Counting Down The Days…

For the past several days, an ice pack has been my “best friend.”  Ed bought it for me the day I had Moh’s surgery done, and it quickly became my constant companion after having the plastic surgery done, two days later.  I’m so thankful my daughter discovered this “soothing secret” and told me about it.  Although I did spend a couple of days lounging on the couch, since day three I’ve been up and going.  It’s Christmastime, and there are many places to go and things to see!  Unfortunately, I’ve had to go out and about looking like a battered woman…

On Saturday morning, Ed and I attended another  Christmas parade (in Pembroke), along with our daughter and her family.  The temperatures were in the upper 70’s and it’s the first time I ever remember being hot during a Christmas parade!   It was strange.  I decided to just relax and enjoy the parade, therefore, I didn’t take a single picture of the parade.  Thanks to the bright sunshine, I had a good excuse to wear sunglasses, too!

On Saturday evening, after resting a bit following the parade/festival, Ed and I loaded back up, along with our daughter’s family, and went on another Christmas outing.  I’m so glad Ed and I finally have a vehicle that’s large enough to accommodate lots of people, again, since we always have lots of fun when we go off with family!  They say “laughter is the best medicine”, and we sure laughed a lot!  I even took my ice pack along for the ride!

The first leg of our evening Christmas outing led us to the Cracker Barrel to eat.  This is something we always try to do every year, at Christmas.  My daughter and I love their food, as well as shopping in their store.  At the end of the meal, Ed and I received an extra treat when I discovered a Cracker Barrel gift card in my purse, still containing enough funds to pay for our meal 🙂

After a little, last-minute Christmas shopping, the last leg of our journey took us to a place called TMT Farms to see some Christmas lights.  This was our third annual visit to see their lights, and we’re never disappointed.  Although traffic was heavy, and the line to get in was long, it was well worth the wait. There’s no way to describe TMT Farms except to say they’ve built a “western style” replica of a town, in the middle of nowhere, and decorated it for Christmas. This year, they’ve added more lights, than ever, as well as several new “inflatables”–and they do all of this just to help feed hungry families in their community.  TMT Farms is Christmas spirit at its best.

Last night, we hit the road, again, to get in on a couple of Christmas sales.  When we arrived, it looked like “Black Friday” at the discount store, known as “Ollie’s”.  People were lined up down the sidewalk waiting to get in!  “Ollie’s” was having a 25% sale off all toys and Christmas items, plus 15% off everything else in the store.  It was crazy in there!  Thankfully, I wasn’t shopping for toys, so I avoided those aisles like the plague!  It took us nearly two hours to get out of “Ollie’s”, and much of that time was spent in the check out line, but we became acquainted with a very nice man from Jacksonville, Florida while we waited.

After leaving “Ollie’s”, we stopped at “Wendy’s” for a bowl of chili.  We’d eaten a sandwich before we left home, but all that shopping business made us hungry again.  We got lucky, once again, and received free drinks with our meal!

Our last stop was at “Big Lots”, and by the time we got there, we had the entire store to ourselves–quite a change from the previous store, thank goodness.  However, for some reason, their cash register wouldn’t read my personal check, so we ended up having to ‘pool’ our cash to pay for our purchases!  On that note, we went home.  It was almost our bedtime, anyway!

It’s cloudy and dreary-looking, outside, this morning.  It LOOKS like Christmas, but it doesn’t FEEL like Christmas.  The air conditioner is running, instead of the heater.  All of this is supposed to change by Thursday, so they say.  I’m hoping it gets cold enough to wear my new Christmas pj’s.

Ed has another doctor’s appointment, later this morning, and I have one, on Thursday morning as well.  At least this week’s schedule will be an improvement over last week’s schedule, when Ed spent time at a doctor’s office every single day!  (He was either the patient, or with someone else who was.) What a way to ‘count down’ Christmas, but, then, that’s the way this year has been!

Have a great Monday,

All Things Monday…

After a summer hiatus, ‘Monday Quiz’ is back, and I’m kick-starting my week by joining in the fun. It’s hosted by Heather and Wayne over at Acting Balanced, but today’s questions were written by Judy from Retired-not-Tired. Way to go, Judy!

1. I have heard the term”fummer” being used lately. Is it fall-like or summer-like in your neighbourhood?

It’s still very much summer-like here in southeastern Georgia.  People are still going swimming, and we’re still running our air conditioners 24/7.  Every once in a while, there’s a hint of fall in the morning air, but not much.  Our daily highs are still in the low 90’s.
2. The astrological sign for September is “Virgo” what is yours?

I’m a Virgo.  My birthday was on August 30.
3. The kids are back in school do you have your routine as well?

Since our children are all grown, and I am retired, my routine stays pretty much the same, year round, and I like it that way.
4. Sunday was “National Grandparent Day”. Did you honour your grandparents?

No, I didn’t honor my grandparents, because they’ve all been deceased for many years. Ed and I are now the grandparents of the family, and yes, we were honored by our grandchildren.  All four of them visited us, late Sunday afternoon, and presented us with some adorable hand-made cards, as well as a gift card.  The youngest ‘grand’, Evan, even showed off his newly acquired walking skills!  Evan officially began walking on Friday night, at the age of 10 months.

Our grands

cards from the grands

Weekend recap:

The weekend didn’t get off to a very good start, since I got up on Friday morning with a backache. At first, I thought I might be getting a kidney infection, but quickly ruled that out when I got out of bed on Saturday morning, and discovered some excruciating pain whenever I tried to lift my leg! I decided that back-to-back days of pea picking had finally gotten the best of me 😦  I spent much of the weekend on the couch, resting my back.

I always get a backache whenever I pick peas, but this crop of peas were extremely low to the ground.  I will make a mental note to plant taller peas, next time!  Poor Ed had to do the last picking for me, on Saturday morning.  Together, we managed to get them shelled.

That pretty much sums up our weekend, with the exception of the Sunday visits from the grandchildren, which turned out to be the highlight of the weekend 🙂

My back feels better today, except for the left side.  I still can’t cross my legs comfortably, and it’s  difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position.  I’m not requiring any pain medication, though, so that’s a good thing.  I’m officially retired from pea picking for the rest of the year!

Happy Monday, everyone!

It’s Monday…

It seems like I’ve been away from this computer forever, but, in reality, it’s only been four days.  Ed was off on Friday (another mandatory vacation day), so we had a long weekend together.  I’m beginning to like, and look forward to, those ‘mandatory vacation days’, so when Ed’s off, the computer gets a rest.  In fact, it collects a lot of dust.

To make a long story short,  the past three days,  Ed and I spent another day on St. Simon’s Island (without car trouble), worked in the garden (a lot), canned more vegetables, and spent time with each other and with our family.  Life has been good in our neck of the woods!  All good things must come to an end, so Ed had to go back to work today.

The house is a wreck, my hair needs washing, and the laundry pile is out of sight, so I’ll blog more about what’s been going on around here…later!  I’ll be catching up on blog visits, as I can.

Since it’s Monday, I’m joining Heather and Wayne’s ‘About Me Quiz’ again.  It’s a fun way to kick off a new week!

1. It’s email week – do you still use email for communication? How do you keep in touch with most people?

Yes, I still use email for communication. I prefer email over phone conversations because email gives me more time to think about what I want to say. Email and phone calls are the primary ways that I keep ‘in touch’ with people.

2. Today is Donald Duck Day – in his honor, we’re asking what makes you Quackers?

Children who disrespect their parents, and refuse to obey their rules  makes me go ‘Quackers’!   The last time I remember going ‘Quackers’ was about 13 years ago.  Our oldest son, who was being very disrespectful and hard to live with at the time, called me ‘the B word’.  Something in me just snapped!  I grabbed the broom, and chased him out of the house!  It’s a good thing he out-ran me, because I may have inflicted bodily harm on him, with that broom, if I’d been able to catch him!  I was so mad, I actually tore a muscle in my leg, while running down the steps, and I didn’t even notice the pain!  I hobbled around, afterward, for over three weeks.

3. Tomorrow is Iced Tea Day – sweet or unsweet? flavored? lemon? not at all?

I’m a southern girl, so I really like sweetened iced tea!  My favorite brand is Luzianne.  These days, due to dietary restrictions, I only drink iced tea, occasionally, as a rare treat, and I usually drink it without lemon.

4. How is your garden growing?

Our garden is growing great!  (Unfortunately, the grass and weeds are growing great, too.)

Here’s some of the bounty we gathered on Saturday morning:

Here’s a picture of what our garden looks like, at the moment:

(corn, sunflowers, butter beans, peas,  and more butter beans)

The white dot in the picture is Ed

All Things Monday…

If you’re looking for the Monday Quiz, it’s at the bottom of the post.  I decided to switch things up a bit, and do the weekend recap first.  You know, it’s good to switch up, every now and then to make things more interesting 🙂

First of all, I didn’t blog on Friday because I went out for lunch and some shopping with my daughter and granddaughter. We were celebrating granddaughter, Madison’s, last day of school!  Madison finished up her first year of home school shortly before lunchtime, on Friday.  I’m so proud of Madison, and everything that she’s learned this year.  My daughter did a fantastic job of keeping Madison on task, and making sure things ran smoothly all year. (She even learned a few things herself, too)  Kudos to both of them!  Madison is now an official second grader!

Below are photographs of Madison, taken on the first and last days of school.  Boy, what a difference a year makes!

By the way, after lunch and shopping, on Friday, we ended our day with a visit to our local Dairy Queen!  I’d been craving a banana split for almost a week, and I gave in and treated myself to one.  I enjoyed every forbidden bite of that sucker, too!

We kicked off our weekend with pizza and a little family time!  Once again, our oldest son, Brett, dug around in our collection of old videos, and came up with some very old footage!  We began by watching Brett’s senior video, class of 2000, then we went even further back in time…  Some of the footage we watched dated all the way back to 1974, when I still had long, straight hair and Ed still had lots of curly, brown hair!  Those were the days 🙂   As we watched footage of our children as babies, it seemed like a lifetime ago–and, you know, it almost was!  Our oldest is now 35, and our youngest will soon turn 29.  My, how the time has flown, as Ed and I are now watching our second generation grow up before our eyes.

In other weekend news, I almost forgot to mention, we also kicked off our weekend by adopting a new kitten on Friday afternoon!  The story of how this adoption came about is too complicated to tell today, so I’ll save it for another day.  Just so you know, this kitten makes cat number thirteen!  I sure hope that number doesn’t turn out to be a bad omen for our sweet new kitty.

new kitty

Our Saturday was almost like a marathon day!  Here is some of what we did:

Ed and I picked a pail of green beans at 7:00 am.  I washed and snapped the beans while Ed and our son-in-law took a load of scrap metal to be sold.  (They hauled off two old water tanks, four old grills, and an old fire pit, in addition to a few other odds-n-ends.)  Ed returned and harrowed around the garden. (the weeds are almost out of control, thanks to daily showers of rain!)  After Ed finished harrowing up the grass and weeds, he plowed up our potatoes, then we picked them up.  After that,  we babysat our two oldest grandsons while their parents went to see about discarding their old stove, then picking up a newer stove.  After the grands went home, I took a nap, while Ed mowed grass for two hours! Later, I cooked supper while Ed canned the beans we’d picked earlier in the day.  (We’ve canned 20 quarts of beans, so far.)

Almost everything we ate for supper, on Saturday night, was grown in our garden.  We had green beans, new potatoes, fried squash, stewed tomatoes with rice, smoked sausage, and cornbread.  Best of all, I made a fresh blackberry cobbler for dessert! Here’s some of the fresh bounty, collected over the weekend:

fresh vegetables and eggs

I’d sort of hoped to make a trip back to the beach, on Sunday, but the weather didn’t cooperate.  It was cloudy, rainy, windy and cold!  It was just as well, since Ed and I were kind of tired from our busy day on Saturday!  I actually got up, on Sunday, then went back to bed for a while–something I rarely do.  Ed spent a little more time in his recliner than usual–something he rarely does.

On Sunday afternoon, Ed and I decided to pay a visit to the assisted living facility where Ed’s mom resided for over three years.  Our oldest son, Brett, has recently begun helping conduct church services there, so we decided to attend one of the services.  Most of the residents at the assisted living home are still the same as when Ed’s mom lived there, and boy,  were they happy to see Ed!  Their eyes lit up and each one had to hug Ed’s neck 🙂  One older lady proclaimed to us that “Ed is like my daddy”,  to which I had to smile 🙂

We had a nice visit with all of the ladies, and really enjoyed hearing our son conduct his portion of the service.  (I was only sorry that Ed’s mom wasn’t there to enjoy the services with us.  She would’ve been so pleased!)  I feel sure we’ll be attending more services with our son and the ladies sometime in the near future.

