What's Going On

Well, I don't have a mystery for today. Instead, it's going to be a bit of a random post.

First, I'm starting with a recipe share. Connie and I went back to bridge for the very first time a couple weeks ago. We're wearing masks, social distancing, time allowed between rounds to wash hands and sitting 4 to an 8ft. round table for lunch. During lunch, one of the gals gave us a recipe. I finally tried it last week. It was really good and the "kids" were happy to take some home.

Pistacio Cake

1 yellow cake mix

2 boxes pistachio pudding (NOT instant but can be sugar free)*

1 cup hot water

1 cup oil

4 eggs, beaten

Mix all together and bake in a bundt pan at 350 according to cake mix directions. Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

*I used one of each since the gal that gave us the recipe said that's what she did. As it turned out, I messed up and the sugar free one was instant. Still it was delicious. 

Couldn't be simpler than this. Next time, I think I'm going to put a glaze on it with a little almond extract in it.

Reading

I recently discovered a new author---Greg Olsen. I was telling Sandy about the BEST book I've read in 2020 so far---the only one I've given 5 stars. If You Tell is based on a true crime. It's simple unbelievable! That's all I'm going to say. Sandy told me about a book by him that she read, so I read it too. The Last Thing She Ever Did is not about a true crime, but a very different type of crime.  A "what would you do" sort of thing. I read a third one by him (not all in a row)--A Killing in Amish Country. Another true crime and my least favorite of the three. Still, the first two I ended up giving 5 stars--the only two on my list to get that rating. To put it in perspective, last year, I only gave three of the 60+ books I read 5 stars. I'm pretty critical. One thing I love about this author's format is that there are quick breaks so you can always find an easy stopping place. I don't like to stop in the middle of a page or before the end of a chapter. 

Stitching

I picked up the kits for the workshop that Sandy, Stephanie, Mindy and I were scheduled to take in May. It was postponed to August and then cancelled altogether. I'm sad about that because I wanted them to experience what fun it is to do a workshop. Instead, we're trying to find a weekend we can all get together and get started. I'll have to be the teacher. I'm okay with that, but really want us to have a lot of time to devote to it.

Where you see that apple on top---that's going to be a sparkly, crinkly Hershey's kiss, complete with the white Hershey's tab coming out of the top. This is going to be so much fun to stitch. I have visions of us getting together occasionally to work on it. I hope so!! 

Walking

I've settled in to a pretty good routine with my walking. I go out before dawn when it's still dark. I love the peace and quiet. Although I do not get to see the sunrise due to houses and trees, I do get to see the beautiful sky as it lights up for the day. Surprisingly, I've really come to look forward to it. I'm such a creature of habit. As soon as I wake up, I go out. I don't need an alarm. I've always been an early bird. But I used to get up and have my tea, watch the news and get on my computer. Now I've just rearranged that a little. I walk, take my shower and then start my day. Works for me. It feels good to be back on a regular exercise routine. It's good for me.

Words of Wisdom

Travelling

We're still not traveling. We had postponed our July trip to St. Louis to August. Now we're putting it off again until September. We are going to our condo at the beach over Labor Day for a week. Stephanie and Mindy are going with us. They'll spend a couple days working, but still have plenty of time for the beach. I don't love the beach, so I'll be at the pool. It's usually not crowded at that time of year. But with erratic school schedules, who knows. I'm looking forward to cooking some fresh seafood!!

Family News

We had another pool party on Saturday. It's our time to catch up with everybody. Mitchell told us about a new job he'll be starting the first of September. He's really excited and so are we! 

Morgan just moved to a rental house with one of her nurse friends. We went over on Sunday to help her decorate and hang stuff. We didn't get it all done because she hadn't talked to her roommate about when she wanted to use of her stuff. 

Justin is back at work, so he wasn't able to join us. He had a busy night. He walked nearly 28,000 steps according to his Fitbit--something like 16 miles! That made my feet hurt just thinking about it!!

Nicky said they've been busier than ever with home closings during this pandemic.

Stephanie and Mindy are both still working from home. Mindy's company (Vanderbilt) has postponed opening the office until January. Steph will be home all the way until next June. She may be working from home permanently.

