Update….

I wanted to let you all know that I am waiting to be scheduled for a needle biopsy.  I just talked to the doctor’s office and they are to call me tomorrow.  It appears that I am not in remission right now although it  won’t be clear until I get the biopsy done.  Pending results of that I will have a Pet Scan if the test is positive.

Please don’t forget me as I will be back as soon as I get this thing under control again.

Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Love,

Beth

Lots of rain…

Flash flood warning  around here as this has been a rainy spring and summer.  We got another heavy rain again last night.  I am not sure of the rain totals but they are above average.  I hope this will not affect the farmers too much.  I noticed on Friday that the corn is all tasseled out  here.  

http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/Tassels.html

Photo courtesy of Purdue University

I have been lazy this weekend.  I do need to go to the store after a bit. 

Have a peaceful Sunday!  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Simply Sunday….

and a lovely one at that.  It is nice and cool right now but it is to reach upper 80s today,

I got all of the cleaning done yesterday, including the bathroom and floor mopping.  I am glad that is done for a few days.

I have a roast in the oven right now.  I will have that with carrots, mashed potatoes and green beans.  Yesterday I had a bacon tomato sandwich.  I bought the tomato at the store.  Those tomatoes are not real and I can’t wait for a real one.

My flowers I planted around the lamp post are really looking good.  Not sure where the pink petunia came from.

Have a lovely peaceful Sunday.  Don’t forget to thank Him for another day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Suddenly Saturday!

Yesterday was a beautiful day to celebrate our nation’s birthday!   It was sunny and cool and the temp was in the upper 70s.  I went to my daughter and son in law’s for a nice 4th of July meal.  Cheeseburgers, brats, deviled eggs, fruit salad, baked beans and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  It  was all delicious.  Thanks Mike and Marcia!

Today I am determined to run the sweeper, dust the furniture and clean the bathroom.  Already the thought of it is mind boggling.

I have been having fun the last few days playing with my iPad.  There are several new free apps that you can download.  My favorite downloads are Crackle, CBS and A&E where you can watch full episodes of TV shows.  My Twin talked me into buying the iPad last year and I love it.  Thanks Twin!

I am having withdrawal pains because there were no garage sales this week because of the holiday.

The picture below is to show how the rebuilding catty corner across the street from me is coming along.  There is finally some progress being made.    You can’t see it but the house next to the one on the corner has a stone foundation laid.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Running late again today…

We had thunderstorms and wind last night.  My garbage can was blown around and I had to go out in the dark and rescue it.  The weather radio kept going off so I was late to bed which meant I was way late getting up this morning.  I have been rushing around this morning as I have to leave for a much needed appointment at the beauty parlor this morning.

It is bright and sunny this morning and the temp is to be much cooler for the rest of the week.  I can live with that as the heat and humidity has been terrible this past week.

Have a wonderful day.  I will catch you all when I get back from getting beautiful!

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

The chicken pot pie was delicious….

I tweaked the recipe some. In a large pan I diced 2 potatoes and one onion.  I added some frozen peas, diced celery and carrots.  I barely covered with water and added 3 chicken bouillon cubes,  I brought this all to a boil and simmered until all veggies were done.  I did not drain any liquid off,  I added 1 can cream of chicken soup and 1 can cream of broccoli soup to the hot mixture, stirring to incorporate. I then added the 2 cups of diced chicken, heating thoroughly.  I tasted for seasoning and added some pepper and season all salt to taste.  I put this in a 13X9 pan.  I used Grand’s Jr. biscuits and I flattened them out a bit so that the biscuits covered the top.  I baked this in a preheated 350 degree oven until the biscuit topping was golden brown, about 20 minutes.  I had a nice size helping, took some over to my recuperating neighbor and put a container in the freezer.  I definitely will make this again!

The sun is shining this morning but I haven’t seen any activity around the houses under construction.

Google dashboard is acting weird again today, only bringing up one name at a time.  Very frustrating.

I will be going out to run some errands this morning.  I will catch you all when I get back if I can  Stay safe and be happy!!

One of my out of the window car photos from last month.

Beth

Sunday Morning….

 

Taken  at the OSF Cancer center on June 6th.

Have a blessed Sunday!  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

The story behind….

the 55 MPH pictures.  My daughter was laughing at me as I was taking so many pics while she was driving.  I actually took 73 pictures.  A few of those were taken in town and of the rest of the photos, only a few of the over 60 photos taken on the highway were decent.  I would sight what I wanted to take a picture of and start shooting until I was all of the way past  the object.  Sorting through  I would pick the photo that actually had the object (like the old house) in the best position for me to center and crop it.  It was a lot of fun.  I am not familiar with the countryside here for me to head out and take pictures.  Jim and I used to ride in the country and he would stop to  let me take pics of whatever I wanted.

