Animal Planet TV…

Carp are a big nuisance in the Illinois River.  Last summer the Animal Planet filmed a local carp hunter’s TV spot to be shown tomorrow night, September 30 at 8PM CST.  

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1913819544/Local-carp-hunters-TV-spot-set-to-air

If you are interested in seeing the general area where I live I invite you to tune in to this show.  I intend to.

*****
Another gorgeous day, beautiful sunshine and 77 degrees right now.  It is actually to get a bit warmer as the next week progresses.  I have done laundry and been to the pharmacy and grocery store.

When I got home my neighborhood was in total blackout.  A transformer had blown and the power was off for about 2 and 1/2 hours.  I have an electric stove and microwave so I was pretty helpless to fix lunch.  My kids to the rescue again,

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

Beth

Baby found…

after amber alert.   http://www.pjstar.com/news  http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1238770020/Baby-safe-mother-arrested-after-Amber-Alert

Yesterday morning as I was just sitting down getting ready to watch The Young and the Restless my weather/public alert radio went off with an amber alert.  Believe me when I say that radio sound alert is loud enough to get a deaf person’s attention. 

I cannot imagine what possessed that young mother to abandon her child on a rural country road that has little traffic.  Heartbreaking!

*****

It is a beautiful day at 49 degrees and to get into the lower 70s today.  Just a perfect day.  My niece is coming for lunch.  I had errands to run but I decided to wait and do that tomorrow.  Nothing urgent except I need a few things from the store.

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

Beth

My birthday was fun…

older, but not wiser…

looking over the Illinois River from the deck of the riverboat…

with my son in law…

with my daughter…

A wonderful day…

*****

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Lovely Birthday…

Yesterday was a very nice day for me.  I received lots of cards.  A couple of gift cards to order from Amazon, some chocolates from my son.  My daughter and son in law took me to Red Lobster for lunch and then to the riverboat casino where  I proceeded to lose $40.  They also brought me a beautiful birthday cake!

Thank you to all of you who sent me birthday greetings!

Have a blessed day.

Beth

Thank you!

Bless you all for the kind thoughts, prayers, well wishes and emails, the telephone calls and the snail mail.  I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of blogging friends.

I am feeling better.  I have lab tomorrow morning and on Wednesday an appointment with my Kidney/BP specialist.  I am finally getting used to the BP meds so my blood pressure has evened out somewhat.

In between all of this I have to face the fact that my birthday is right around the corner on Tuesday.  Twin (Carole) and I share the same birthday.  The older I get the more surprised I am to see that I am making it to another birthday.  lol

It was in the 30s here this morning and I turned the furnace on.  I can’t believe how quickly September has passed.  Soon it will be Halloween and then Thanksgiving  and Christmas just fly by.

My computer crashed last weekend and I ended up having to buy a new computer.  I finally got it yesterday.  Because of this I had plenty of time to rest and do nothing.

I hope you all are having a peaceful day.  Me, I am thanking God for just being here.

I will be around to visit as many of you as I can.  If I don’t catch you today I will do some more tomorrow.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

I will not be posting…

for awhile due to health issues.  I am taking a couple of weeks off.  Pls don’t forget me  for I will be  back.

Love,
Beth

lots of garage sales..

to go to today so I am running way late again.  It was fun and I got a few things. The weather is beautiful at 62 degrees right now.  It was upper 40s when I got up this morning.

For those that asked, I didn’t speak to Cindy Williams.  I spent most of the time at the festival on a bench by the lagoon.

I am feeling some better today although not 100%.  My new BP meds are kicking the life out of me and the stomach med I was unable to take as I had a reaction to it.  I think sometimes I need to quit eating at all as about the only thing that doesn’t bother me is mashed potatoes.  Could one survive on a diet of mashed potatoes?  lol  Anyway, I am persevering and I have an appointment with my primary care physician and my kidney/BP doctor on the 21st and 26th.  Plus lab work on the 24th.

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

Beth

More Hula Hoop Pics…

I found the pics of my kids taken in 1967 when they were playing with their hula hoops.

My son, notice 2 hoops at one time…

My daughter with 2 hoops also.  I was even pretty good at it too.  No picture, thank heaven.

Stay safe and be happy!1

Beth

More Festival Pictures…

 

Cindy Williams from the old Laverne and Shirley show signing autographs…

Schoop, Schoop, Hula Hoop Hoops…My kids had hula hoops when they were small.