Since the ladies were so happy to see Ed again, he went out and bought them a couple of watermelons to have for their snack!  Isn’t he something?

~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

1. My Mom double dared me to actually post Monday Quiz today after its two-week hiatus… what was the last thing someone dared you to do?

I can’t remember the last thing someone dared me to do, but I probably didn’t do it anyway.  I’m too cautious for that.

2. Today is National Rocky Road Day – are you celebrating?

No, I won’t be celebrating.  I love Rocky Road ice cream, but I just ate a banana split, on Friday, and it’s too soon to be bad again!

3. June is Aquarium Month – have you visited an Aquarium lately?

No, I haven’t visited an aquarium lately.  The last time I visited an aquarium (the one in Charleston, SC, actually) was almost seven years ago.  I’d love to go again, though!

4. Have you had a yummy new food or tried a new recipe lately?

I made a fresh blackberry cobbler on Saturday night.  I hadn’t made a blackberry cobbler in years, and it reminded me of my mother because I used her recipe.

My question for you:

How did you spend your weekend?

Thanks to Heather and Wayne for hosting the Monday Quiz!

A Mother’s Day To Remember…

Mother’s Day, 2014 will go down as a Mother’s Day to remember for several reasons.  First of all, it was the first Mother’s Day in all of our years together, that Ed and I didn’t have one or the other of our mothers to celebrate with.  My own mother passed away many years ago, but I’ve always thought of Ed’s mom as my second mother.  I really missed having her around to celebrate with us.  

Ed’s mom, celebrating her final Mother’s Day in 2013

My oldest son was a ‘Mother’s Day baby’, which means our family always gets to celebrate his birthday along with Mother’s Day each year!  Brett turned 32, the day before Mother’s Day, and we needed to celebrate!

On Saturday afternoon, Ed and I hosted a family cook out (the one we postponed from Easter).  Ed tried out his new grill–along with his old grill.  He cooked on both grills at the same time, and did a great job!  While we were at home cooking, everyone else was busy doing other things before the evening birthday celebration.

In addition to the birthday and Mother’s Day celebration, our town was hosting its annual ‘Sweet Onion Festival’.  Some of the family attended the parade and festival activities, while others in the family attended showers or visited with the elderly before arriving at our house to celebrate the birthday.  It was a busy weekend for all!

Christina prepares to light Brett’s candles, while Chase looks on

You may recall that it rained here on Easter, and we had to cancel our outdoor egg hunt.  Nothing says ‘love’  like throwing an egg hunt in with your birthday/Mother’s Day celebration, so that’s what we did!   I was impressed with how well the ‘grands’ were able to find eggs, this year, needing very little help from the adults.  Caden found the most eggs.  He also found both of the prize eggs, but he shared one with Madison’s little friend, Brooklyn, who was a guest at the egg hunt.   On Saturday, Ed and I hid 200 eggs in our yard, but the children only managed to find 190 of them, even after searching again on Mother’s Day!

Searching for eggs on Mother’s Day weekend!

Another reason Mother’s Day 2014 was so special is because it was daughter-in-law, Jennifer’s, first Mother’s Day!  Mother’s Day is special for any woman, but for those who have had to over-come huge obstacles, in the process of becoming a mother, the celebration always seems a bit more special.

Jennifer and Brad chose to commemorate her first Mother’s Day by having their son, Evan, christened on this day, which made the day all the more special.  I felt honored and blessed, as a mother, to see every member of my family sitting in the church, on Mother’s Day, for baby Evan’s christening–a baby none of us ever dreamed would be possible, three short years ago!  God is good.

our family after Evan’s christening

We listened to a sermon concerning ‘family’, and continued our celebration throughout the afternoon with family and fellowship.  I am a blessed wife, mother, and grandmother!  I received several wonderful gifts and sweet cards.  2014 must have been the year of ‘living gifts’, as I received a pink dogwood tree, and two baskets of flowers among my Mother’s Day gifts, along with an updated portrait of Evan and a gift card.  I loved each and every gift.

I hope to be around to celebrate quite a few more Mother’s Days with the family, but Mother’s Day 2014 will be always a favorite!  It will be difficult to top this one.

 

 

 

T’was The Monday Before Easter…

T’was the Monday before Easter, and…  Ed’s off today, as required by his employer.  In addition to taking the recent cut in pay, employees are also required to take a vacation day every two weeks.  We got lucky, this week, because vacation days can’t always be taken on a Monday or Friday!

Ed’s never one to waste a day off, so he’s already outside working on the front of our house–at 7:30 in the morning.  The workmen left a few jobs for us to do, concerning the new porch, so Ed’s up and on it already!  Ed’s never happier than when he’s getting to ‘do it himself’!  The job includes using a new paint sprayer, for the first time,  so it might prove to be interesting.

The weekend was crazy busy, but it was a good one.  It included some family time, with all of our grown children and their families (except for one grandson, who was at a birthday celebration).  It also included some work around the house,  and it included granddaughter, Madison’s violin recital.  I’ll share more about that, in another post!

I’m behind in visiting many of my blogging friends, and I’m sorry!  I didn’t turn on my computer all weekend, except for Brett to remove something that I’d ‘gotten’ on my computer (thanks again, Brett!), and for  Brad to upgrade my computer to Windows 8.1.  (thanks again, Brad!)  I promise I’ll catch up with everyone as soon as I can.

As usual, on Mondays, I’m joining ‘The Monday Quiz’ over at Acting Balanced.  It’s become a Monday habit, that I don’t like to break.  Here are today’s questions:

 

1. Today is look up at the sky day – what does your piece of the sky look like today?

The sky, in our ‘neck of the woods’ looks cloudy.  In fact, it’s supposed to be cloudy all day!  Unfortunately, another dreaded cold front is headed our way, with a low of 43 degrees expected for tomorrow night!!!  What in the world is going on with the weather???  Today’s high is predicted to reach 82!

2. It’s also “organize your files week” – will you be participating?

No, there’s a very good chance I won’t be organizing any files, this week!  Too much other stuff is going on. 

3. It’s almost Easter – what are your Easter traditions?
First of all, I decorate for Easter–inside and out.  My outside decorations have taken a beating, this year, due to the porch construction.  They’ve been put up and taken down twice!   They may never be the same.  

All of the grandchildren will gather at our house, this coming weekend, to color eggs together.  That’s always fun–and messy 🙂  Then, the family will gather back here, after church on Sunday, for lunch and an egg hunt.  Our eggs hunts include the adults and children, and usually turn out to be quite entertaining!
4. What is a favorite recipe that you’ve dusted off for the holidays or just because it’s spring?

Our daughter-in-law, Christina, usually makes a Hershey Bar Cake that’s delicious.   It’s become a family favorite, and is her ‘signature dessert’.  Unfortunately, I don’t have her recipe, or I’d share it with you.

I’m sorry to have to cut post a little short, but it’s time to feed all of our animals, then get busy with Monday chores.  Have a great Monday!

Miscellaneous Monday…

Wow!  The weekend is over, once again, and it’s time to begin another week.  I won’t take much time to write about our busy weekend, except to say that it went by in a hurry and included lots of work!   I’ll spare you the details, but just know that Ed and I were very tired and very dirty on Saturday night–and I went to bed with some sunburn!

We had planned on having a Sunday visit from our son, Brad, and his family, but things didn’t work out.  Just as I was dragging out the pots and pans to cook, Brad called to say sickness had struck their family–again, and they wouldn’t be coming.  Note to Brad & family here:  Country living is healthier for you than city living 🙂  Anyway, I put the post and pans away, and Ed and I went shopping, instead–all day–because it was raining!  Believe it or not, I went to Lowe’s and actually shopped in their garden center, while using an umbrella–and I wasn’t the only one doing it!!!  Gotta’ love that!

Our summer-like temperatures have temporarily left us,  and cool, rainy days have taken their place.  Thankfully, the workmen were able to get the tin on our porch roof before the rain got here 🙂  Hopefully, the ‘April Showers’ will make our newly planted garden grow because these cold, dreary days really suck!

Speaking of the garden, did you know it’s “Garden Week”?   On that note, let’s hop right into today’s questions of ‘The Monday Quiz’, shall we?  Thanks to Heather and Wayne for furnishing the questions and hosting.  Feel free to join us, if you can, by clicking the button below:

1. This week is “Garden Week” – do you garden and what progress have you made on this year’s garden… Wayne also wants to know what May Flowers you want these April Showers to bring?

Last week, Ed and I spent three different days working on this year’s garden.  We currently have ten (140 feet long) rows of vegetables and one row of flowers planted in our garden.  Ed plans to plant a row of peanuts and a row of watermelons, then we’ll be finished!  Since I planted zinnias and sunflowers in the garden, on Saturday, I hope ‘April Showers’ will cause them to bloom sometime in June!  I use the ‘garden flowers’ to make bouquets for the house, plus they make the vegetable garden look pretty!  See-

Sunflowers in last year’s garden

2. Monday is No Housework Day – will you celebrate?

Yes, I think I will celebrate!  I have several other chores that I need to do, today, and none of them involve housework 🙂  I don’t like to do housework when it rains, anyway.

3. Wednesday is Name Yourself Day – would you change your name if you could? and if so, to what? If not, why not?

If someone would’ve asked me this question forty-five years ago, I probably would’ve answered “Yes, I’d like to change my name”, because I didn’t like my name back then.  I’ve always been glad that my mother spelled my name with a ‘K’ instead of a ‘C’, but I used to wish that she’d ended it with an “i” or an “ie”.  However, now that I’ve had my name for almost sixty years, it’s kind of grown on me!   These days, I’m happy being plain, old Kathy–with a “y”.

4. Friday is 8 Track Tape day – do you remember them? Did you have one? What 8 track song will you sing in honor of this day?

Oh, yeah!  I remember 8 track tapes and 8 track tape players (of the 70’s) very well!  Ed had one in his car, and I had one in my bedroom, back when  we were dating.  In fact, Ed actually bought my 8 track  player for me, cause he was nice like that.  (He, also, left all of his 8 track tapes with me while he was off serving in the military.)

One of the tapes I remember us listening to a lot, back then, was ‘The Supremes Greatest Hits’. “Baby Love” was one of my favorite songs on the tape, and hearing it, now, takes me right back to those nights of riding around in Ed’s 1961 Pink Mercury–without a care in the world–except what time I had to be home! With that happy thought, I’ll end this post and say “Happy Monday, y’all!”

Miscellaneous Monday…

our pear trees

Spring has officially sprung in our area!  The trees are filled with beautiful blossoms, and the azaleas are beginning to bloom, as well.  I even noticed those little ‘crosses’ on the tops of some pine trees, which always signal spring/Easter.  Ed has mowed grass twice already!  This doesn’t mean we won’t have another ‘cold snap’, but I think all things are in ‘spring mode’–including the animals!  (more on this another day!)

I kept our grandson, Chase, while his parents did some Easter shopping, on Friday.  Chase and I enjoyed each other’s company while watching three episodes of ‘Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and playing with the Mickey Mouse Railroad set.  Things went well until nap time, then Chase’s stubborn streak came out!  Let’s just say…Chase didn’t take a nap–not at my house, anyway!  He sat in the middle of the bed and watched me attempt to rest 🙂  The little stinker!

Chase, playing trains with me

For the first time, in several weeks, our house was noisy, crowded, and very ‘alive’ on Friday night!  Once again, our entire family was able to gather together, and it was great to see everyone, all in one place, again.  Ed was the cook, this time, serving up a delicious ‘Low Country Boil’, something we don’t have very often!  I think it’s safe to say, we all enjoyed it!  Good times and good memories were in the making.

The rest of the weekend remained relatively busy.  Brad and his family left, on Saturday, to visit Jennifer’s family, and Ed and I piddled around the house, working on various projects–or should I say, Ed worked while I watched.  By the end of the weekend, all of our grass had been mowed, including Ed’s mom’s yard, ‘the girls’, aka our hens, had a new extension on the roof of their home, and the water line at Ed’s mom’s had been repaired.  Ed went to bed tired!

Okay, now that the weekend has come and gone, Monday means it’s time to kick-start the week with a little ‘Monday Quiz’.  I’ll be joining Heather and Wayne over at ActingBalanced.  If you wish, you can play along, too, by clicking their button below!

1. Wednesday is “Make Up Your Own Holiday day” – what will it be for you?

I may be celebrating with a ‘Spring Cleaning’ holiday.  I’ve been feeling the need to do some of that!

2. Is your March full of madness?

Yes,  the month of March was filled with some ‘madness’ for us!  First, Ed’s work salary was cut by 5%, then our grand baby, Evan, got sick, and stayed sick for two whole weeks, culminating with a visit to the hospital!  Hopefully, April will be kinder.

3. Yesterday was National Chip and Dip day – are you a fan? What is your favorite dip, favorite chip?

I’ll eat chips and dip, but it’s not high on my list of ‘must haves’.  Hamburger dip with tortilla chips is pretty good though!

4. Is it a good idea to write about discord in your workplace on your blog?

Writing–anywhere–about discord in the workplace is never a good idea.  You never know who might find it and read it–and what the consequences might be!  You have to be careful who you talk to, as well.  I once got called in and reprimanded for discussing discord in the workplace, after I confided in a ‘friend,’  whom I thought I could trust 😦   Thank goodness, those days are well behind me, now!  On that note, I’ll just say…

Happy Monday, y’all!

Rainy Days And Mondays…

I went to sleep with the sound of rain on our tin roof, and woke up to the same sound, this morning. From the looks of our yard, it may have rained all night. The title of a first grade book, entitled Oh, Lovely Mud, comes to mind…

It was a strange weekend.  My spirits were low, and I seemed to have trouble getting motivated to do much of anything.  I haven’t been sleeping well, lately, and that tends to make me tired and ill.  I did manage to wash and put away all of the china that I brought home from my MIL’s house, though.  I put away all of the groceries, too, but went and bought a new batch on Saturday afternoon.  The end of the kitchen table is covered again!  I went to bed early on Friday and Saturday nights, but didn’t sleep well either evening.

Our two oldest children came by for a brief visit, on Friday afternoon, but then I didn’t see anyone else the rest of the weekend–until Sunday. Everyone is always busy, running here and there, and we don’t seem to see everyone like we once did.

Ed woke up on Sunday morning, and asked if I thought our son, Brad, would mind if we surprised him with a visit, so that’s what we did.  We knew that Brad’s wife was working, and Brad was babysitting Evan for the day.  We hopped in the car and headed toward the city.

Everyone at Brad’s house is feeling much better, thank the Lord!  Brad and Evan seemed genuinely happy to see us, and we had a good visit with both of them.  Evan smiled, squealed and cooed at me when I picked him up, and it was great medicine for my weary soul.  I think Ed must have known just what I needed–or maybe he needed it, too!

Brad even loaded Evan up and went out to eat lunch with us!  I was so impressed with Brad’s parenting skills, it made this mama proud.  Not just any man would babysit their four-month-old son for 12 hours, and even fewer men would pack a diaper bag and attempt dining out and shopping! Evan was happy the entire time, and I noticed several people watching Evan and Brad, while we were out and about.  It was a sweet sight.  Wouldn’t you know, I forgot to bring my camera?!

Two more good people, that I know,  passed away, last week.  That makes three within a week.  I’ve always heard, death comes in threes.  All three were men, which means there are three lonely, grieving widows left behind.  One couple had been married 53 years, one couple had been married 63 years, and I’m not sure about the other, but I’d say, close to 40 years.

That’s my weekend, in a nutshell.  Now it’s time to join Heather and Wayne for ‘The Monday Quiz’.  Thanks to both of them for hosting a great way to ‘jump-start’ the week!

1. March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day – where do you think the Leprechaun hid his pot of gold? Are you celebrating in any way?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  No, I don’t really celebrate this holiday, but I do decorate for it.  I have the ‘year round tree’ all decked out in shamrocks, beads, and pots of gold, along with many St. Patrick’s Day collectibles sitting on shelves.

my corner shelf, decorated with St. Paddy’s collectibles

 As for where the Leprechaun hid his pot of gold?  Today, I’d have to say the Leprechaun hid his pot of gold in a mud puddle!  I guess Savannah will have a rainy St. Paddy’s Day Parade…

2. What kind of luck do you have?

Overall, I’ve had more good luck than bad.  (I prefer to think of ‘good luck’ as blessings from God, and I’ve certainly had plenty of those!)  Everyone has a run of ‘bad luck’ or some life challenges thrown at them, occasionally, but, overall, life has been good.  I’m very thankful.

3. Do you have a favorite pair of shoes right now?

My favorite shoes would be my Crocs.  I have several pairs, in several colors, and that’s generally all I wear.

4. What is your current theme song?

My theme songs seem to alternate between “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and “Rainy Days and Mondays”.  Most of the time, I’m a “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” kind of person.

 

It’s Just Me On Monday (Again)…

Happy Monday, y’all!  I’m going to jump right into the ‘Monday Quiz’, this morning,–for inquiring minds, who may want to know a little more about me…

Thanks to Heather and Wayne for hosting!

Today’s questions:

1. National frozen food day is this week – are you a big frozen food shopper?  Do you freeze your own veggies or fruit?  

National frozen food day?  Really?  Who knew?

No, I am not a big frozen food shopper.  I’ll buy a few frozen items , but not a lot of vegetables or fruit.  Occasionally, I’ll buy some frozen creamed corn, brussel sprouts, or tiny lima beans.  I usually buy fresh fruits, or, occasionally, I buy some canned fruit.

As for freezing veggies, yes, I do freeze vegetables every summer, and sometimes I’ll freeze peaches and pears, too.

2. What annoys you?

Ha! Ha!  (Do you really want to get me started???)  

Here are just a few of the things that annoy me–in no particular order:

Disrespectful or poorly behaved children, people who get in the ‘express checkout line’ when their cart is full, rude people, political ads, poor drivers, and people who brag.

3. It’s Wine and Food Festival week here in Charleston, do you have a favorite type of wine?

No, I don’t drink, never have.  There are too many alcoholics in my family tree.

4. What do you think is an appropriate age for a first cell phone?

These days, many young children have cell phones, and I, personally, don’t get it.  The ramifications of giving a cell phone to a young, irresponsible child could be devastating. (I’m thinking of inappropriate pictures being emailed or unrestricted access to the trash on the internet)  Our children only got a cell phone after they began driving–so they could call us, in case of an emergency.

Two of our children  did really well with their cell phones, and never abused the privilege.  However, the third one loaned his to a ‘friend‘ (and I use this term loosely) who promptly used it to make an excessive amount of phone calls, while it was in her possession!  Needless to say, the minutes on the plan were exceeded, and when the phone bill came, it was huge!  Fortunately, our son was able to pay us back.

I’d wait, at least, until a child becomes a teenager, before turning them loose with a cell phone.

5.  My question for you:  Do you have an interesting tale to tell concerning a cell phone?

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It was a beautiful weekend, in our neck of the woods, and Ed and I took every opportunity to enjoy the great weather!  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and temperatures rose into the 70’s.  I spent most of Sunday afternoon, sitting in a chaise lounge chair, watching Ed cook ribs on the grill.  Life doesn’t get much better than that!  Ed’s ribs were delicious, by the way!

Spring must be getting near, because our pear trees are getting ready to bloom.  I sure hope we don’t get another freeze, once the blossoms pop out!  We’ve had an abundance of robins and cardinals visiting us, lately, too.  One particular pair of cardinals visits daily, to eat the bird food I leave for them.  The male is unusually vivid and beautiful.

Over the weekend, Ed and I continued doing some yard work.  Our yard borders woods, on two sides, so we cleaned up a bunch of leaves and fallen tree limbs.  Our ultimate goal is to get some grass growing on those two sides of our house.  It may take a while, but we’re working on it!  The first step was getting the straw, limbs, and leaves raked up.

Our son, Brad, and his family had planned to come for a visit, on Sunday, but their plans changed because baby Evan had tummy troubles, and wasn’t feeling well.  Our little fellow turned four months old on Friday.  Technically, his 4 month birthday would have been on the 30th, but there is no February 30.  Anyway, I’m sure he’ll have grown a couple of inches by our next visit!

“The girls” reached a milestone, on Sunday, when they laid their 2000th egg!  That’s a lot of eggs for a tiny flock of just five hens.  Actually, the ‘runt’ of the flock doesn’t lay on a regular basis, so  just four ‘ladies’  actually furnished the majority of those eggs.   I’m planning to write a ‘my girls’ update, soon, because there’s never a dull moment with that crew!

Well, that’s a brief glimpse into my weekend.  So how was yours?

Happy Monday!   It’s going to be a cool and cloudy one, here…