Coffee and...For Monday, Dec 05, 2005

Here's the Daily!
Continued from:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/560691/
~julie~

I rushed over here cause I've never posted first, so even though it's not the next day I'm posting anyway! LOL
Nightnight. :)
... Elaine

LOL, Nitey Nite

:)

Well, I will post because it is still nite time here in the west.

tgif, I think I will try the pecan and maple. That sounds very good.

I love to make candy. My aunt who has passed away gave me the almond roca recipe when I got my braces off when I was a kid. Candy is really very easy to make and it didn't take me very long to make 2 batches of almond roca and 1 batch of peanut brittle.
I want to try to make salt water taffy or plain cream taffy but need some more hands to do the taffy pull. Maybe will get the young kids across the street to help me sometime.

Dmc, I haven't made lollipops but they would be very similar to these recipes. I have made carmel and I just love the recipe. It is easy to make too.

Mary, wow, all those different candies sound so good. It must have been fun to make those with that lady.

Sheila, give Oskar a light pet for me to comfort the poor kitty.

Darius, hope the test is negative then tho you might have an excuse for what is going on with your body then.

Elaine, yes, you guys do have a lot of pecans down south. My mother was from Texas and she always had her sister send her some fresh pecans. I love pecan pie!

Well, I FINISHED PLANTING MY BULBS TODAY!!!
Can you see how excited I am! LOL

I went outside in the 30 degree weather and decided to get things done. It wasn't that bad out since it wasn't windy. But got those dang bulbs in the ground and pots, so am looking forward to seeing them bloom next spring. Finished mulching most everything in the garden too.

Then I went out to dinner with my younger son and his girlfriend at Ruby Tuesday. Don't know if you guys have that back east but it is a good food place. I love their broc./cheese soup and had the sirlon tip stacker meal. Very good! We celebrated my birthday and the girlfriend too. I don't go out to eat very often due to having no money but I really enjoyed it this time.

Well, need to get things done around here and off to bed.
Nite all, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.
Carol (DR)

CarolDr ... we have RubyTues here, also. I know ... I know ... I *said* I was going to bed, but honestly y'all keep on yacking! LOL This time I'm *really* going.
... Elaine
P.S.
And yes, you do sound excited about the bulbs. Okay I'm outa here! LOL

Funny, Elaine, keep staying up just to talk to me about Ruby Tuesday, lol.
Yes, I am excited because I finally got my garden work done here. It seemed to take so long this year. Had way too much to do. Too many dahlias to dig up. Need to evaluate on how to do it next year for sure.
Nite.
Carol (DR)

Carol (DR), I left my dahlias in the ground, 6b. All I did was cut the hollow stems off and plug them with wax so they didn't collect rainwater down to the bulb and rot.

Good morning!! Up and ate two cookies before I knew what I was doing!!! Only a dozen left, and I am sure I will scarf them down before the sun sets!

DH and I went to see "Walk the line" (Johnny Cash) - I recommend it to everyone. I'd even like to see it again - my toes were tapping with the music!! We took our own munchies- not gonna pay $7 for popcorn!! No Way!! There were ten or so other people in there - wonder how they can pay for the help with so few people. Stopped at Wendys for a burger on the way home...good no dishes to do this morning!!

No huff and puff this morning- going to meet the retired gals for coffee - then taking MIL to the heart doc this afternoon. He's the one that gets so disgusted with her and leaves the room. Wonder what will happen today!!

Geek- shop looks nice. I'd rather have just a little decorations than a ton (you gotta take it all down remember!) I get my hair whacked off tomorrow- then I need to do a little highlighting...been putting that off for awhile and I think it is time for a little streaking action! Still using the Nioxin product and still haven't seen any hair growth - I am expecting a long mane of hair!

I'm 'thinking' bout making some peanut butter fudge. I made it a couple of years ago and it turned all sugary - what did I do wrong? And I have my moms recipe for xmas sugar cookies that I just love to eat. There certainly won't be a weight loss here this month!

DR- been to Ruby' too - good eats. Had a peach margarita- yum.

Toast is ready - gotta go eat it while it is hot

Where are Bal and Ernie???