*****

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Lest we forget…

The White House Commission
on the National Moment of Remembrance

Compiled by a Navy Chaplain

---

Almighty God, the past year will be indelibly inscribed in our memories.

We looked with horror on the terrorist attacks of last September 11th.
But we looked with honor on acts of courage by ordinary people
who sacrificed themselves to prevent further death and destruction.

We shed our tears in a common bond of grief for those we loved and lost.
We journeyed through a dark valley, but your light has led us to a place of hope.
You have turned our grief into determination.
We are resolved to do what is good, and right, and just.

Help us to remember what it means to be Americans—
a people endowed with abundant blessings.
Help us to cherish the freedoms we enjoy and inspire us to stand
with courage, united as one Nation in the midst of any adversity.

Lord, hear this prayer for our Nation. Amen

 

******

Stay safe and be happy!! 

Beth

Feeling better…

but not my old self.  I am moving around and have a load of laundry in the dryer. I slept for 10 hours last night.

I did go with my daughter to the festival yesterday afternoon.  My legs were so wobbly that I had to sit on one of the benches by the Lagoon while my daughter checked the booths all out.  There were dozens and dozens of them.  I did get some nice pictures of the water.

Just to give you an idea of what the crowd was like. 

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

Beth

No place like home…

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Thursday afternoon I wasn’t feeling well with chest pains and extreme nausea.  I won’t go into details but I have quite a few health issues.  I did feel better by bedtime Thursday evening and Friday morning I ran a few errands.  By Friday afternoon I was feeling tough and my daughter took me to the emergency room at the hospital where I was admitted.  Yesterday morning I had another stress test (treadmill, heart pics, etc.)  Three heart enzymes blood test showed it was not my heart. In my cardiologists words, “Your heart is fine let’s blame this all on your stomach.”  I just had an endoscopy a few months ago and the results were erosive gastritis.   I have had ulcers in the past.  Anyway after an 11 hour rest at home in my own bed I feel much better.

I am on a whole new set of meds which will take some getting used to and I am allergic to so many med that I don’t know how that will turn out.

I am resting this morning and I hope to feel well enough to go with my daughter to the Marigold Festival this afternoon.

Bless you all.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

In the hospital…

I have been in the hospital since yesterday afternoon.  I am home now and will post more tomorrow.  I will visit you all soon.

Beth

Gully Washer Day…

It has gully washed all morning.  The rain has poured down in torrents along with hail and a lot of lightning.  My daughter and I were caught out in it.  It is to do this all day with a strong front set to go through this afternoon.

Our television is going wild.  Their were shots fired at Normal IL this morning and 2 students were arrested.

Students in custody after shots fired at NCHS; everyone safe  http://www.pantagraph.com/

I am not feeling well this morning so this is a short post.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

A day late…

and a dollar short.  Well to be honest, I am 2 days late and probably more than a dollar short.

*****

Idiom Definitions for 'A day late and a dollar short'

If something is a day late and a dollar short, it is too little, too late.

*****

I started posting photos I took of the tree between my back door and the cemetery in January of this year.  The goal was to take the photo on the 4th of each month for one year to note the changes in the tree.  I am not a photographer, just a point and shoot gal but I have had fun doing this.  I think I will pick a different subject for next year.  If you will notice March was the only photo with snow on the ground.  Last winter was dry and very mild.  I am on the lookout for a doozy  of a winter this year.

*****

doozy

Something extraordinary or bizarre. Etymology: perhaps alteration of daisy, and Duesenberg, a luxury car of the late 1920s and 1930s. It's an English expression.

"That footballer's form is a doozy!",
"Man, that one was a real doozy!"

*****

 

4 January 2012                                                            4 February 2012

 

4 March 2012                                                                  4 April 2012

 

4 May 2012                                              4 June 2012

 

4 July 2012                                                                    4 August 2012

6 September 2012

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Pekin Illinois 2012 Marigold Festival

http://www.pekinchamber.com/MarigoldFestival.htm

http://marigoldfestival.blogspot.com/

“The Marigold Festival was started in 1973 to honor one of Pekin's "favorite sons", Senator Everett Dirksen.  While in the United States Congress, Dirksen tried to have the marigold named as the national floral emblem. In support of Dirksen, the community began growing marigolds. While unsuccessful in the national flower contest, Dirksen's hometown of Pekin became known as the "Marigold Capital of the World".    ^{[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pekin,_Illinois}

Hannah Finley, Miss Marigold 2012

I have mentioned before that the city I live in now is known as the Marigold Capital of the World.   The Marigold Festival begins this Friday and ends on Sunday.

