hit 105 degrees they say. I'm not walking this morning, but I'll swim when I get home from work.
One day last week our neighborhood lost power for a couple hours. When the power came back on it had messed up the timer on our sprinkler system, causing our sprinklers to run that Thursday night (we're only allowed to water on Saturdays and Tuesdays, though we usually just water on Saturdays now). I thought I heard the sprinklers going and asked my Dad about it the next morning. That's when we realized we needed to reset the timer. Anyway, of course the "water police" were driving around our neighborhood that night and they sent us a ticket yesterday for watering on an off-day. This one was just a warning, so no $ due. If I were conspiracy-minded I'd swear they worked with the power company to cause the outage just so they could go around and catch people watering on off-days. Grrrr.
Last night I took Cisco out front for his "final pee" of the night and wouldn't you know as soon as I got him out there someone in the distance set off a booming firework. Scared that dog to death. He raced back to the door to be let in. I'm so not looking forward to the 4th of July next week. That dog is going to be traumatized and won't want to go outside at night for weeks afterwards (at least that's what happened last year).
I'm eating breakfast pizza this morning. Someone in the office keeps ordering it on Fridays lately. There's this pizza company downtown that makes the best breakfast pizza (egg, cheese, spinach, and sausage). To hard to resist! Just having one piece though.
Other than the usual stuff, not sure what I'm doing this weekend. I need to clean house. It needs it bad. I'll probably take dad out for lunch or dinner tomorrow. We didn't do anything for Father's Day last Sunday so I want to take him somewhere.
Here's pics of Cisco and Simon this morning. Cisco was a tired boy this morning and couldn't keep his eyes open. He probably went back to bed as soon as I left for work.
I suppose I'd better get back to work now. Have a great weekend everyone.
0 -
Good Morning. Nice and cool this morning, but it's going to get hot again. Yesterday, I just did my best to keep the animals cool, but they are smarter than me, find a shady spot and stay inactive. Today will be more of the same.
If I can just keep John in a shady spot and inactive...impossible!! He's going to give himself heatstroke and there's nothing I can do about it. I tried to get him to go in the car yesterday and we could enjoy the AC, but he refused.
Cisco looks like I feel, drowsy, and Simon looks like John, ready to take off. Love his eyes.
I saw on FB that Granny moved, but she has not replied to my email yet. No more Owasso, now she is in Collinsville, although, on the map it's only 6 miles north. I assume she is still pretty close to G-ma.
I better get ready to go feed. One more cup of coffee first.0 -
Taking a little break, drinking some Gatorade. Worked outside all morning, overcast and much cooler than they forecast. I went across the street to pick blueberries, but there weren't too many. I think the birds already got the nice ripe ones.
I think I'll continue my break and watch a PBS program that I taped last night. I have Miss Marple and Vera.0 -
Wow, so much to catch up on since last week!
Great to have you back Sheryl! Are you getting the house back to where you can find things?
Marcie, I never realized that Marcie was short for anything. Marcella is very pretty also. Glad being in the pool is working out well for you.
Debora, is Ralph feeling any better? Can he call someone to ask if he can take ibuprophen or Tylenol? Men never want to call and ask questions!
Dan is doing very well after this surgery. The horse race music/talk was surprisingly very interesting and enjoyable last week. We went to Sammy's afterward and really enjoyed ourselves.
We did get that other bid on the wall and it was even higher - $12,000! Ouch! Went to the association meeting and told them we didn't want to replace the wall because it is dangerous and is just for looks. They said "too bad" in so many words but one gal there texted some contractor connections while we were there and a guy replied immediately that he was interested. Dan called him the next day and he said that since he had recently had leg surgery and was anxious to get back to work he'd give us a good deal. He will do the wall for $6,000. Still a lot of money but the best offer we've had. We accepted and they started the demo today. It is taking longer than they expected but at least we are getting this thing moving. They seem to be doing a good job.
We have dinner plans with friends tonight. I hope they will finish in time because Dan doesn't want to go out if they are still here.