Now sarv, is that thinking positive or thinking negative? Why don't you really challenge yourself to have cookies left for another day? I know you can do it.

Good morning all. I've been quickly reading through all the comings and goings, but haven't had time to comment much in the last few days. Doesn't mean I'm not thinking of you all.

Today I will get the Canadian Viola Society newsletter to the printer. This one's a small issue at 28 pages plus cover - I didn't have time to do much ad recruiting, but it hasn't been easy coming together. Should have gotten it to the printer about 3 weeks ago. Certainly will take a load off my shoulders when I get it done. And it is done, almost. Just final paste up - a few ads from the last issue and one more article that has to be put together. I've been printing at the Food Cupboard because the printer has better definition than the old one I have at home - especially for pictures, but even though it's the same font and size of font, it formats slightly different on the newer printer. So I have to do final formatting up there - especially if there are pictures because the pics make the articles too large to easily cart up there on a diskette.or email.

My successor at the Food Cupboard will come in this evening when it is open. We want to start him off at the bottom like regular volunteers so that he knows how the whole place works. And today is the last day we will take Christmas exchange referrals (though we've told a few people who need ID that they can fax it to us up to noon tomorrow). But not dealing with stacks of referrals will make a HUGE difference in how long it takes to look at client files.

Well, better go eat breakfast. Aquafit in just over an hour.

Hope you all have a good day.

Ann

Good Morning! Gonna be a busy day I think. We have our holiday lunch for work so I will need to get a lot done this morning. We do, however get to go home after the lunch so I will be home by 3:00 or 4:00 I think. Boss always takes us to a really swanky restaurant. Always have good food.

Gotta get the butt moving. See ya all tonight! Have a good day!

I probably scared Ernie and Robert off with all my wailing and sobbing, you know how guys are. I feel less depressed this morning since he (and you **all** know who I mean) ate and drank a bit yesterday, and he came out of the bathroom this morning when I got up. Going to tempt him with a little more warmed up salmon. And I'm going to pick up some of those small cans of fancy food to see if those will encourage him to eat more. No concern about spoiling him at this juncture.

There, I just heated some more salmon for him and he ate about a teaspoonful. I think he felt so bad before he just couldn't eat or drink. And even though these are small quantities it helps a little.
He goes back to the vet this afternoon so we'll see if he's still leaking air from his lungs, I hope they don't have to do more xrays, the last bill was $200.

Speaking of money, got our gas/electric bill for Nov., $213. and they read the meter on 11/30. Last year's Nov bill was about the same so they must not have hiked the rate yet. I don't go on budget because I like the smaller bills for the months when we aren't heating or cooling much. I don't know how people with limited budgets are going to manage the higher prices.

I'm really ticked off at Target. I went on line and ordered two bookcases for DH's den, because the description said free shipping and I figured that was better than trying to schlep them home myself. They come unassembled and the boxes are very heavy and now my trunk won't open. The online invoice didn't reflect a shipping charge, but now I get a new one and they want $48 for shipping. I emailed them to cancel the order but still waiting to hear back about it. If they arrive, I will refuse the order.

Congrat IO1 for being the first to post, didn't know you were so competitive!! LOL You get to eat up the rest of Sarv's cookies and save her from herself!!

Good morning to everyone else, see you later on.

This message was edited Dec 5, 2005 6:50 AM

I01~ Last night you said
"Remember as children what fun it was to stand on the sidewalk when the sun was *just* right and you'd look tall and thin? hehehe Yes, I can just see your horse! "

Sorry, at 47 I still get a thrill out of looking thin!! (I'm tall enough, though)

DR I can't imagine still planting. We're frozen up here. THe permafrost has arrived.

darius that is interesting about plugging the dahlia stem with wax! Am I the only one that never heard of that?

sarv ~ I put my cookies in a freezer bag and popped them in the freezer. At least it's slightly more inconvenient!

Ann I wish I had your energy! But you do aquafit, and let me guess, don't eat cookies for breakfast? I need to mend my ways , I know.

suzieq ~ holiday lunch sounds like fun!!

m5 ~ glad Oskar is eating a little bit. The hassle with Target sounds stressful. Tis the season, right?