Sandy and her family were at the beach all week. They ended up having great weather.

Well, I guess that's about all I have to report. There's not much new happening around here. Oh yeah, by the time you read this, we'll be up in Hendersonville (about 45 minutes from Nashville) doing another geo-cache adventure lab. That's for Travel Tuesday. That's about all we can do right now anyway!! 

Happy Monday! I hope you have a great week!!

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

I must say, I am really enjoying this meme. Thanks to Sian for making me pay attention to the fun stuff---and sometimes---not so fun stuff that comes in the mail each week!

Well, we're finally nearing the end of our renovation. There is going to be a couple installations this week. Still, it's going to be another 2-3 weeks before the mirrors and shower doors are made and installed.

The first thing I received this week was the replacement for the broken crystal in the ceiling fixture. The customer service person was so nice to deal with. I always believe that honesty is the best policy. So, I was honest and told the girl that we dropped and broke it upon installation. I was surprised that she said they'd send a replacement at no charge.

We also got this sweet note from Sandy:

A nice thank you for our New York trip last week. Stephanie and Nicky moved on Friday. It was stressful all the way around. Buying and selling houses is so nerve-wracking! Anyway, we worked all day on Saturday---unpacking. Butch and I got home around 4:30. I had prepared a few Easter dishes that morning and had another few things to do that night. We decided to just order pizza for dinner. We NEVER order pizza unless the whole gang is here. Anyway, I ordered online. I got the message that it was going to take about an hour and five minutes. No problem, I would just continue my cooking chores. About 20 minutes later, the pizza arrived. On Sunday, I got the following email---just because my order was earlier than they predicted? Okay, that's fine by me!

Yesterday, you trusted us with your order and we let you down. We messed up and we owe you an apology. Let us make it up to you. As a token of our commitment to earn back your trust, please enjoy a free Large Pizza. Click below to redeem your free item by 05/15/2017. If you decide to add this item to a delivery, make sure that your order meets the minimum purchase requirement. We look forward to serving you again soon.

Monday, Mail and Me

Well, quite a few things arrived this week, but since I was in New York, I haven't even opened the boxes yet. I had planned to blog from NYC, but just never had the time. We were on the go constantly. I'll post some pictures later.

In the mean time, this arrived in the mail earlier, but I didn't want to share it until it was up!

 My chandelier! I love it even if I couldn't have it exactly the way I wanted it. I wanted it to be framed in the window. That made it too low and Butch would bump his head when using the tub.

Then I had the thought---"why in the world did I splurge on this for the bathroom? So, I've decided to enjoy it for a couple of years here and then move it in to the dining room. It too beautiful not to be seen!

The bathroom is really coming together now as we enter week 16. We still need carpet in the closets, the shower door, mirrors and bath accessories installed. Plus, we're still waiting not the powder room counter and sink. Soon I hope! Steph moves at the end of the week, and we've promised to devote most of our time to her! We have our work cut out for us!

Thanks to Sian for starting this meme!

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

It's been a slow week in terms of mail. I did receive and eyeliner and shadow that I bought from Causemetics.

The line is called Thrive. I purchased an eyeliner and an eye brightener. For each one I purchased, they donate one to a woman in need. I usually use Estee Lauder. The cost of Causemetics, I'd say is about half that of Estee Lauder---and for a good cause!

And then, there's this. I had my heart set on glass  rosettes for the mirror that I'm having made. I couldn't find any glass ones, so I went to Etsy. I was very excited to find these.

They are from the 1930's. There are 16 and quite a bargain at twenty bucks for something so old. Unfortunately, they are too small. They are only 1/2" in diameter. I should have paid closer attention to the description. Now I'll have to "settle" for the plastic ones. Sheesh!

Check out what the other Mondayers are doing over at From High in the Sky.

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

Not really all that much to report this week. I don't think  got anything for myself in the mail. However, I have doing some buying for Stephanie's new house, so that stuff is starting to arrive. This is going to be fun!!

 The dining area.

 The living room.

 The kitchen.

In the meantime, I'll be at the beach!