This is an example of  one of the bad ones taken out the front window of the car.  The best ones were taken out of the side window of the car.

I am sure the few good shots I got were just luck.  I have a Canon 14 MP point and shoot that I got from Amazon for a little over $300  with birthday gift cards a couple of years ago.

Have a great day!  Stay safe and be happy!

Beth

Saturday again….

The week has flown by and it is Saturday again.  Life didn’t pass so quickly when I was young with a full time job and two small children to take care of.  Jim was working full time at the AFB, driving a school bus part time and working part time at the local hardware store.  Those were busy days but it seemed as if time moved along at a snail’s pace.

Yesterday’s garage sales didn’t amount to much.  I didn’t find any books.  I did find a child’s DVD that my daughter can use with her kids at church.  That is several DVD kiddie ones that we have found this year.  June is the month of the genealogical society’s annual sale where they have hundreds of books.  I am really looking forward to that sale!

I am sharing another photo I took last week out of the car window at 55 MPH.  This was on the rural highway not far from my old home.

I really miss the rural scene.  At the very end of the street I lived on at home was a huge cornfield.

Have a peaceful weekend!  Stay safe and be happy!

Beth

Wednesday, no rant….

and a positive attitude.  It is much easier on your face to smile than to frown.  Heaven knows I have enough wrinkles from the c-pap mask that I use for sleep apnea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea

Did you ever have a recurring dream?  Actually in my case it is a nightmare.  In my nightmare I am always losing my purse.  And I have mentioned many a time before in my blog that I carry half of everything I own in my purse.  I had one of those dreams/nightmares last night and I spent the longest time in the dream looking for my purse.  Also I was looking for my cell phone which is a no brainer as I gave up my AT&T cell phone plan when I moved here and purchased a tracfone.

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no–brain·er

noun \ˈnō-ˈbrā-nər\

: a decision or choice that is very easy to make and requires very little thought

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Now that my sis has purchased a new cell phone with all of the bells and whistles and apps galore the thought has entered my mind to get a new cell phone.  My Twin talked me into buying an iPad last year and I love it.  Do I want to get hooked to another big cell phone bill?  Nah, I don’t think so.

Yesterday afternoon I took my camera out to check out a couple of the trees across the street from me that were sheared off by the tornado last year.

They are looking much better since they have leafed out some.  If you click on the picture it will be larger.

I am making another run to Kroger this morning.  A package of meat that I purchased yesterday had a use by date of May 12 on  it.  So I guess I do have a Wednesday rant after all.  Very irritating and I could just let it slide and put the meat in the garbage but I am not going to do that.

It is hot and sunny here today.  I hope it is where you are.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Sunny Sunday…

Happy Sunday to you all!  It is a sunny 48 degrees here in the heart of Illinois right now.  It is to reach 69 degrees today and then 80s for most of the week.  Spring is back. 

I went out yesterday and cleaned up the mess around the geraniums.  They look like they have survived the cold weather which is good.

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

Beth

Stormy Monday…

I went with my daughter to get flowers for my planter this morning and to put around the lamp post.  A big wind came up before we were able to get the planting done.  Hopefully tomorrow.

Two of the guys are working on the roof of the building across the drive from me.  No one  is parking  in the drive anymore.  I think they are scared of this old lady driver.  LOL  I do hope they get finished before the cold front comes through today bringing storms with it.

They are having to be careful of their mess today because I see that Jerry has parked his truck back there, I think we are all getting tired of the constant mess around here.  We were under severe storm warning yesterday and again for today.  It made me really nervous.

Have a wonderful week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

 

Busy Tuesday…

Yesterday was a busy day for me.  I had an appointment for a hair cut.  Then I picked up prescriptions at the pharmacy, got a bacon/cheese quarter pounder at Mickey D, did some grocery shopping at Food Depot, had the car filled with gas and came home.  I was pretty well worn out by then.  I am halfway through my ten days of antibiotics and I do feel somewhat better.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

The streets in front of my house have been filled with trucks belonging to the young men doing the repair work on my old neighbor Barb’s place.  These are really some good looking young guys which makes me feel even older.  I am not so old though that I can’t appreciate a handsome young man.  lol  Yesterday as I was getting ready to back my car out, I spoke to a couple of the guys and asked them if they were almost done to which they replied that they were just getting started.  There was a truck parked in my driveway and one parked halfway across the end of the drive.  I said hey guys, you’ve got an old lady driver here. OH my gosh!!  you should have seen the guy parked in the driveway running to remove his 4-door top of the line truck!  I noticed this morning that he is the first one here so he parked out in the street.  I think I put the fear in him.  LOL

Today I am taking it easy and just resting and reading.  I thought about making some cookies to take out to the workers for their morning break  but I am really too tired.  Tomorrow I hope I feel good enough to go to Costco as there were some things I thought I would like listed in the new ad brochure that I received in the mail last week.