It is pretty funny Sheryl that you read all the words in the word game to get caught up because I do the same thing! I love it!
Well, I guess I'll go take a look outside and see how things are going to see if I have to call our friends and say we'll be late or I'll be coming by myself or something. We'll see.
Bye for now.0 -
Hey all! Just popping in to say Hi! Love reading all the PBS entries. My laptop is dead and I've been so busy with kitchen stuff t that I haven't even looked at getting another. Plus, I'm trying to not spend any extra $$. I thought I had finally made my final decision on the kitchen company and then one of my son's friend gave me another name. Her cabinets were 1/3 if the price of the place I was going to use. So, now I wait asks see if they can get me my cabinets cheaper! At least my kitchen is only a little torn up.
Marcie love all your pics!
Sheryl--glad you are settling back in since the funeral!
Aero--busy as usual and glad you enjoyed VBS!
Ivanek--glad you got started on the wall!
I hate trying to type in this Phone so I'll stop now. I'll check in soon 0 -
Wow, I pop in here and read all the time, I don't realize how long it has been since I posted. I had a good amount of time at home, which I enjoyed and always had plenty to work on. I went to Jeremiah's baseball game on Tuesday night - he got to pitch and got a good hit. Then the three kids came home with me. In the morning they helped Alan finish the pig's pen so they are not outside so you don't get so smelly when you work with them.
Wednesday night was prayer group but not at my house. The time together was good. One person brought fresh green beans for each of us - not just picked but also stemmed and cut up. Not one of Ralph's favorites but I like them. We also got a tour of the house and heard the story of how they got it (12 years ago). We are going to meet there again next week.
Thursday I went to watch Emily so everyone else could go to Jeremiah's last game. They won and Emily and I got along just fine and I even did the dishes and a bit of laundry.
Friday I went to town and did my usual errands. Got pre-entries for the fair in so met that deadline. Was embarrassed cause I couldn't think of two of the grandkids middle names but they are firmly in my head now. The afternoon I straightened the house, unloaded all the stuff and put it away one sack at a time. Then in the evening my sister and I went to Thomas' baseball game. It did not start until 8:30 and they were tied at the end of the 3rd so had to do a 4th inning. Thomas' team won and it was a fun game to watch. The pitchers on both sides through a lot of balls but there were still some good plays. It was after 11 when I got home.
Then this I was at Lori's at 7:30 and we went to some garage sales. I didn't get a lot but fun to be together. We ate dinner at a newly remodeled Wendy's, did some work at their old house (close to being on the market) and then I came home and did all my stuff here. Ralph mowed the lawn and took care of chores. So now we're ready for tomorrow.
Sheryl, what a fun time with Carla. I love the pics of you. In looks you remind me of one of my sisters. Glad your mother is getting involved with activities at the new place. Is your voice doing any better? You probably had lots of talking to do when you were gone. Glad John is being so helpful outside - as long as he doesn't overheat.
Marcie, 5 projects - wow. Sorry your uncle has to have surgery. Your dad is on the move. I hope the fireworks aren't too much of a problem with Cisco. If the vet can give him something, that would be great.
Weather is so different for all of us. We even got a little bit of rain Friday morning and it was cooler that evening. I even put on a long sleeved shirt at the game. Here's a funny - my lawn chair broke so went down under me but I was able to get out without much trouble and then sat in the bleachers. Several foul balls went over the fence. Glad no cars were hit.
Cisco and Simon know their opposites in pictures - sleepy and awake. Bummer on the power outage.
Sheryl, yummy on the blueberries.
Isabel, Ralph is still very sore but his appointment is on Monday so he'll make it. Glad Dan is doing well and the wall is being taken care of at a "reasonable" price. Hope you made it to dinner.
Jannie, thanks for suffering through typing on your phone and dropping in. You are busy as usual.
I'm fixing salsa chicken tomorrow and there will just be 8 of us. Found out today that Alan's went to visit Katie's family - oh well, more leftovers for me. Time to head for bed. Good night everyone.
0
