Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a happy, safe day!

We are good here; been busy.  We had to have the A/C on again for a couple days in the 80's.  It's off again now, and only going to get into the low 60's today.  (maybe)  It's cloudy and breezy.

We were up a little earlier than usual this morning.  We had Little Miss E with us this morning while Nurse J and IT Guy took Cutie Girl to the hospital for her surgery.  It went well and they are now all home.  There will be follow up appointments and we're all hoping this corrects her eye issues.

Little Miss E was very good for us, just a happy baby.  She only fussed when she was hungry and then she took about a two hour nap.  So the play and cuddle time was a bit limited.  :)  BeyB has morning classes, in case you are wondering where she was during all this.

Since we knew Cutie Girl would need some quiet time to recuperate, going trick-or-treating this evening was out.  So we all went to a Trunk-or-Treat event at a local church Saturday evening.  The weather was beautiful, the people there were very nice and the girls had a nice time.  Cutie Girl said thank you every time she received a piece of candy and Little Miss E slept through the whole affair in her stroller.  I think she was exhausted from being wrestled into  her costume.  :)

The bashful little princess

The little ice cream cone - with sprinkles

The yard work is under control, although our large holly tree needs just a little attention.  Golfer mowed, I did a walk-around and a little clean up.  The household chores are pretty well caught up and errands have been done.  We'll be heading to the "Y" this afternoon I think.  And then catching up on some recorded shows on the DVR.  We've been watching the World Series - stressful, but good!  Go Tribe!

Stay safe!

Okay, Deep Breath, Score 1 to 1

Go, Tribe!

This is BeyB; she's 18 now.  NurseJ shared for #tbt on Facebook and I thought it was an excellent choice!

This Post Comes Bringing Smiles

Stay safe!

Finally Feeling Like Fall

We finally had to have the heat on a little.  It's off again right now as I write this, but the temps are supposed to get even lower, so it will be coming back on. I even heard them mention "frost" for some areas.   I love the crisp air.  I worked out in the yard a little on Sunday doing a bit of clean-up.  Sunny, breezy, cool........ahhhhhhhh!

This has always been one of my favorite Fall pictures.  Cinder looking out the window watching the leaves blow around.  She was a sweet little furry girl.

Golfer has made the clothing swap-out in the closet and has had to go with long pants some days for golf.  I know he always dreads that, but he layers up and has a good time on the course.

We had the traditional Fall snack of cold cider and powdered donuts recently.  It's more of a memory thing for me.  When I was a little girl, every gathering and event in the Fall had cider and powdered donuts. Church, school, Brownies, Halloween parties, seemed like everywhere!  So we have some token cider and donuts and memories.  It was a good snack, but not quite the same.  But then, what is?

So the yard clean-up was done.  Golfer hauled all of our bags that were stacked behind the shed out to the curb for pick up.  There is new grass coming up.  Leaves are coming down.  I don't know if we'll get much leaf color around here.  Right around us the leaves are just drying, turning brown and falling off the trees.  We've already raked several bags.  The hot Summer, a dry spell, and then the high winds with the storms have made the leaves just give up I think.

I've been keeping up with the usual daily "stuff", getting to the "Y", finishing up some projects, and  reading some good books.  Golfer has been enjoying the nice weather on the course.  He's also been finishing up some things.

The family is doing well.  Everyone is busy.  School is going well for BeyB, Boxer and Bloomer.  CutieGirl is busy, happy, and will be having eye surgery next week.  Little Miss E just got her first tooth!

Christmas shopping and preparations have been started.  We'll have everyone here for an early Christmas the week before the actual day.  There's another memory... when I was a girl, we always had "Sunday Christmas" at Grama's on the Sunday before Christmas.  My sister and nieces, Mom and I would go to Grama and Granpa's for dinner and visiting, and presents.  My Grama always had a live tree, colored lights, tinsel and she liked to use that Angel Hair white stuff on it.  I'm not sure what that was, but I'm pretty sure it would be banned today.  Mom and I always had a live tree, too.  Mom always wanted one with pine cones on it because she liked to hear the crinkles and pops when they opened up as the tree warmed up.

Sorry, got off on a Christmas side track!  I've been more nostalgic lately for some reason.

Anyway, we are doing well, keeping busy.

Stay safe!

Go Tribe!

First off, YAY! Cleveland Indians!

No matter where we have lived, we have always supported the Cleveland teams.  Golfer recently got to go to an Indians game with his brother when we were in Ohio visiting.

Watching the games on TV here at home is rather stress inducing and I won't go into that, but we really do hope they win!

I was out doing some errands this morning and thought I'd see about getting a celebratory shirt for Golfer.  I've had several emails for ordering them online, but I sort of wanted to actually see them.  First stop was Dick's Sporting Goods.  I figured they'd have shirts and whatever on display at the front of the store.  I mean, really, the World Series is a big deal!  I didn't see anything for either team so I asked the lady at customer service.  I was told "Oh, no, we don't carry anything like that". To which I said, "Why not?".  And she said, "We do not carry things like that, or baseball items".  And I said, "Too bad, you just missed a big sale" and I walked out.

Then I stopped at Penney's.  One of the emails I had gotten was from them so I figured I'd look.  Couldn't find them there either. The man at the counter said," We only sell those online".  I left.  Golfer has ordered a shirt from the official site.

This all makes me wonder who does the research and planning for the stores?? Or the training of the sales staff?  I've worked customer service and retail and I know a lot of the people I run into while doing errands would be out of work if I was in charge.  But then, I know and freely admit I am picky.

Again, GO, TRIBE!!

And stay safe!

Another Project Finished

Hey, all!

The weather is beautiful right now.  Sunny, slight breeze and in the mid-70's.  The windows are open and the furry boys are happy!

Golfer has  a two day end-of-the-season tournament with one of his golf groups this weekend, so he is busy with that.  I've been busy doing odds and ends, reading a good book, doing some Christmas shopping, and finishing up some projects.  Oh!  And I can't forget to say that all three of the boys have been clipped and combed!  That is not always an easy project, but I feel good when it gets done.

The latest finish was the painting in the garage.  I had asked Golfer to put up some panels of wood across the front wall in the garage.  Over the years we sort of "mis-judged" the locations of parking with our vehicles.  There were a couple large dents in the front wall.  (some vehicles were a lot longer than others!)  So now the spots are all covered up and I have finished the painting.  Originally I was going to do red paint, but decided we would get tired of that.  So, since the concrete block lower part of the wall needed to be repainted, I just did it all in gray.  Looks a lot better now!

I finished up the job by mopping the floor and now it's all cleaned up out there.

For now, there are no more "extra" chores to add to the usual daily ones.  That means more time to read.  Also time to start on all our Christmas things, like our letter, the cards, and shopping!

Stay safe!

Hey! Getting Back to "Normal"

I know that there are many, many people still dealing with the problems caused by Hurricane Matthew and all the flooding.  But right here, right now, things are getting back to normal.

Our friends are back in their homes in South Carolina.  J & B say they just had a lot of yard debris to clean-up.  And of course, the after-a-storm chores of putting things back in place.  I have not heard any more from E since she said they were on the way home and T had bought a new chain saw to deal with the mess their neighbors told them about.  I am hoping that the flood water did not get into their house.

Golfer and I have been busy around here.  We've both been finishing up projects.  I've  been keeping up with the usual household chores and errands.  He got the shed door painting finished.

I got out and did some yard clean-up for a few hours.  Feels good to get that done.  Golfer thinks maybe he will mow next week.  Right now we have a lot of new little grass seedlings coming up and we don't want them disturbed!

Kirk had to go to the Acura dealership this morning for what I thought would be a quick stop to get some air in the tires.  (Kirk's tires use the Nitrogen mix)  They found a nail in one and I waited while they fixed that.

It's been beautiful weather here - in the 60's and sunny.  Today has been a little warmer but a front is coming through tonight with some wind and is supposed to cool things off some more and only be in the low 60's for a few days.  The A/C is off and the windows are open.  Our furry boys are happy!

We had some computer issues that kept Golfer pretty busy for a while.  Our external drive we use for storage died.  Technology changes so quickly that it is not always a fast, easy fix when something needs to be replaced.  But it's all done now and everything is working.

I finally got a picture of our new weather vane that we bought in Ohio.

Stay safe!

Weather Update

Hurricane Matthew is almost completely moved out of our area. At the same time that he is moving onward out over the ocean, a cold front is moving in from the West.  I am hoping that this approaching front will help dry things out.

So.... We had a lot of rain.  The count ranges from five inches to twelve or more, depending on the area.  Our yard has puddles.  We had strong gusty wind.  The yard is full of LOTS of stuff to be picked up, but nothing major that we can see from our windows.  If we don't get any more rain for awhile, maybe a few days from now it will be dry enough for us to walk out there and clean up!  :)

The temperature has been in the 50's all day, and is supposed to be in 40's tonight. I had to put on a long sleeve shirt!

Right now, it is still windy but the sun is actually out.  So, yay! 

There are still flood warnings out for all the areas closer to the water.  I think it's almost high tide time again so there will be another report soon.

We did not lose power at our house, but Nurse J said theirs was out for a while.  They know they can come here any time, but it came back on and all is well so far.

Our friends from South Carolina are anxious to get back to their homes and see how much damage there is.  The storm was a lot worse down there.  J & B are traveling today and promised to let us know when they made it back.  T & E have said they would like to try to get home tomorrow or Tuesday.  We've been worried for them all and hope things won't be too bad.

Golfer is watching football and reading.  I just put some chicken in the oven and will make salad soon.  Other than that, I've just been doing some odds and ends and looking over the family's Christmas wish lists.  I always have a goal of getting most of the shopping done by Columbus Day.  That's a hold-over from when I was still working and had the day off for the holiday.  :)  FYI - so far, so good on the shopping!  I have even checked our address database to make sure it is up to date for cards.

Stay safe!

We're Still Waiting

It certainly does seem like Hurricane Matthew has been around for a long time.  It has done a lot of serious damage on its charge Northward.  The forecasts for here have been back and forth for a while but now they say we will just have "hefty" rain and wind this weekend.  I really don't think "hefty" is a technical meteorological term.  I'm pretty sure the local weather  people are just getting tired, and trying to not keep repeating themselves.

So, the "hefty" rain and wind are coming.  But right now there is a strong breeze, it's in the mid-70's and humid.  The sun has been trying to peek out between the clouds.  Golfer is playing golf.  The new neighbor's yard guy is over there mowing.  I've been cleaning and doing all the usual household chores. Also been catching up on some desk work and watching the recorded shows I slept through last night.  :)   I'll be heading to the "Y" soon.

P sent me this picture this morning.  I liked it so much I have to share.  It made me smile.

If you have been watching all the weather reports, you will have seen that a lot of people who live in areas threatened by hurricanes and tropical storms take them in stride, a fact of life, and they have a sense of humor about it.  You know, just something else to deal with.  But think about it... other areas have blizzards, tornadoes, flooding, hail storms, earthquakes.  Like I said, just something else to deal with.

Stay safe!

Just Watching the Weather

The last few days have been busy.  Golfer has been working on a couple home maintenance and painting projects.  I've done all the usual daily things and also got out and did a little yard clean-up of the mulched areas.  There won't be any mowing or trimming for Golfer to do for just a little bit because of the aeration and seeding that was done last week.

We've also been keeping up with the weather forecasts.  Hurricane Matthew has everyone on edge.  It's already done major damage in its path.  We have friends who live in the evacuation areas of South Carolina.  One couple is already at their cabin in the West Virginia mountains.  The other couple is packing up to get on the road as I type this.  We hope that they stay safe and their homes will be undamaged when they return.

As for us, the forecasts have been sort of all over the place.  They have been saying "just be prepared".  So.... the cars have full gas tanks, I went to the ATM and got some cash, the fridge and pantry are full.  As of the last report, it sounds like we'll get some rain and some wind, and the tidal flooding in the usual areas, but the brunt of the storm will miss us.  Of course, that can change with little notice, so we are being alert. 

Stay safe!

How Could I Forget???!!?

I somehow neglected to post a picture of this long-time "friend".  He has been celebrating Halloween in our home ever since Nurse J and Bikini were very young.  I won't say how many years that is.  :)  He has held up well!

Today was supposed to be the Community yard sale for Kiln Creek.  Nurse J and BeyB picked me up at 8:00.  We stopped at two houses and then it started to rain, so we did not do much shopping.  I think people were afraid of the weather forecast with "chance of rain" and not many were participating.  I'm going to check if there is a rain date.  And if it is next Saturday, we might have Hurricane Matthew here then!

I did make one purchase - a still in the sealed wrap Melissa & Doug wooden puzzle to put in our toy box for Charlie and Ellie!  For $1!

The Fall cleaning is pretty much done and that feels good. I had wanted to get out and do a little yard work, but after the sprinklers running this morning to keep the seed damp and then the rain, it is a little too wet out there for me to be comfortable. So that job is on hold.  That's okay, I have a good book I'd like to sit and read anyway!

Golfer is at Riverfront Course today and I am hoping the rain missed them.

Nurse J starts the class work for her Masters this coming week.  Everyone is well and busy at her house.  Most of the time very busy with a three year old and a four month old!

Bikini is having fun with her new mid-arm quilting machine.  (I may have that term wrong, but you get the gist)  They are all well there and busy.

Stay safe and have a good weekend!