I need someone to yell at me to clean. Okay, I'll do it myself. A clean house for Christmas would be great. Why am I so ..... undisciplined?

Great day to everyone!!

Havent' taken off yet, but haven't eaten anymore cookies- I'm shamed. Will stick them in the freezer ( I love frozen cookies too)LOL

Big huge snowflakes are coming down - coating the roadways too I bet. Hope they aren't slippery. Driving on dry payment with my MIL is bad enough -she continually slams her foot on the floor and clutches the arm rest, and complains about the 'smells' from the other cars. I have no sense of smell, so it doesn't bother me!! The whole family suffers from 'over sensitive' smellers. DH told me just yesterday ' I hate that perfume you are wearing" (I don't wear perfume) - it was my deodorant. I raised my arm up so he would take a sniff - said it smell like rotten flowers. I better change brands.. LOL

Vio- good luck getting the newsletter all done - hate things with a deadline!

M5- glad 'he' is eating some. A pox on Target....hate it when they aren't up front about stuff!!

Gonna return my high priced 'magnetix' thing today on the way home from the doc appt. MIL will have to stay in the car as she can't walk that far. And I'm turning it off - better bring some blankets for her LOL

Local school superintendent just double billed 26 meals (plus filling up his vehicle 3x in one week) - press got ahold of it and man are they having a hayday!! I suspect he won't be long in that job especially with the cutting that is going on in schools. Can't believe he thought he would get away with it.

I'm off to the coffee shop~

Good Morning Everyone!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Who forgot to pay the heat bill for Iowa? Jeez it is **COLD**!!! -8* with windchill -21*. I'm going to be able to lose weight today just shivering! Our high today was supposed to be 11*, but the weather guy just said he is starting to doubt it, he doesn't think we will get much above 5*.

I snapped a few more pics yesterday, do you want to see them? Just of the snow and one of Rosie playing in the snow, lol. For now, I would beg your indulgance a bit. While I was trying to organize all my pics on the computer I found two I thought I had lost. Jenna at 2, she had put all of her babies down for a nap and had fallen asleep herself. Now this wouldn't have been just so dang cute, but she did it right in the doorway to the kitchen from the family room. We were still living with my dad, so you can see part of his kitchen here and Annie is in there too.

Picture #1

And here is the second picture taken a few seconds later. I guess I must have woken her up when I took the first picture. I just love the cute little devil expression on her face.

And if you take a good look at the pic, notice the teddy bear to her right. Funny looking blankets she has it wrapped up in right? Those are the armrest covers off my dad's chair, lmbo. Jenna was forever stealing those to wrap her babies in!

I'm so glad I found these pics again, I thought they were lost forever.

mg

Helps if you include the dang pic Gayle!!!

mg ~ those pictures are so sweet, they bring tears to my eyes. I loved those "innocent" days with my kids. She looks like such a good mommy, tucking all her babies in. And the armrest covers do make a perfect sleeping bag.

I need to remember the good times more...my kids have gone over to the dark side (that's how I refer to the teenage years.)

Morning, All. What a dreary day outside. They are calling for the rain to change to snow this evening with constantly dropping temps. It's 46 now, low tonight of 22. Yuck.

Finally got in touch with Bob, the man who does odd chores for me. He's coming today to help me take down and disassemble the remaining 8 or 9 shelving units in my pantry, get the fluorescent lights taken down, etc. I hope he shows up, and I will be glad to have that much more finished even though I have to pay him for it!

Sarv, you are incorrigible!

SuzieQ, sounds like a great lunch.

Ann, how do you manage it all? You fall in the same superwoman category as MaryE.

Yeah, WHERE are Robert and Ernie?

Be back later when I need a break...

Good Morning all...it's a cold one here this morning, too. We're sitting at -4° whikle 12 miles to the north they're registering -9° One thing about it...as long as the temps stay this low the snow isn't going to melt off any time soon. SO I don't have to worry about the mulching I haven't done. :-)

Darius, it's good to hear that you're getting so close to having everything ready for the big trek. I think if I were to move at all, I'd be renting one of those PODS (make that SIX) and have it set up in my yard so I could just pack it once and get it over with. I have no idea what they cost, but it was too much, I'd get ONE and throw away everything I couldn't fit in. (That's probably what will happen in my future, anyway.)

