Good Times

Our sweet reclusive Furry Boy, Cecil, has recently become more sociable.  At first it was just coming up onto the bed at night, and we thought it was just a one time thing.  But he's been coming to bed almost every night.  And then he started actually sitting on my lap!  We've had him since he was tiny and he is now thirteen years old.  I hope this lasts.

And as nice as it is having him near us, it has sort of altered Angus' and Finnigan's routines.  Adjustments are being made and at times I think there might be just a touch of jealousy, but they are adapting.

Les took this picture the other night while we were watching TV.  Cecil is facing me, and Angus is right next to Cecil. But all was calm and they were content.

Les took me to "The Butcher's Son" for my birthday dinner.  It was very good and a lovely place.  We would probably go there again and more often if we could get rid of the traffic.  But the dinner and people were great.  This was on the table:

Last evening we went to Plaza Azteca with Jacquie, Chris and the girls.   Nice time and everyone is doing well.  Cutie Girl told us about volcanoes and Little Miss E played peek-a-boo across the table.  Jordan is busy getting her forms and paperwork ready for ODU.

The pain in my leg is better than it was, but it has not gone away.  I have been doing my PT exercises and taking care of myself. 

And as always.... Life is Great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Blah, Just Blah

Last week I started to have pain running down my right leg, hip area to toes.  At first it was just discomfort, then achy, then increasing pain.  First thing Monday I called my Ortho Doc and got an appointment for first thing Tuesday.  I knew I wouldn't get in to see him on Monday since that is one of his surgery days.  I was fearing all sorts of possibilities.  He ruled some of those out after taking a couple x-rays.  He thinks the problem is from a severe inflammation that is irritating nerves.  My right leg has had nerve damage from bone spurs in my spine and the back surgeries, so it never feels "right".  Dr. A. ordered a course of steroids and PT.  Yesterday was the first day of the pills and I went for the PT evaluation.  I will be going twice a week and also doing exercises here at home; I am hopeful.  The pills may be starting to work since I haven't closed myself in the bathroom to cry anymore because of the pain.  I have a high tolerance but there are limits.  😊

And since I truly believe that if I don't keep moving, I won't be able to, I have been keeping up with a few things around here.  But I have been resting and taking care of myself, too.  I have almost finished another book.  I have even taken a few short naps.

In other news, our frigid temperatures are gone.  Those few windy days in the teens and twenties were brutal.  Today is 60's and pouring rain again. And here is a picture of some of the smaller puddles in the backyard.  I couldn't take pictures of the larger puddles without actually going out in the rain and that wasn't happening.

One area at the side of our deck has stepping stones in the mulch.  The stones were completely under water last time I looked. 

Nothing much else going on.  Life is still great, it's just uncomfortable sometimes.  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Happy Anniversary, Pam and Garrett!

Love you! XOXO

COLD!!!!

The forecasted weather front did come through here and did what they predicted.  We started out yesterday morning at 63 degrees.  By supper time it was down to 36 and then into the teens last night.  It's 21 right now as I am writing this.  We did not get any snow.  What we have is frozen puddles and mud in the yard.  It is sunny and bright and quite breezy.

I bundled up and went out to fill the bird feeder.  While I was having my breakfast I had looked out and there were ten robins out in the yard.  Poor things obviously don't know they were supposed to head South, or else they have come back way too soon.  😊  I hope they have something to eat and find a warm place to rest.

The man is here working on the garage door opener installation.  Les asked if he wanted to postpone since it is so cold but he said no.

Our family in Ohio is digging out from at least fourteen inches of snow and really cold weather.  Ohio does a much better job of dealing with snow than Virginia does.  If we had that much, things would be shut down for at least a week! I remember when I was little girl school closings were rare.  Kids were just bundled up in sweaters, coats, hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants, and boots and sent on to school.  And of course the roads were plowed.

I hope everyone is safe and happy.  Stay that way!  Life is great!  God Bless America!

Happy Birthday, Bloomer!

Love you!  XOXO

Hey!

I thought I'd start this post with a picture I took yesterday morning on the way to Starbucks.  😊

This picture does not capture the total beauty of the sky, but you can get the idea.

Today is cloudy and let me just say, our area continues to have weird weather.  It's a cloudy 50 degrees and Les and the guys are out playing golf.  Rain is supposed to start later today and continue into tomorrow.  Sunday is forecast to start out at 60 degrees with the rain, then get windy - 25 mph or more with higher gusts - and by night time the temperatures are supposed to be in the teens.  I have no plans to be doing anything outside.  If you need me look under my quilt.  There will more than likely be one of the furry boys on top of me.

The garage door opener is scheduled for installation on Monday.  I will be glad when that is done.  And since the temps are supposed to be in the 20's, Les will be home (no golf) to talk to the man and check things.  😊

Nothing major is going on, we're just keeping up with all the normal things, getting to the "Y", doing errands, etc.

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

New Shirt

I'm just now getting around to posting a picture of my new shirt!  Christmas gift from Les!  I love it!

So, today is Tuesday.  The rain has stopped, the sun is out, temps are in the 40's.  Puddles and mud are still in yard.

I haven't been outside though.  We had two service calls this morning and after those some cleaning needed to be done.  I just finished putting the mop away.

Our Culligan system was checked and new filters installed.  We're good for another year unless something comes up.  Everything is back in place under the sink.

Sadly, the dryer repair did not go so well.  Nice man; checked everything out and cleaned some lint out of the inside.  But the problem causing the loud noise/rattle is the motor dying.  He said it is okay to use it.  It will either get louder and louder until we can't stand it or it will just stop working.  He did not recommend replacing it as it is the most expensive part of the dryer.  Les asked me if I wanted to go buy a new one and I said I'd rather just use it for a while and wait.

The dryer work made a bigger mess but that is all cleaned up and things put back into place there, too. 

We still haven't heard from the installer for the garage door opener.  I called Home Depot again and still haven't talked to anyone.  If I don't get a call back today I will stop in while I am out doing errands tomorrow.

Other than the cleaning, some desk work has been done and a few other things.

Just a reminder...... postage rates go up on the 27th.  Time to get more Forever stamps!  The rate goes up to $.55 for first class.

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Whooosh!!! The Sound of the Week Passing By!

I certainly believe there is a possibility that time warps exist.  I'm just sayin'.  😊

Anyway...... I hope you are all doing well.  And for those of you that have been battling colds, flu, and other ailments, I wish you speedy recoveries.

Les and I are doing okay.  There hasn't been much golf lately; it is cold again here.  We had a little snow last evening.  Within an hour it had turned to rain and it is still raining and COLD.  At least so far it isn't freezing on anything, but we do have some huge puddles and more mud in the yard.

Cecil's check-up went well and he is doing okay.  All the furry boys are in warm spots all curled up and napping right now.

We had to go buy a new garage door opener.  I told Les I was done being annoyed by it not closing when I try to leave the garage and he agreed with me.  We are waiting to hear from the installer about scheduling the installation.

I need to "call the man" and get the appliance repair man here to check our dryer.  It seems to be drying okay but it is getting very noisy. 

We already have the Culligan Man scheduled for this coming week, too, for the annual service.

We have made it to the "Y" several times, watched some movies and recorded shows, read some good books, and taken care of all the day to day chores.

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America! 

BRRRRRR!

Ahhhhhhhhh.........

Things are getting back into routine.  I'm getting things checked off my "to-do" list.  Life is good!

Most of you know I love to see the sun rise at the beach.  I recently posted this picture on Facebook just to remind us all that beauty can be found anywhere.  I took the picture while stopped at the red light on the way to Starbucks.  You just have to keep your eyes open and look!

It's been a nice quiet morning so far.  I did the usual morning stuff, made us waffles for breakfast, enjoyed my coffee and read the paper; also did a load of laundry.  Les has gone to the "Y". 

Cecil has an appointment for his annual check-up today and in a little bit I will round him up, groom him, and get him in the carrier.  I did the grooming and nail clipping for Angus and Finnigan last evening while Les was watching football.

While I have Cecil at the doctor, Les has a chiropractor appointment. 

So, as I said, life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

The Week in Review

We are now into a new year.  I hope everyone has a safe, healthy, and peaceful one.

Christmas decorations have been carefully put away and cleaning has been done. 

Addresses database has been updated.

Files have been cleaned out and end-of-year reports for taxes have been done.