Thunderstorms all around here this morning.  The weather radio first woke me up this morning at 4 AM with a severe thunderstorm warning.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

It is a Tuesday Monday again..

but I will be nice and not express my feelings about that again.  I know those of you that are still working appreciated having a day off.  I did too when I was still working.

I have been out this morning to get gas.  It took right at $40 to fill the tank which was just under 1/2 full.  I honestly don’t see how people can manage.  I have been reading my old Windows Live Spaces blog in conjunction with a new blog I am doing.  I had noted in my posts that the average gas price for 2007 was $3.29.  This morning it is $3.84 to $3.99 around town.

I also stopped by the grocery store for some cornbread mix.  I found a ham bone while cleaning out my freezer, from Easter I  imagine.  I have some great northern beans on cooking now with the ham.  I will share these with my daughter and son in law.

I had one of my blogging friends ask me how long it took me to comment on blogs posted by my followers.  It is time consuming because I comment on each post by my followers that is listed in the reader file.  I also have other blogs, 3 on Wordpress and a couple more on Bloggger.  I also have plenty of time which I know a lot of you don’t.  Needless to say I don’t post on all of these blogs each day, just this blog.

I do take time out from the computer to tidy my house each day and take care of the dreaded bathroom.  lol  AND once in awhile I cook.

Time now to check and see what you have all been up to.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

A Monday Holiday…

which I have stated before about 1000 times that I don’t like because it messes up the whole week.

The rain has finally stopped and it looks to be a very nice day with some sunshine and temps in the upper 80s.  Rain totals varied all around us.  Our total here approaching 3 inches.  It was welcome steady rain with intermittent breaks, no gully washers which was good.

*****

Definition of GULLY WASHER (noun)

: an extremely heavy fall of rain usually of short duration : cloudburst

*****

I am undecided what to do today.  After all it is Labor Day and that means no work of any kind.  Right?  Yes, I thought you would agree with me.

I read a couple of books over the weekend by Lisa Jackson, one of my favorite authors.  I need to clean again and wash the rugs at the front door but I am not in the mood to do that.  So, I probably will read another book or two.  I think I may make some lemon bread too, my own recipe which I have tweaked through the years.  I have fresh lemon juice left from making the cream cheese bars.

BETH’S LEMON BREAD

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBL lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk

Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together; add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the lemon juice and the milk.

Bake in a medium size loaf pan sprayed with pan spray at 350 degrees(pre-heated oven) for 45 – 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It should be pale golden brown and the top should be cracked a bit.

Glaze:  Mix well

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• Enough lemon juice (about 2 TBL’s or so) to make it pourable.

Loosen sides of hot lemon bread. Poke holes into the bread with a fork and pour on the glaze.

Happy eating.

I hope you all are having a nice relaxing day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

And the skies opened up…

and the rains came.  So many different amounts all around us.  Canton, about 35 miles west of here with right at 4 inches.  So far we have well over 2 inches with more rain predicted  off and on during the day.  Right now it is a fine drizzle out. There were many tornado warnings here yesterday with several touchdowns but no damage.  Thank you God!  Everything looks so green outside.

I had a nice but short visit with my son.  My daughter and son in law came over and we had deli roast beef sandwiches, potato salad and coconut cream pie. I have been promised another visit for my birthday in late September.  I hope it happens.

Nothing much new to report.  I can tell by the rugs at my front door that I am going to have to clean again.  AACKK!

I hope you all have a peaceful day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

And the days grow short…

when you reach September.

“Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time for the waiting game.” 

composed by Kurt Weill, with lyric by Maxwell Anderson

******

I have always loved the month of September.  It is the month of my birth.  September is a transition period for Illinois.  We still have warm days  mixed with cooler ones.  The leaves start turning the end of September and peak mid October.  Not so this year: because of the drought many of the leaves have already fallen and many are just hanging dead on the trees.

******

And speaking of the the drought, Isaac is paying us a visit.  We have had a nice steady rain since yesterday afternoon.  There were even some tornado watches posted last night.  Predicted rainfall for our immediate area is 3 – 5 inches.  Ask, and ye shall receive.

Have a nice holiday.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth