Cold and…

snow flurries this morning.  Winter coat, hat and gloves back on.  The temp is 36 degrees and the wind is gusting up to 30 MPH. 

I have been to the stores this morning and a quick trip to the bank.  I purchased a roast and I will fix that with carrots and potatoes tomorrow.

My heart is with the little town of West, Texas.  I am saying a prayer for those killed and the survivors.  I am just getting caught up on the news about the Boston Marathon.  I can’t believe two such innocent looking boys could be so evil.  I hope the one brother is caught with no more blood shed. 

Nothing much happening here except for the massive amount of rain we had.  East Peoria had a mud slide across the road from the river boat casino that I donate money to once or twice a year.  A little town just a few miles from us had 7.8 inches of rain in the 24 hour period.  I am just so thankful it was rain and not snow.  That would have amounted to quite a few feet of snow.  “The ratio of snow to water can vary a great deal depending on the vertical profiles of temperature and moisture, and how they change during a storm. Typically 1 inch of rain is equal to 1 foot of snow, a 12-1 ratio.”

I hope we all have a peaceful weekend free from violence and stress.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Monday…

and the rain has stopped.  It is 34 degrees and extremely windy.  I have been out to the post office, bank and Kroger.  Kroger has their Private Selection turkeys on sale for 88 cents a pound.  I purchased one and have it thawing in the bottom of the fridge.  This means a Thanksgiving meal on Sunday.  I will ask my daughter and son in law to come and share after church.  So that means mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole and stuffing.  I will skip the pumpkin pie because it is not one of my favorites and go for pecan pie. 

Yesterday it rained all day and we got about 3/4 of an inch of rain.  We are still at a deficit.

I am all geared up for Valentine’s Day because as I have mentioned before it is my daughter’s birthday. 

I hope this is a good week for all of us.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

 

Chilly Friday..

It is just like winter outside.  The temp is 44 degrees right now and the wind blows right through a sweatshirt and a spring jacket.  I am home from paying bills. 

Comcast raised my bill 20 some dollars this month.  I talked to the gal at our local Comcast office and told her that I would be leaving if I had to pay that much more each month.  She was able to get me a promotion package that  is a dollar or so cheaper than what I have been paying.  I really hate change so I was glad for that.  I am not a Comcast fan though and that hasn’t changed.

I also went to city hall this morning to get a map of the city so that I can find my way around to  the garage sales.  Thanks Mary for reminding me to do this.

After a stop at Food Depot and and a bite to eat at Hardee’s it was home and I am worn out for some reason.  I don’t think I will do much the rest of the day.

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

Beth

57 days…

and counting down.  It is 36 degrees out now, very windy and the temps are to be falling all day.  The temp has fallen 9 degrees since I got up early this morning.

I am back from the fasting lab and breakfast at Bob Evans.  The home fries were cold and not cooked so I sent them back.  The poor waitress was so flustered she kept apologizing.  I told her it wasn’t her fault and I left her a bigger tip.  I feel so sorry for the waitress/waiter as they have to depend on tips.  And probably what is wrong back in the kitchen is that the cooks are minimum wage that are just putting in their 8 hours, or maybe they aren’t even given a full week so they don’t have to be paid benefits.  My son waited on tables for a few years while he was going to Parkland and I know how they have to depend on tips for their salary. 

I am not pitching in to do anything earthshattering today as I just don’t have the energy for it.  Tomorrow I want to go out early to Bergner’s to check out the clearance sales.  Other than that, tomorrow I will be making the chicken and dumplings.  Plus there is always the dreaded bathroom to clean and laundry to do.  Someone asked me once why I called it the dreaded bathroom.  The reason is because I hate cleaning the bathroom the most of all of the cleaning. In my old house I had one huge bathroom and a small bathroom.  This bathroom is really tiny in comparison but I still hate to clean it.

In another few weeks I will ask my daughter to come over and give me a hand with spring cleaning.  My daughter is such a joy and I am so thankful to be living close by when I seem to be needing family more than ever.

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

Beth

I felt like I…

had to post today because I am on a roll here.  I have posted each day since December 1st so I have kind of got in the habit again.  I used to post every day when I was on WLS but got out of the habit.

I was out with my daughter this morning, paying bills and running errands.  We ate at Grumpy Pete’s aka Eighth Street Station.  This morning was a lull in the weather as we are to have a mixture of sleet and snow this afternoon.  When I got up this morning the wind chill was 8 below zero and the wind was out there right in my face as I walked to and from the car.  But the bills are all paid and the baby doesn’t need shoes and I am not busted.  Remember that old song Busted?  One of my favorite old songs which goes like this:

Busted written by Harlan Howard

The bills are all due and my baby needs shoes
But I'm busted.
Cotton is down to a quarter a pound
But I'm busted.
I got a cow that's gone dry and a hen that won't lay
A big stack of bills that get bigger each day
The county's gonna haul my belongings away
I'm busted.
I called brother Bill, thought I'd get me a loan
I was busted
Lord, I hate to beg like a dog for a bone
But I'm busted.
But Bill said that "There ain't a thing I can do,
My wife and my kids are all down with the flu,
And I was just thinkin' about callin' on you,
I'm busted."
Now Lord, I'm no thief, but a man can go wrong
When he's busted
The food that we canned last summer is gone
I'm busted.
The fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow
Me and my family's gotta pack up and go
Where I'll make a living, the Lord only, knows
I'm busted.

Love that song.  I am going to have to see if I can find it to put it here on my blog on Mixpod.

Other than all of the above nonsense, I am in for the day as it is too darn cold to be outside.  The weather is supposed to moderate and be in the 40s by Monday which is good as I have to go for a fasting lab early Monday morning.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

My photo of the month…

This tree is between my house and the cemetery.  It is very old and parts of it is dead.  I just hope the cemetery association doesn’t decide to cut it down before I get all 12 photos.

This photo was taken on 4 January 2012 at 10:00 AM.

It is a beautiful bright sunshiny day out.  The temp is up to 34 degrees already.  A welcome change after the bitter cold and wind of the last few days.  Tomorrow it is to be in the 50s.  C’mon Spring!!  The countdown to Spring has begun.  Only 76 more days!!

I made a quick run to the store this morning.  School is back in session so the traffic is lighter and the stores are not so crowded.  Hooray for school.  lol

Let’s see, on my agenda for today??  Maybe clean a little bit.  Definitely need to make some phone calls. 

Do stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Monday book review…

I have stated many times that I love to read.  Turn on the iPod with the Bose speakers and settle back with a good book.  Christmas before this last one my brother gave me a Nook as a gift.  I love it.  It is very expensive though for someone who reads 2 – 3 books a week.  So last summer I went on a garage sale marathon hunting books from my favorite authors.  I literally found dozens; enough to fill two bookcases and a box.  I haven’t had a Nook charge for several months now.  I even purchased Janet Evanovich’s Smoking Eighteen in hardback for just a couple of dollars more than it would have cost me for the copy for my Nook.

But, I did title this post Monday Book Review so I guess you are wondering if I am ever going to get around to it.  First of all, I love a good murder mystery most of all with a little bit of romance thrown in.  Mariah Stewart has written a trilogy  of books entitled Dead Wrong, Dead Even and Dead Certain.

Stewart leaves you begging for more!, August 3, 2004

By

Detra Fitch

This review is from: Dead Even (Mass Market Paperback)

Three prisoners met briefly one February morning. Archer Lowell was the youngest. To make himself look tougher, he suggested a game. Each of them thought up three people that they would love to kill once they were out of jail. Then they swapped victims. Archer never meant for any of it to really happen. When Archer finally got out of prison, he decided to stay on the straight and narrow. So the other two prisoners went after those on their swapped hit list. One of them, Curtis, was dead. The other, Vince, would never get out of prison again. Archer was not a killer and had no intention of going after his three targets. However, Archer did not expect Vince to hire someone to watch him. When it became obvious that Archer would not play the game, Burt stepped in to make him.
FBI Special Agent Miranda Cahill was partnered with Agent William "Will" Fletcher to watch Archer, just in case he went on a killing spree. No one expected him to actually do it, not even the Bureau's profiler, Anne Marie. When the first person died under their noses, the hunt was on for a fleeing Archer.
Also, Julianne, the daughter of Mara Douglas (from previous novel), had been located after seven long years. Mara's ex-husband, Jules, had hidden himself and his daughter with the Reverend Prescott. An agent had been inserted into the Reverend's Valley of the Angels and would soon escape, taking a reluctant young girl home to her mother. The agent first had to gather evidence that would shut down the child-prostitution rung that masqueraded as a shelter for run-away girls on the street. Everything was about to come to a climatic ending!
***** Romance takes a back seat in this, the third of the "Dead" series. Since Miranda and Will already have a history together, the author did not have to build on the love portion. The two main characters already had strong feelings for one another. This gives much more time to the story's plots. Plots, plural.
Hold onto your seats, because Mariah Stewart will plunge you into a heart pounding, roller coaster ride. You won't come up for air until the last page has been turned. Excellent! *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I was lucky enough to find all of the trilogy at garage sales last summer, plus several of her other books.

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It is bitter cold and windy this morning at 21 degrees.  I have to go out at 9AM to run some errands.  Not sure what I will do with the rest of the day but I am sure I will think of something.  I hope you all have a peaceful week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

It’s the next year already…

What do you say at the beginning of a new year?  Probably in my case I would just say “Thank you God for allowing me another day.”  That is it!  I try to live one day at a time the best way I know how.  Hopefully that involves showing kindness to my fellow man.  I do try to understand and sympathize thinking all the while that for the grace of God that might be me in some unfortunate situation.

It is a new year and I am filling my calendar with appointments.  Doctor, dentist, tests, etc.  Like I said before, one day at a time.

It is a beautiful bright sunshiny day today.  It is very windy though and the temps are to keep falling all through the day.  I can live with the wind.  Keep away the snow.

I did mention to a blogging friend in England that I would choose one subject to film at the same time each day in the month.  It is too windy out this morning to try and do that but before the month is over I will try to choose a day for this. 

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A New Year’s Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous

Dear Lord, please give me…
    A few friends who understand me and remain my friends;
    A work to do which has real value,
        without which the world would be the poorer;
    A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed;
    An understanding heart;
    A sense of humor;
    Time for quiet, silent meditation;
    A feeling of the presence of God;
    The patience to wait for the coming of these things,
    With the wisdom to recognize them when they come. Amen.

Beth