Have a wonderful day!  Watch out for the school children as you are driving, a 10 year old girl was hit here in Pekin on Monday and an 11 year old boy was killed in Peoria as he ran into traffic on his way to school.  Makes me so sad.  What a waste.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

How many maintenance workers….

did it take to clean up my front yard a couple of days ago??

I think I counted 8 in the middle picture and they each came in their own truck.  I took these pictures through my front door window as I didn’t want them to think I was the neighborhood watch person.  Between me and Debbie next door we are the go to place to find out what is happening in our neighborhood.  Deb is up on all of the gossip and I take the pics to document it all.  LOL

Two of the workers are chain cigarette smokers and I stood at the ready to dial 911 if they accidentally set the leaves or the paper bags on fire.  One of the cigarette smokers came to fix my furnace that had gone out on Christmas Eve year before last.  He had to keep going outside for a smoke break every few minutes.  These are both nice guys with families and it is heartbreaking to see them shortening their life that way.  Yes, I have established my role as a mom here too!  I always try to have a plate of homemade cookies here when I need something fixed.

Have a wonderful day.  I have been busy cooking as my son will be home to see me today.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

A beautiful day…

here in central Illinois.  It is 45 degrees and is to climb to 60 degrees.  Watch out folks, we are scheduled for a string of above 70 degree weather for the coming week!   Be still my beating heart!

I was up early this morning and out the door to head over to the Kroger store.  I want to make some of that delicious pasta salad this weekend that I was raving about a couple of weeks ago.  This time I bought a red and yellow pepper to use in place of the green pepper.  I also found some fresh green beans that looked half way decent.  I will fix them tomorrow with bacon, onion and new red potatoes.  I also have to have some corn bread with that.

I cleaned out one of the hall way closets yesterday and have come to the conclusion that I am a pack rat.  Does anyone else out there save everything??  Anyway, save no more is my new motto.  Some more stuff for goodwill and a couple of bags of stuff for the garbage can.  And now I can get in the closet without everything tumbling out on my head.  I still have the big closet in the hallway to clean out and that will be all of the closets cleaned for this year.  A round of applause for me??  LOL

I have been reading everything in sight on my bookshelf.  Time to look for new reading material.  I will be glad when the Genealogical Society has their annual garage sale in May.  They have tables and tables of books, 10 cents for paperbacks and 25 cents for hardbacks.  A really good selection and I am so looking forward to that! 

Have a blessed Holy weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Wednesday, all day long…but now it is Thursday

I wrote this post yesterday morning, went to check on my laundry and found the internet service down.  This was yesterday morning about 7:30 and when I went to bed at 10 last night the internet was still down.  And that is my Thursday rant.  Do you think anything will be deducted from my cable bill?  LOL  Thursday is my grocery shopping day.  I will be back to visit you all later this morning.

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It is a chilly morning but to warm to the upper 70s today.  The sun is shining while I am scurrying around trying to do laundry.  My laundry room is only a few feet from my front door.

Since this is Wednesday Rant Day I thought it might be a good time to mention for the 1000th time that I miss not having a washer and dryer and especially a water softener.  Oh, yes, while I am at it I will mention again how much I miss my two car garage and the ease of driving around in a little town.  I miss the fitness center where I worked out, right alongside the mayor (who lived 1/2 block from me) and the biggies who owned half the town and half of main street too.  I miss my friends and neighbors.  It has been hard making friends here.  My neighbors are all nice and if I ask a favor of any one of them they are Johnny on the spot but it is not the same as your friends of many years.

But, I realize that I am better off here where I am now.  I got my house sold and myself moved while I was still in good health.  I need to be close to family now.  What would I do without them?

There are benefits to living in a larger city.  Every kind of fast food you can imagine and every brand of pizza!  I am partial to Pizza Hut but I love Papa Murphy’s double stuffed pizza.  There is a huge Wal*mart and a K Mart here.  Right down the road a few miles is a large riverboat casino.  I rarely go there because I have no luck with anything like that.

So this is my Wednesday rant.  I am really not complaining as I am so thankful to be alive.

