What??

You just told me it was Wednesday.  I guess I have to believe you although I hate too.  Precious life is slipping away.  The days blend, one right into the other.

The reason I lost track of time was because yesterday I cleaned all day long.  I started after breakfast and finished up at suppertime.  One reason it takes so long is my back that hollers at me to sit down and take a rest every few minutes.  I moved everything around in the kitchen and mopped.  That is no small chore as the table and chairs are very heavy.  Hey, I will put that on my list of things along with a washer and dryer and a garage.  I would like a dining room and maid service.  Now. mind you, I don’t want maid service like my Tennessee Twin had.  Tennessee Twin, hey, I like the sound of that; I think there is the making of a good old country song in that title. 

Then from the kitchen I moved on through the house, taking time out at 11AM to watch my fave, The Young and the Restless.  That show is so mixed up now.  I don’t think the writers have a clue where they are going with the story.  To make a long story short; I finally finished cleaning.

This morning I am getting my hair cut and doing a little shopping.  Then I don’t plan on doing anything the rest of the day.

I am still in the sorting of old pictures.  I started this 3 years ago and I am not finished yet.  I go in spurts and then I fizzle out.

I have lots of newly discovered first cousins in Missouri and an undiscovered (until recently) aunt in Michigan.  You see my daddy’s younger brother was married 5 times and there are children from each marriage, plus I am finding out all about the rest of my dad’s family too.  This all started from my putting my dad’s full name in Google.  There on a genealogical site I found a relative searching for info on my grandfather on my dad’s side.  The aunt in Michigan is my dad’s step-sister.  Her name is Marie and I was always told as a child that I was named after my dad’s sister.  Thanks to my cousin Bryce for getting me updated.

This is my Aunt Marie.  In the picture with her is her granddaughter and her husband.  Aunt Marie is 90 years old and in a nursing home in Michigan.  We have been corresponding the old fashioned snail way and she sent me this lovely picture in a letter.

Gotta run now as my hair appointment is early and I haven’t had breakfast yet.  You all stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

Catch up time again…

Let’s start with Friday.  My daughter and I hit the garage sales.  Sales are winding down, no bargains.  I did find  a couple of books.  Friday night I went to Texas Roadhouse with my daughter and SIL.  I love that place, peanuts in a bucket on your table and hot homemade rolls with honey cinnamon butter.  Marcia and I had the chicken fritters, baked potato and salad.  My baked potato was loaded up about 2 inches on top of the potato.  Mike had a 12 ounce steak which he said was really tender.  Our waiter’s name was Brian.  He was excellent and he was tipped accordingly.  We each brought fritters home.  They run a close race with the chicken tenders from Cheddars.  No Cheddars around here, sad to say.

Saturday I went to a church sale.  It was a really good one, lots of crafts and many other items.  I purchased a couple of Christmas gifts and some other items.  It was fun!

Sunday, I cooked a pan of fresh tomatoes for the freezer.  I will use them for soup or sauce later on.  And even though I had chicken two days in a row, I had some chicken unthawed so I fixed chicken and noodles (frozen egg kind).  And that pretty much sums up my weekend.  Nothing much to write home about.

I am so thankful that Hurricane Irene was not as bad as predicted.  However there were lives lost and much property damage and I am so sorry for that.

Well, it is back to another week that includes such mundane things as laundry and cleaning,  I have errands to run too so I guess I had better get myself moving.  I hope you all have a good week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

Waiting for Irene…

The following is today’s post from my blogging friend Joanne in New York.  http://10minutes2breathe.blogspot.com/  If you have a minute, please stop by and let her know that you are thinking of her.

 

“I know I wrote that I wasn't going to post on the weekends anymore , but right now I can't sleep and I thought maybe if I sat here and wrote it would help.

It is so quiet right now. Everyone in the house is asleep and even the dog came out for only a second to check on me. He too is sleeping soundly now.

Tomorrow the bad weather will begin introducing us to a very bad Hurricane. The real damage will come Sunday when the heart of Irene will make its debut here.

Today was a beautiful day. It almost gave you a false sense of security. I mean how can such a bad storm follow such a beautiful day?

Everyone is trying to remain cool and confident, but just one look at the empty store shelves shares how people are feeling...a bit scared. There's been a mandatory evacuation of the coastline and it makes me wonder how bad is this going to really be? Outside right now it is so eerily quiet. I am waiting. I hate this wait. It worries me to think of flooding and damage and God forbid people getting hurt or worse.

We managed to make an emergency kit. Years ago my Hubby bought a cool little radio that runs on a rechargeable battery and a crank. I am grateful for that because all of those kind of items have long ago left the shelves of stores. We bought as much water as we could and also bought some canned goods ...just in case. We have matches and a first aid kit. Our phones are fully charged and we brought into the garage the swing and hammock from the back yard.

After all that I am still not feeling prepared. I am praying for all those people that are being affected by Irene right now and in the days to come.

There is nothing more to do, so now I will try to calmly listen to this silence.

                                  The quiet before the storm.”

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Jo’s post touched me so much.  My heart goes out to all who are in harm’s way from the storm.  I was happy to see that Boston Boy did a short post to let us know that he was OK and didn’t expect anything serious where he is located.  Prayers are being said for you all!

  Beth

Christmas shopping…

is started.  On Tuesday I was able to get some Christmas shopping done at Kohl's.  Just a beginning but it is a start.

Then Tuesday night the smoke detector beeped off and on all night beginning at 10 PM.  I got no sleep that night.  The smoke/carbon monoxide detector is located at the top of the wall and even standing on the top of my step stool I couldn’t reach it to take it loose.  Come to find out there was a broken wire in there and maintenance came right away and put a new one in, also changed the furnace filter.  Now that is set for winter.

Today I need to get oriented again as yesterday I walked around half asleep all day.  Not a good feeling at all.  I need to get my 8 hours of sleep each night or I am not good to go.

My SIL’s brother is keeping me in lovely tomatoes.  I had bacon and tomato sandwiches for supper last night.  I will be sorry to see the garden season finished.

It is a glorious morning!  It is 61 degrees and there is a nice breeze coming in the front door screen that I have opened to get some fresh air.

I will write more later.  Now I need to get the day started.  I hope it is a good one for you all!  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

Sing before 7…

cry before 11.  This is an old superstition that I have heard since I was a small child.  Believe me that was a fairly long time ago.  I don’t consider myself a superstitious person but I absolutely will not break into song before 7AM.  I am not afraid of walking under a ladder (not unless someone is standing on the ladder painting something) and I have been known to let a black cat cross my path without screeching at the top of my lungs.  Lucky for all of you that you can’t hear me sing because I can’t carry a tune in a bushel basket.  I am pretty good at whistling God Bless America though.  Long time readers of my blog will know exactly what I am talking about.  If you don’t know what I am talking about, ask me and I will explain.  Do you have any superstitions?

I love talking to my  sis, Rae, when we get to reminiscing about our younger days.  Lots of good laughs and memories there.  Of course some things are better not remembered so we won’t go there.  We were talking this morning about going to Centennial Jr. High in a central Illinois city.  I was in the 9th grade and Rae was in the 7th grade.  I was remembering this guy whose name was Frankie O. (no relation to your Frankie, Chip).  He had this tremendous crush on me and boy it was a heady feeling.  He followed me around in school like a puppy dog.  He was cute as can be with reddish hair.  I kind of had a thing for red hair until I met my Jim, then it was curly black hair.  Anyway Frankie O, if you are Polish and still living in this central Illinois city, I often wondered what happened to you.  LOL  A few months ago I thought I would look up an old friend only to find out through Google that he had passed away last October.  See!!  I told ya, you can never go home again.

Rae and me in our younger days.

It is a lovely cool morning right now, checking in at 61 degrees.  It is supposed to get up to the upper 80s today and then in the 90s later in the week.  This morning makes me think of Autumn and after the long hot summer we have had, I am more than ready. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

I would say…

it was a lazy Saturday morning except it is definitely not a lazy one.  I have changed the bed linen and I have the laundry in the dryer right now.  When I get the laundry finished I will do some  cooking.  Not sure what yet but the thought is there, fleeting though it may be.