How's Molly doing?

Gayle...that Jenna is real cutie.

Ann (The one with the "V" attached LOL...you gotta LOVE all these Ann's!) You *really* are one active person...can't even imagine having all those deadlines in my life. GOOD for you!

Hi Elaine...every time I type my "stars" or put a word in all caps I think about you. Hope you're having a good day!

I think Robert is busy cleaning up the mess he's been making while his DW is on her trip...or is that trip over already. ~grin~

And for Ernie...I can't remember him telling us he'd be away for while. So *where* is he?

Sarv...you always make me laugh. Talking about the "huff and puff" with a mouthful of cookies! LOL Honestly, girl...get a grip! (OR just resign yourself to the fact that you are what you are...and learn to love yourself that way. I did! LOL (Learn to love myself just the way I am, that is))

Sheila...((((~hugs~)))) for you and O. Glad he's eating even a little something now.

And to everyone I didn't mention by name...I'm GLAD you're here!

Beeper just went off on the microwave...chuck steaks are ready to go into the crock pot for Swiss steak. Ymmmmmm...that will tase good with mashed potatoes and some home canned green beans at supper time. (And I can spend the rest of the day....uh....hmmm...gee, I don't know what I'll be doing, but I'll bet I'll have fun doing it!)

Have a good one, everybody!

~julie~

Good morning. Superwoman sitting here in her bathrobe and slippers drinking her tea. LOL Hubby just left for work, the sky is bright through the clouds over to the east, and my horse with the sore foot looks like he is feeling better today. He's been lame for a few days and I couldn't decide if it was arthritis or something else. I'm relieved that I won't have to be trying to get my trailer out of here and haul him to the vet. Yesterday I checked him again and decided he must have had an abcess that is draining since I can see some cracks in the bottom of his foot where there shouldn't be any. He is one of my retired endruance horses, just a pasture pet now. I guess if a horse has an abcess it is better to have it in the snowy season because it stays clean from walking in the snow.

Awww, what a cute little girl with her babies all sleeping. Kids sure do cute things. I'm glad the pictures weren't lost.

Robert said his wife was going somewhere for a few days and he was going to be working on some new project and trying to get the mess cleaned up before she got back home. Not sure about Ernie, did anybody else have a dog that needed grown up boy lessons?

I'd better get dressed and go out to feed the horses, take the outside dog some warm water and some bones. The fox is somewhere else this morning.

We have 0 degrees here this morning, no wind. Mg and Julie, does that sound balmy? Any snow on the roads will feel sticky this morning. It's funny, but at 32 snow is slick, but when the temp gets down around 15 or lower it gets sticky and traction is pretty good. All you folks in the north know that.

This message was edited Dec 5, 2005 8:10 AM

Helloooo - just back from a couple of hours at the local coffee shop. I did a baddd thing. Stopped at the local gas station and picked up a cappiccino there and then snuck it into the coffee shop. I have tried the coffee shop drinks and just DON"T like them....and to spend $4 on something I don't like is criminal to me. I usually buy a scone at the coffee shop so I don't appear to be a total loser, but after downing so many cookies, even a scone didn't sound good. I'll buy two scones the next time I am there to make up~~

Snow keeps coming down and we are supposed to get 4 to 6 tonight and another 3 - 5 tomorrow- Merry Christmas~~

Aww, cute little Jenna...so sweet when they are younger.

DM, I remember those dark days too often...yuck. I'd love to take in some kids who need homes, but just could not face going thru the teens again. I'd go crazy...But every week when they have an article in the paper about kids needing homes, I read about them and think and think....some of the pics of them looks so forlorn. But man do they ever come with a ton of baggage...

Darius=- wish I had a "Bob" man to help me out!! Does he travel??

Oh, I just remembered, DH misplaced his long johns and my job for today is to 'find them' - think he could find pair of underware I lost? LOL He works in a place where there is no heat and it is bitter here. Better go scouting for a big and see if I can dig them up for him.

Morning All,

Slept in a little this morning, Don't have a clue as to what I did in the wee hours but I must have taken my nose thingy off and one of the ends was off of it. I woke up to, "Honey, roll over and turn that machine off",,, I can even aggravate him in my sleep,,,,ROFLOL Love It.

DR, mmmmmm that candy sounds great. I can just see those kids pulling Taffy,,,what a hoot,,,LOL Glad you had a nice dinner and Happy Birthday.

sarv,,,,,poor Dr.,,,keep us informed of MIL antics,,LOL,,,,,Thank-You,,,,The taking down decorations is the part I hate,,,,so this year,,,it's perty sparse in there,,,but it looks o.k.,,,at least this year I did some,,,last year I didn't. Glad you got your bulbs done. I had some to plant for Gran,,,but the ground was already frozen,,,so will wait til spring. OOOO, shame on him,,,,,naughty, naughty superintendant,,,hope they get him.

Ann,,,,What a weight off of your shoulders to have the newsletter done. Good for you. Hope your successor is a worker,,,LOL Have a good day.

suzieq,,,,Enjoy your lunch,,,always love eating at really nice places. Bill is your regular lets go to the bar and get a burger,,,or McDonald's type of guy,,,LOL

M5,,,,,I hope things go well at the vets today. At least he got a little down,,that's a good sign. My budget for my heating bill went from $86 per month to $133 per month,,,,can't turn the thermostat down,,,don't want to freeze my little old ladies when they have a wet head,,,they already complain that they're cold. Good luck with Target. grrrr

dmc,,,I'm with you,,,love those thin shadows. No, your not the only one who never heard of the dahlia wax thing, I haven't either. CLEAN THAT HOUSE,,,,,did that help LOL??????

Gayle,,,, the sweet little thing,,,but I remember you telling me the other night that her hair hides her horns,,,ROFLOL,,Glad you found your pics.

darius,,,,Glad you have someone to help,,,even if you have to pay him,,,,sounds like things are moving along nicely?????

julie,,,,mmmmm, what time is dinner???? LOL

Well, better get my substantial rear moving,,,,have that list I'm still working on,,,yuk,,,,but, that darn house cleaning fairy just seems to miss mine Every time. I'll check in later. Hope all have a good day.

Kelly


Edited to add:
Mary,,,, hope your horse is feeling better today,,,abscess sounds painful,,,poor thing.

sarv,,,, shame on you,,J/K,,know what you, mean tho,,,I'd do it myself,,,,LOL


This message was edited Dec 5, 2005 10:37 AM

Julie, Wow, lol, you spoke!

I'm so glad you think Jenna is cute, want her? She got 2 spankings yesterday, and then dh threatened her with one from him! Now let me tell you, a spanking from me hurts my hands far more than her fanny, but when dh gives her a swat she KNOWS it! And he *rarely* gives her a swat, maybe 4 in her whole life! So you just know she was being rotten. She got her second spanking for hitting Nathan and then she bit him on the arm. He was unloading the dishwasher and she wanted to put the silverware away, but he hadn't put the knives away yet so he told her to wait a minute. She pitched a fit, and Nathan was sooo good about it. A year ago, he would have started yelling at her, but he stayed calm untill she bit him, then he started yelling. I was already heading for the kitchen when I heard her start up, and I came around the corner just in time to see her smack his butt on his stitches (I'll tell that story in a minute) and grab his arm and bite him HARD. She is 6 1/2 years old, there is *NO* excuse for that behavior! So I spanked her and dh made her sit in her rocking chair next to him for almost an hour. Then she had to apologise to Nathan and I had her sweep the basement steps and some other not so fun chores. She went to bed early too. When she got up this morning we talked about it again and she told Nathan she was sorry again all on her own, and I think she really meant it this time.

Ok, Nathan's butt, lol. Nathan was born with a small mole on the right side of the top of his butt. As he has grown, so has it. Our Doctor and I have been keeping an eye on it lately because it seemed to be getting bigger faster. When Nathan was in for his sports physical this summer our doc decided it was time to have the dermitologist that comes to their office twice a week take a look at it. Nathan had his appt Friday morning, and the D Doc said it needed to be removed due to size alone, plus it had a raised part that he didn't like the look of. This mole was now nickle sized so the oval insion is about 1 1/2 inches long and he has 9 stitches. And Jenna very deliberately hit him there. I am still pleased, impressed and unbelievably PROUD that Nathan didn't turn arond and smack her back. And then she bit him too! He only responded by yelling at her, and he totally ingnored her the rest of the night. I think (and I told him so afterwards) that him ignoring her made a much bigger impression on her than if he had *had* smacked her back. She really didn't like that at all, and I hope it sunk in. It's hard when they are 8 1/2 years apart, sigh. As I've said before, it's kinda like having 2 only children.

I'm going to head to the couch, cuddle up with my comforter and watch some of my favorite TIVOed episodes of McLeod's Daughters. Anyone else watch that? I've been hooked for 2 years now. Must be those hunky Austrailian cowboys, yum yum!

OOOh, glad I hit preview first. HI Mary! Enjoy your heat wave, lol. I'm glad it is just an absess too, the snow will help with the inflamation, right? I have to call the vet myself today. Rosie still isn't spayed and is doing the false pregnancy thing, but I noticed this morning that she is actually dripping milk(??) I've never had an unspayed dog this old (1 year) and I don't know if this is normal or not. I'm going to talk to him about maybe going ahead and spaying her and letting me make payments. I had been prepaying on it last summer, almost had it all prepaid for, and both the dogs got worms really bad. There went my $250. Right now it would be March before I could come up with that again. (December-Nathan's birthday and Christmas, January-Insurance deductions start over so the meds will all be full price, February-Car Registration, sigh) We have been going to this same vet for 25 years, but I have never asked about making payments on something before. Usually, I haul all the critters in at once in April when we get our taxes back--shots, dentals, flea and heartworm pills for the year, the whole works all at once. Last year I dropped $1100 in 2 days for 2 cats and 2 dogs. OUCH!

Wow, this got long, lol, sorry!

mg

Good morning
I feel almost guilty for writing this with all your descriptions of snow, ice and cold temps but it's 67 and cloudy here this morning. It absolutely amazes me when I hear what the weather is like in everyone elses little corner of the world. I mean ... you can listen to the weather reports all you want, but it's different when it's actually affecting someone you know.
I've been attacking the laundry monster this a.m. and doing some cleaning up after the week-end. I don't get too much of that done with the DH home. Sure hope no one drops by, though, as I've not taken the time to dress. Still in my housecoat and slippers.

Julie, I always think of you now everytime I use a star in my post. Didn't mean to steal your idea, but I've been known to turn on my caps lock and forget only to realize waaay later that I've been posting in all caps and didn't mean to. LOL

M5, am glad Oskar is feeling a bit better today. Even when we *know* that the time is near ... we still want them to be comfortable. I will be praying he gets a good check up at the vet this p.m.

Sarv, sounds like we have a lot in common. If we lived closer I'd go to the "huff and puff" with you. Then we could enjoy lattes and a couple cookies together. Sounds wonderful to me. :)

MG, so glad you found your pics. Can't stand to misplace treasures.

Kelly, don't work too hard today. Hope you have a good one,

Ann, am glad things are coming together for you and hope you get that newsletter out so you won't have it hanging over your head. Don't see how you keep up with everything you do.

Mary, sure hope your horse's hoof heals okay. Those infections can be quite bad, so am glad there's some good coming out of the snow, though.

Suzie, that's great the boss is taking y'all out to eat. Have a great time.

Well, I know I'm missing a lot of you ... it's not meant as a slight. Just got to get up from here and get *out* of this robe. Here it is lunchtime and I'm still sitting here. Hugs all way round.
... Elaine

mg,
Poor little stinker Jenna,,,,ROFLOL they do push it don't they???? Hope Nathan's butt is o.k.

Elaine,,
Me too, still sitting here in my robe drinking coffee, I Have to get moving.