Below is a picture of a tree that was in my front yard at home and a very happy fat squirrel just eating away.  Jim loved watching the squirrels and he fixed the feeding seats for them

Have a good rant day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

A bump in the road…

I saw my cardiologist yesterday afternoon for clearance from him for my surgery.  No signing off from him until I pass another stress test and have an ultrasound of the carotid arteries.  So frustrating.  I have the ultrasound Monday morning and the stress test on Wednesday morning.  This doctor is a stress test freak.  I have had so many stress tests since I have been seeing him for the last 3 years.  Too many to count on one hand.  Just a little bump in the road.  I am tough though and I am going to make it.  I am wearing my t-shirt this morning that says “Never Underestimate the Power of this Woman.”

Things got better last evening though.  My nephew Mike and his wife Celeste stopped by on their way to sightsee in Springfield to see me.  What a very nice treat!!  My daughter and son in law came over too and we all went to Kouri’s   http://www.kourispub.com/  for supper.    I had catfish, coleslaw, corn on the cob and a baked potato.  We all had a nice visit and then Mike and Celeste went back to Springfield to spend the night and do some more sightseeing today

http://www.kourispub.com/menus/pekin/

Thursday night I had the opportunity to speak with an old blogging friend  from the Boston area.  It was great!  I have spoken to quite a few of my blogging friends throughout my blogging  years (2005 till the present) but I have only met 2 of them.  One of them Patsy, from West Virginia and the other one was Stephen from East Peoria which is right down the road from me.  Quite a few of my blogging friends have been with me from the beginning.

My sis in WV Rae scanned me 18 photos a couple of nights ago.  These were old photos that my mom had in a picture frame.  One of the photos is of all of my sisters including me.  I love those old pictures Rae.  I hope you find some more.

From left to right.  Sisters, Ebby, Chris, Corrie, Rae and Beth.  Not really sure of the date of this picture although it must have been taken right before I met Jim as I have on an old boyfriend’s class ring.  And I see I had my hair blonde on the top and sides.

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

Beth

Catching up…

I was up early (6 AM) this morning and at the local hospital for lab for 3 different doctors.  Then my daughter and I went to Bob Evans for breakfast.  Nothing exciting, just the country biscuit breakfast.  Then we stopped by Food Depot on the way home for groceries.  It was pouring down rain on us all of the while we were trying to unload groceries.  It is still raining.

Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with the radiation oncologist and also the dentist who will make impressions of the guards that will fit over my teeth.  Friday afternoon I have an appointment with my cardiologist (aka Dr. God).  I am hoping it will be nice Friday morning so I can check out a garage sale or two.

Then in July I have 2 more appointments before my hospital date.  I am just wanting to get this all done as it is wearing me down a bit.

Thank you all for your comments and prayers.

Love,

Beth

Appointments set…

I have finally got all of my pre-op appointments set  up.  I will have an in hospital stay of 3 or 4 days for surgery to remove lymph nodes and radiation next month on the 23rd.  Then 2 weeks later I will go in hospital again for more radiation treatments. Thank you again for all of your prayers.

I saw the oncologist here in town yesterday.  I am now in the hands of the radiation oncologist and the surgeon in Peoria.  Still I have to do follow-up visits with all of the doctors.  My opinion of quite a few  of the doctors has slid downhill lately.  We are just a number to them and they even have a problem remembering your name.  I will miss you Dr.  D.

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It has been very hot and summerlike here the past few days even though  Summer doesn’t officially arrive for a few days.  I am trying to keep up with my housework and dealing with some ants on the outside.  I was informed by maintenance that it was my responsibility to take care of that problem.  My water heater sprung a leak on Saturday morning and I was without hot water until yesterday morning.  That didn’t help my mood any. 

But the flowers I planted around the light pole at the end of the driveway look pretty good despite the squirrels digging in them.

And across the driveway my neighbor Barb planted a marigold arrangement around her light pole.

If you click on the pictures they will be larger.

My niece in West Virginia and her husband renewed their wedding vows last weekend.  I heard from all accounts that it was beautiful.  I wish I could have been there.  Congrats to John and Dee.

Dee and John cutting their cake.

My niece, Barbara Jo, my BIL, my sis Rae and Barbara Jo’s son Matt.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.  I am going to try to visit all of you today.

Beth

Update..

I saw the radiation oncologist today.  It was not as bad as I had feared.  I will be having some dental work done and then a couple of 3 day stays in OSF in Peoria for a totally different kind of radiation treatment.  When I find out  more I will let you all know.  In the meantime I appreciate your kind thoughts and prayers.

Love,

Beth