My kids took me out for supper last night to the Rendezvous Café in Creve Coeur just a few miles down the road from me on the dreaded 29.  (I hate the traffic on that road).  I had a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich that was so large it could have used 3 buns.  I love a good tenderloin sandwich with lots of catsup and pickles.  This was a good one.

Would you believe I am still sorting through old photos.  The one posted below is of my kids when they were about 7 and 4 years old.  I absolutely adore this picture.  If I could pick a time in my life to go back to for a day I would pick this time in my life.

What I am having difficulty in figuring out is what happened to the years in between then and now.  It seems like only  yesterday.

I gotta go now as it is time for the dryer to shut off and for me to get busy in the kitchen.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

Use it or lose it…

Now how many times have I heard that phrase since I have been in my (shall we say) golden years?  Rae (my sis) and I have discussed it many times on the phone.  We have come to the conclusion that it is an accurate phrase.  You can put your own meaning on this phrase.  If you are young, of course you can think of all kinds of meanings.  If you are a senior it means use your brain and exercise your body as well as your mind.  If you sit down in the recliner or plunk your bottom end down on the sofa will you get up again?  Or will you just sit there and grow older letting body and mind atrophy?  I choose not to do that.  So even on days when it feels better just sitting down I force myself to get up and go.

With that thought in mind I finished the cleaning.  Sitting down every few minutes to rest my back.  Back surgery in 2000 did not cure my problems.  I would advise anyone with back problems to make surgery your very last option.

My SIL’s brother’s wife Val, brought more of those lovely big tomatoes in for me to share.  They are gorgeous and each tomato is huge and juicy.  THANKS!!!! to Tim and Val!  I have pulled my potted tomato plants as the hail storm killed them so I really appreciate the tomatoes from them.

I have to make a Kroger run this morning as soon as I have breakfast.  They are having the buy 10 at a reduced price and get $5 off your order.  I love that sale that they have quite often.  It is when I get stocked up and believe me, you had all better get stocked up because groceries are going sky high.  The drought in many of the states  will cause that.

If you notice the photo to the right of the post, it is my daughter on her first birthday chowing down on birthday cake.  And if you can’t see it clear enough I will post it here and you can click on it to enlarge it.

Remember, if you can, get up out of that chair and go somewhere.  Smile at everyone you meet and say hi.  Betcha get a smile or two in return.  Stay safe and be happy.

  Beth

Aloha Elvis…

I  am an Elvis Fan.  I remember the day he died, 16 August 1977 exactly 34 years ago today.  I am a huge fan of his music, not of his movies because I thought they were kind of silly.  Just my opinion, I tolerated them though because he was so good looking.  I remember that on 16 Aug 1977 I was sunbathing when I learned of his death, something I wish now that I had never done.  His death staggered me.  I remember thinking, Elvis is dead and I am only mortal.  The fact that Elvis had taken such poor care of himself and was grossly overweight also hit home with me.  One reason now while in my ‘golden’ years I try to exercise daily.

And so today I remember Elvis, and I am so very sorry that he left the building prematurely.

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Yesterday my daughter and I headed 10 miles to the east to Farm and Fleet.  I love that store.  It is laid out almost exactly like the one in Champaign where Jim and I used to shop.  They have everything there, even clothing by Alfred Dunner. I found a lovely light beige shell on sale for $9.74.  I have been needing a neutral colored shell to go with some jackets that I have.  Then, in the afternoon mail I received a package from my sis with two shells in it.  They are beautiful.  Thanks Rae!

Then we stopped by Cracker Barrel for lunch.  Bad experience.  We were waiting for a long time just to be waited on which was ridiculous as there was hardly anyone in there.  We ordered potato soup and a chicken sandwich.  The waitress said that she would be right out with the soup.  Twenty minutes later I hollered at a bus person asking for our waitress who never showed up.  A few minutes later our sandwiches were carried out and still no soup.  Add another 10 minutes and here came our waitress with the soup.  I told her that I had planned to have the soup digested before the sandwiches came.  The food was pretty good, the service was terrible, so if you happen to be on I 74 near Morton IL., don’t stop at the Cracker Barrel unless you have lots of time to spare.

Today I definitely am going to clean.  I have already done a load of laundry and I have some things I need to press with the iron.  Yuck!  I hate that almost as bad as cleaning the bathroom

Enjoy today, there will never be another one just exactly like it.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

Quite a weekend…

but I survived it.  We had quite a thunderstorm and hail storm Saturday afternoon.  No major damage except to my tomato plants.  The hail was about nickel to quarter sized and it decimated the tomato plants.




Click to make larger.

I will leave the tomato plants another day or two and see if they revive any.  If they don’t I will salvage what green ones I can.  I still have a couple tomatoes from my SIL’s brother and the word is out that I will take all I can get.  I had a bacon tomato for lunch yesterday.  (Sunday)  Delicious!

Sunday was a peaceful quiet day and I didn’t do much as my back has decided to keep hurting.  I have hunted out the pain pills from my last trip to the doctor for my backache and I have taken a couple.

I am not sure what I have planned today.  I should clean the bathroom, a job I hate that requires a lot of bending over, so we shall see.


In the meantime, have a wonderful week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

I found this…

darling little table at a garage sale this morning for $2.  It is just perfect to put my scanner on.







Click to enlarge.  And that was about it as the garage sales are winding down and school will be starting in another couple of weeks.

A few garage sales, a trip to the bank  and Kroger and that is what I accomplished today.  My second room will have to wait until tomorrow.

I bought some lovely fresh peaches at the store and now I am off to make a peach cobbler.  Recipe on my recipe blog.

Have a great weekend you all.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

I thought…

oh boy, I can do this, and I did.  I have decided to take one room at a time and clean it thoroughly instead of rushing through all of the rooms at once.  This was a decision I made yesterday after standing too long in the kitchen doing odds and ends and ending up with a terrific backache.  This morning I thoroughly cleaned everything in my bedroom, windows and all, and then I quit!  My room looks really good.  My back is still hurting but I have one shiny clean room.  Tomorrow I will tackle the second bedroom, that is unless I can talk my daughter into going garage saling with me.  After all one has to set priorities, and it is summertime.  Soon the snow will be flying and garage sales will only be a pleasant memory.

Today is a glorious day sent from up above.  It is sunny and 70 degrees right now with a lazy little breeze.  The temp is supposed to hit 80 today.  I have opened the windows for fresh air.  It doesn’t get much better than this.

I finished the John Sandford book and have started another one.  I love his books!  I am beginning to have quite a pile of his books to take to the library.

Gotta run now, I am off to get the heating pad out of the closet.  You all stay safe and be happy.

  Beth

Did you ever…

have something happen that brightened your day and left a big smile on your face?  I had that happen to me yesterday.  I received my first birthday present (my birthday is not till next month) in the mail.  It was a hobo bag from my sister Rae.  THANKS RAE!!  I have it all filled and ready to carry.  Note the extra wide shoulder strap.  I love that!!

Click photo to make larger.  These beautiful bags can be found online at http://www.catalogfavorites.com/.  Do check this site out as it has some really neat stuff on there.  In fact, I have already found something to order from there. 

It is a lovely morning here with much lower humidity.  I have the front screen open again letting some fresh air in the house.  Right now the temp stands at 70 degrees F.

I showed you all my tomato crop yesterday and then my daughter told me that my SIL’s brother had given them a sack of lovely huge tomatoes.  I got to share in those and being the good neighbor that I am I took my smaller tomatoes to share with Deb and Joe and Myrna and Don.  Then for supper last night I had this huge bread, butter and tomato sandwich!  It was awesome.

I did some shopping at Bergners yesterday.  They have some really good sales going on right now.  It is really nice having a Bergners right here in town.  Kohls is several miles down the road on 29 which is a road that I hate.  The traffic on there is terrible and there is always construction.

I have already done laundry this morning.  Next on the agenda is figuring out what I am going to eat today.

Stay safe and be happy!!  Have a wonderful day!

  Beth

I breathed a sigh of relief…

because it is a little bit cooler today.  I had the front door screen opened for some fresh air.  Wonderful, and the temps for the rest of the week are to be in the low 80s. 

I have done very well with the two potted tomato plants that I bought from Wal*Mart off the markdown rack in late June.  The plants are still loaded with lots of green tomatoes but they have quit making new blooms and are beginning to  look somewhat over the hill.

These are the tomatoes that I harvested yesterday.

It was a very quiet weekend.  I read most of a John Sandford book.  As soon as I finish all of the books that I have of his I will take them to the library to donate.  If you have never read any of his Lucas Davenport  (Prey Series) you are missing a lot.

I hope you all have a great week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

Ouch, Sorry…

Maybe I didn’t phrase that exactly right.  When I was talking about scruffy old men I hope I made it plain that I was talking about guys in the limelight, not specifically referring to anyone in my blogging family.  Our own guys, be they scruffy or clean shaven mean the world to us.  ‘Nuff said on that subject.

This was a very busy morning.  My daughter went with me to catch the garage sales this morning.  There were 10 in one area alone and quite a few others.  I got 20 books, all at a good price.  I am getting my stock built up for winter to save on my credit card bill for my Nook.

Click on photos to make larger.

All in all it was a very nice morning but I am pooped.

I have been having quite a few ripe tomatoes but the vines are starting to die.  I have thoroughly enjoyed them; it was like bringing a little bit of my back home garden with me. 

I hope you all have a great weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

I have this burning…

need to know why all actors, whether in commercials on television or in movies think they look more appealing with a couple of days growth of beard?  OK for the younger actors but the older actors look like scruffy old men to me.  One actor in particular  looks extra scruffy.  It is the actor who plays the lead role on House on the Fox Network.  His name is Hugh Laurie.  You can check out photos of him on the links.

~ Hugh Laurie ~

No reason for needing to know this, the thought just crossed my mind as I was reading something about George Clooney on the Net.  He didn’t look so bad 10 years ago with a couple of days growth of beard but now he looks like a scruffy old man.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love old guys but I think they need to shave every day.

I just bet you have figured by now that I had a boring day.  Not really so.  My brother and his wife from the St Louis area had been on a short trip to Iowa this week and they stopped by to see me on their way home.  We had a meal together at Dennys and a nice short visit.  It was very good to see them.  Other than that it has been a boring day.  I think I need to get out and do something exciting tomorrow.  Not sure what but if I think hard enough something will surely come to mind.

I have decided I don’t need a new car right now.  However if I do need one I definitely will go back to the dealer where that nice Tom works…and that guy was clean shaven.  LOL

One of my blogging friends from England told me that there are no pockets in shrouds and if I want a new car I should get it.  That is not a familiar expression in the US but I take it to mean that you can’t take it with you.  Thanks Arlene and if you are reading this and you are able to make it to America next year I will be expecting you to stop by and visit me!!

  Beth

Let’s try that egg thing again…

A couple of weeks ago one of the reporters from a local TV station tried frying bacon and eggs on the hood of a car.  It was the day we had the terrific heat index of 118.  The egg scrambled and cooked but the bacon did nothing much.  This was picked up by HLN cable and I saw it broadcast several times during the day.  Well, hey guy, get some more eggs ready.  The temp is to reach the upper 90s today and the heat index 109 to 112.  I am out of milk so I need to make a grocery run and I think I need to do it soon before the heat advisory starts at noon.

Yesterday morning while waiting in the dermatologist waiting room I did what I love to do.  I observed people…My appointment was for 7:45 AM.  I watched the people until I was called back.  One old couple was so sweet it brought a tear to my eye.  The lady was called back for her appointment and the gentleman was hanging back, still sitting down.  She turned around and asked him to come with her and the nurse told her that would be fine.  She said in a wavering little voice that he had been going every where with her for over 70 years.  So sweet, naturally I thought of Jim.  Devotion like that in today’s age is a rare thing.  I also noticed a teenage girl in cut off jean shorts with the pockets hanging down that left nothing much to the imagination.  I thought, my gosh, does she know how she looks; and then I thought, you know what, I wore shorts that were that short when I was her age.  My 15 minutes of fame was long ago.

As we started home heading out to McClugage Bridge the roads were blocked off by fuzz cars so we had to go a different route to get home.  I watched the news but I never did see a reason why.  The pics in this link of the bridge are very interesting.  I am fascinated by bridges.

Then, in the hottest part of the day yesterday, the power went off in my daughter’s neighborhood for a couple of hours.  And that is what I dread the most in this terrible heat.

Stay cool you all!! 

  Beth