It is still wet and muddy here; 48 and cloudy right now.  No golf today.  There was a brief dry time and I cleaned Kirk.  He was clean for about twenty-four hours before it rained on him again.  😊

Jacquie says they are okay at her house.  Cutie Girl is back in school after the holidays.  We are all relieved and happy that Itty Bit returned home.  He had gotten out and was missing for a couple days. 

Pam is getting over a bad cold but says they are okay at her house.  The kids go back to school next week.  Everyone is busy.

Les and I went to see "Aquaman" yesterday.  We liked it and thought it was very good.  We also saw some previews of several other movies we want to see when they are released.

I've been to the "Y".  It was very busy with lots of "resolution people"  They will clear out in about six weeks.  😊

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

And here is a picture for no particular reason other than the fact that it makes me smile and it brings good memories.

Getting Back to Routines!

So the holidays are over.  Everyone will be getting back to normal routines.  Like I saw in the paper this morning, "the holidays are not really over until you aren't picking pine needles and tinsel out of your socks!"  That struck me as funny even though we have artificial trees and do not use tinsel anymore.  Although I do have some vintage unopened packs of it in my storage bins.  (you do just not want to see what happens when a cat eats tinsel)

Anyway....  school is starting back.  Cutie Girl left on the bus this morning and Jacquie sent this picture.  Little Miss E and Nikola were seeing her off and missing her.

Boxer and Bloomer are still out of class all this week and don't go back until next Monday.  Jordan is finished with TNCC classes and getting things in order for ODU next Fall.

Yesterday was 70, today won't get past 50 and it's going to start raining again later.  We have standing puddles and large patches of moss growing in some areas of the yard.  Les layered up and went to play golf with the guys. 

It's a Starbucks day and I've been enjoying my coffee and doing the morning stuff and just relaxing a little.  I'm going out to tidy up Kirk when I finish here.  I cleaned up a bag full of leaves from the front mulched area yesterday.  Looks much better!

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

WTH, TV - Especially NBC

I would imagine that tomorrow when business gets back in the swing of things after the holidays that there will be some meetings and perhaps some "talkings to".  And I am sure many complaints from viewers.

It's the time of year when networks and stations make their contract renewals.  There's a scroll across the screen from Cox about some networks in negotiations and the possibility that they will not be available until agreements are met.  We have Verizon and they are also running scrolling messages and sending us emails.  The most disturbing was the first one that we saw that said Disney and ESPN might not be available.  Luckily an agreement was met and all is well there evidently, but for the time being ABC is off the air in our area unless you use an antenna.   ??????  We checked our programmed recordings and don't need ABC until next Tuesday, so hopefully it will be settled by then.

Then there is NBC.  I don't know if it is the local NBC station that is responsible or if it is the Network, but really, guys!!??  Let's start with last night.  Les and I were staying up to see the ball drop in NYC.  We usually start watching around 11:00 p.m.  (watching a movie before then)  So the local news was on.  At 11:30 the broadcast in Times Square started with the most idiotic and asinine running skit with Carson Daly and Chrissy Teigen.  I don't know if they had been on all evening and were tired or not, of if they were drunk or if she is just an annoying twit, but it was the worst.  Camera shots of the crowd and Times Square were bad, Carson and Chrissy did not act like they knew what they were doing.  And then when it was time for the countdown and ball to drop, they did not even show it! Disappointing and disgusting.  I miss Dick Clark.  And yes, I know he died and that he was on a different network.

So.......... then the Rose Parade was announced to start at 11:00 a.m.  I got things done and got ready, turned on the TV and found an infomercial.  At 11:30 it switched to the parade sort of mid-sentence.  We did get to see The Ohio State Band and float.  So, yay for that!  I feel for the people who were there in person though.  I like Al Roker; he and Hoda were the announcers.  They were not even shown until near the end of the broadcast.  Al knows the weather, and he got so hot he took off his suit coat!  He said the parade started with temperatures in the 40's and it was in the 80's when they went off the air.  There is no one to blame for that, it's weather and that's how it is. 

There are surely a lot of disappointed people who did not get to see their group marching though.  A large float broke down and caught on fire, blocked the street and had to be towed out.  That delayed a lot of groups and the big planned ending of the show.  What are you going to do?  Al tried to fill some time with a cut to the following scheduled hockey game announcer and the audio did not work.  So, NBC, get your act together!

Harumph!

Life, however, remains great.  Stay safe and God Bless America!