Check in later
tata4now
Kelly

Elaine wrote

The simple answer is I don't. And you should see my house. LOL
At least when I get rid of the Food Cupboard job, one whole pile of paper will disappear. ;-)

Anyway, just the ads to paste into the newsletter and then lunch and I'm off to the printer. Had a bit of a panic when I couldn't find the originals from the last issue and had only some of them in my computer. (I DID eventually find them; so I won't be faced with cutting ads from the Spring issue.)

Once it's printed, it has to be mailed out, but that doesn't take too long and I can get the labels on the envelopes before I get the newsletter back from the printer.

More later.

Ann

And a very good morning to you all. My sweetheart returned last night about 9:00. After 4 days in Vegas she came back without a million dollars in gambling winnings, but only left them with $50.00 of her cash. Not bad, I can lose more than that in ten minutes at the lumber yard! Sorry to be so remiss in my postings. Didn't get to do any big jobs, just a few little ones. Keeping an eye on Immy did take a lot of doing. She chewed on DW's journal from her Italy trip, the leg off a Swedish horse, destroyed a lip balm tube, gnawed the handles on two grooming brushes, knocked a picture frame off the sofa table that was a good 18" away from the back of the sofa and "played" with a stuffed cat that used to be there, then chewed up and ate part of 3 pine cones (on 3 different times) then upchucked in the middle of the living-room carpet. While I was in the shop or on the computer she figured it was OK to indulge in her antics 'cause nobody was watching. On top of that the vacuum broke and all that was left was my big shop vac. Ever tried to vacume a house with a big shop vac trailing behind?? It 'aint fun. So, MAYBE today I can get us into town and pick up one of those Oreck machines. It sure is good to have her back. Trying to eat a whole carrot cake by yourself so it doesn't spoil isn't easy either. I could have used your help on that one Sarve. So now things are about normal, Immy will have another pair of eyes watching her, the little bit of snow has melted, weather is above freezing and mealtime will consist of more than carrot cake.

MG, Immy goes in on the 16th to be spayed. Argued about that with myself for some time. Did I want to show her in Conformation? did I want to breed her and have a litter of beautiful little puppies, or just have her as my best friend ? Dog Shows are very expensive, puppies are very time consuming till you find homes for them, and I really just wanted a couple of companions. Wish she didn't have to go through the surgery and healing process. Time to get ready for the journey into town for the vacuum. Here's the small portal panel so far.

balvenie, oh I could just see your baby getting into all that mischief. You just gotta love 'm! Just to put your mind at ease a bit though, spading isn't as bad as it seems. When they do this for guide dogs they are usually working the day after. I thought that was very sweet of you to be such a concerned Daddy. :) The guys have it a lot tougher. ;) Glad to hear your DW is back and you will get some proper food.

Well, y'all will be glad to know I'm dressed and have had lunch ... well, what I call lunch anyway. Cottage cheese and peaches. I use to wonder how Mama could eat that, and now I just love it. Anyone got any good ideas for supper? I'm fresh out.
Well, I hear the dryer calling my name. Catch y'all later.
... Elaine

Whooo Hooooo

Doing the happy chat dance!

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/560072/

mg

Well, Bob came, worked just two hours and got all my shelves knocked down and wrapped for moving, lots of things screwed to the walls taken down (like my extra smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detector, wireless doorbell, under cabinet lights... all things I paid for and see no reason to leave), and the fluorescent lights down. Whoopee!

I'm down to packing up the odds and ends, except for the kitchen which will be last. Not as much in the kitchen since I had a large walk-in pantry. Of course, there is debris everywhere!

I'd say I am about 90% packed. Whew.

Robert, the portal panel is looking great! Sorry about all the mischief the pup got into. Always a drag.

Ha, Robert has surfaced again. It sounds like your 4 legged juvenile delinquent kept you on your toes while the Mrs was gone. Carrot cake! Well, why didn't you call for help? I'm much closer than Sarv and could have rescued you both from carrot cake excesses.

There's a pot of beans cooking on the wood stove for dinner. I'll season it with sausage, onions and tomatoes. Sometimes I use the wood stove for cooking things like this, keeping water hot, etc, instead of using electricity. After all, it's there, so why not?

This morning the microwave was misbehaving again. I sure don't understand that machine. After unplugging it a few times, pushing this and that, unplugging it a few more times my DH got it to display the minutes I wanted. Great, I put something in it, pushed start, no response, so we started all over. Finally I pushed cancel/reset about 10 times without touching anything else, entered some numbers and now it works. Like I said, I don't understand the machine.

This morning my horses were entertaining themselves nibbling my flowers over the fence while watching me inside the house. They thought it was time to feed them (they always do). It was just light enough to get this picture of Patch through the kitchen window. He likes the wild roses and you can see they are pretty well pruned.

Here is a picture of where the fox took a nap in the early morning sunshine yesterday. The largest tracks are horses, medium sized ones are deer and fox, and the center depression just has lots of fox tracks and packed down snow. The little guy curled up in a spot about 15 inches across and stayed there for more than a half hour.

I mentioned that our house is a long ways from the road. Here is a picture taken from where our driveway starts a couple of years ago when we had a lot of snow. That fence is the same height as in the picture I posted a few minutes ago with the horse eating the rose bushes.

Whew, I'm back! Y'all didn't even know I was gone, did ya? Well, we just had a storm. Hmmm, not exactly a storm. We have been under a tornado watch most of the day ... then it was changed to a warning. All of a sudden things started flying outside. Hickery nuts hitting the glass doors, etc. The DH called from work and said to hunker down as winds had been reported at 40 miles an hr. I *believe* it. Sooo, I'm back now. :) Things are quiet. They said a tornado had been spotted, but I don't know if it actually touched down or not.

Darius, glad to hear you got so much accomplished today. Don't blame you. I wouldn't leave anything I'd purchased. Can't remember who said it ... but wish I had a "Bob". I wonder if "Bob's" do yard work? I imagine mine is a mess now. LOL

MG, am happy you finally got some attention with that chat thread. Maybe, just maybe they'll even change the homepage like you want! Those extended hours will be great, though. ;)

Ooooh, so glad I did a preview and saw your post Mary. Ha, the pic of the horse eating your flowers reminded me of that picture of the cow eating daisies off of the hat. Wasn't that a milk commercial or something? LOL

Well, I finally decided what we're having for supper tonight. Am taking out a piece of prime rib, steaming some asparagus and fixing some wild rice. I've got errands tonight, so don't want to do anything too much of a bother. Will check with y'all later.
... Elaine

Oh, YUM Elaine. What time is dinner? Actually I eat very little beef but I could fill up on asparagus and wild rice!

Wow Mary, that's a lot of snow. I can barely make out the top of the fence.

Well Darius, we cut the prime rib with the slicer and the slices weigh 5 oz. ... so that's not too bad for beef. LOL I *could* fix you a piece of salmon on the grill, though?

Drooling all over the keyboard, love salmon.

Thanks for the brilliant idea, Julie! I grabbed a flank steak out of the freezer...it looked kinda tough so figure it would be perfect for the slow cooker, threw it in with onions, carrots, seasoning and a little chicken broth, just before I hit the road. Smells really good. I'll do mashed potatos separately, not too fond of them from the slow cooker.

Managed to survive the line at the P.O., about 20 people . Got cards and boxes mailed. Then hit the new Lang factory outlet up the road a bit from the P.O. They just opened, replacing the dollar store that went out of business. What a haul. Incredible prices, pottery, little 5" high decorated vases, creamers, sugar bowls, herb jars for a dollar! Bowls for $3. Boxes of Xmas cards, (got next year's) 3 for $10, notecards, 4 for $10. Stocked up for future gift giving. They had other things, ornaments, gift boxes, calendars, greeting cards, whimsical metal ornaments and wall decor.

Then truckin' on down the road to the supermarket, and then to the market where I get my coffee beans. They had some of their apple-cheddar cheese and I remembered sampling it last summer, so I took the bait and bought a pound.

Vet visit didn't go all that well, poor little guy gets stressed now just getting in the car. They drained some more air, and took another Xray which now shows a large irregular tumor which is compromising his breathing. Vet said we need to make some hard decisions by the end of the week. DH is resisting even talking about it but I'm going to get very serious with him this evening. I will not do this alone again. They are his pets too.

Gotta quit. Waterworks on again.

{{{{{Sheila}}}}}