Gorgeous as always! There are quite a few people here due to spring break, but not too many!

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

Well, I don't really have much to share this week except boxes! More deliveries have come in for the renovation.

This is my new chandelier. I'm very excited about this. The room is starting to come together now---but there's still so much to be done--tile work on tub, countertops, fixtures placed, painting, and chandelier assembled. It's supposed to be finished by the end of March, but I think it's going to be longer than that. We'll see.

Now this was the most exciting mail of all.

 This box arrived for Mindy in her maiden name. That's a little fishy.

This is the side of the box. I sent Mindy the pictures and asked if there's something we should know! Butch, who was going to the beach on Friday asked if he should postpone his leaving in case Mindy an Justin had an announcement to make at happy hour. Anyway, she assured us that she has no idea why she got this. And she has no announcement to make!  It's baby formula! I'll give it to my niece, Alison who is expecting her first in July.

That's really about it for this week. I'm sure the other Mondayers have received much more exciting stuff this week than me!

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

This has been a pretty exciting mail week. I posted about Stitch Fix on Saturday---love the surprise of it:

And then there were these pillows I ordered from Pier 1--on sale, free shipping! I'm looking forward to freshening up the whole house when the renovation is done!

The pillows are beautiful and perfect for the sunroom---but they are flatter than a pancake! I think they are vacuum sealed. I have not opened them yet. I'm going to wait---no sense in letting them get all dusty!

And finally, we got a "thank you" note from the guy that owns the pool service company that we use. Butch thinks it's his way of apologizing and hoping he doesn't lose our business. Butch hasn't been thrilled with the service---or I should say, he's dissatisfied because the "guy" didn't show up a couple times. We don't know if it's a result of that or just the fact that the pool pump is really old, but the pump needs replacing ($2000)---we've been here 22 years and never replaced it. So maybe it just wore out. Either way, it was an unusual thank you note to get. I guess we'll stick with him. But if he doesn't get my tile repair done---that's it!

Check what the other Mondayers have been up to at From High in the Sky!

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

Even though I was gone last week, I came home to a few fun things in the mail.

 I ordered these little notes from Crafty Steals (or one of those discount sites) for my AYM kits.

 I got these adorable Beatrix Potter plates from Pottery Barn Kids. They were inexpensive since they are melamine and on sale. I actually liked the ones from Pier 1, but they were more than I wanted to pay.

 It's been 10 weeks so far on the bathroom project. It's slow going. The vanities were delivered this week. That's exciting, but we're still have a long way to go.

This was delivered to me in the form of a text. Mindy is using the leather back pack I got for her in Florence at the leather market.  I still haven't used mine. When I brought it home, Butch said, "I don't think I've ever seen you use a backpack." He's right. I haven't used it yet. But I'm going to. For sure. Sometime. I don't know when.

And this was pretty exciting. Paige, the daughter of my friend, Nancy, was able to get us tickets for Hamilton. The girls and I are going the first of April. I'm so excited because when I tried to get tickets  all the way back in September, they were sold out. These tickets are called "house seats." They are saved for the family and friends of the cast and crew. The good news came in the way of an email.

That's about all the fun stuff that came in the mail this week. Thanks to Sian for starting this meme.

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

Not much interesting in the mail this week. We only had one delivery.

The porcelain tile arrived. We're hoping that this part of the bathroom goes faster since the tiles are 12x24. Still we've been told another month. I'm planning two months just so I can remain patient!

Since my mail this week wasn't so interesting, click on over to Sian's to see what the other Mondayers are up to!

I'll be off today for our winter (a little late) farm crop. Just about the whole gang is going to be there.
I'm doing a little advance blogging so there will be a couple posts this week.

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

Well, I got a few fun things in the mail this week. Without further ado:

 I ordered this from Stampin' Up. It's a box of goodies!

 Assorted fun things inside.

 I got this double glass case so I just have one thing in my purse now. I've got to consolidate a little better.

This was in our Hello Fresh delivery this week. Just looking at the box, I couldn't tell what it was. It was packed with the ingredients for the New York Strip steaks. By the way, this meal was delicious (as most are). 

 Inside were these hazelnut truffle chocolates. It was just okay. I'm not a hazelnut fan. Just give me good old Russell Stovers. Still, it was a nice surprise.

I'm most excited about these! New pillows for all the beds! I've noticed---since I've been sleeping upstairs, that the down has bunched up and caused some hard lumps in the pillows. These Ralph Lauren hypo allergenic pillows were on sale at Macy's for $8.50. I was so excited---plus free shipping! These were the ones I got---with tax, that made them $8.50 each. They had 4.5 stars with over 500 reviews. I'm particular about my pillows. I hope I like them! You certainly can't beat the price!

So that's it for my mail this week.

Check out what Sian got this week!

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

Thanks to Sian for this meme. It's a good one!

I got this photo from Mindy via text---still, it's mail to me! They went to a Nelly concert and got the VIP tickets so they could meet him. Justin said he flubbed the "bro" hug! Nelly went in for the hug while Justin stuck his hand out. Then Justin went in for the hug just as Nelly pulled back and stuck out his hand! Oh well, maybe next time!

I was off for a very long weekend scrapbooking with my sisters. We arrived on Wednesday and stayed until Sunday. Here's the stack of mail I came home to. I haven't opened the Cocoa Daisy box yet. It's always a fun surprise, so I wait until I can really take my time and examine every bit!

This "mail" is more like special delivery. Farm fresh eggs from my sister brought to me from Salem, MO. They are so beautiful to look at that I'm going to keep them on the counter---they can last for 3 months there. Don't worry, they'll be gone long before that. We eat a lot of eggs.

While I was away, the tile for the bathroom was delivered. OMGosh---the boxes are a little smaller than a shoe box and I cannot lift a single one---they are so heavy!

I got this printer to take on my scrapbook weekend, but it didn't arrive in time. Still I got it on sale for half price---$54.00. Printers are pretty cheap now. It's the ink that will get you. Luckily, the black cartridge is just $12.99. I do not plan to replace the color cartridges---ever! This printer will only get used a few times a year, so the color ink will dry up pretty quickly. We just won't be printing in color. 

And then, there's this. I've been waiting for the new door knob and escutcheon. I just love those. Actually, I prefer old ones, but couldn't find one I liked. Plus if you get an antique one, you have to worry about the hardware concerns. Maybe it's not a big deal, but it's out of my range of knowledge.

Oh, and I got a new E-book from the library! I'm really saving some serious bucks already. Looking at it that way, my new printer was FREE!

What about you? Did you get anything fun in the mail this week?

Monday Mail, Memos and Me

Well, my mail mostly consists of junk. There is the occasional bill and TONS of travel brochures! Those travel brochures are very nice. They must cost companies a fortune---only to have them wind up in the recycle bin. We travel a lot, but we don't use those brochures and don't look at them.

Then there was this:

 The book for my prescription drug insurance. Oh My Gosh!!

Seriously! This thing is a half inch thick. I would like to know who reads this? Not only is this a waste of a good tree, it's a waste of time. Surely Humana could come up with a more concise way to get us the information we need. I've put this in Butch's pile to read. It's too much of a snoozer for me! I'll bet if they did away with this, our insurance rates would go waaaayyyy down! What an archaic way to convey information.

Now on to the fun stuff that arrived this week. I've gotten new rugs for the new bathroom. I'm going with all white this time. I can't wait to show you the color I've picked out for the walls---(well, I've actually had it picked out for over a year). These rugs are really thick and fluffy. I hope they don't get matted down. We'll see.

Along with the rugs, my new fluffy, white towels have arrived. Remember my stockpile issues? Well, I'm getting rid of most of those since they are 20+ years old. I'll now have exactly 4 new towels. Maybe I'll keep a couple of the old ones. 

After all, I'll need a few to put on my new ladder towel rack. This is not my bathroom---just a picture of the ladder I bought. I would have preferred to have a really old ladder, but I wouldn't know where to buy one. I did get one at the flea market years ago for Mindy's condo, but she didn't want it. Butch got rid of it as it was too rickety to use as a real ladder. Luckily, I only paid $5.00 for it. This one was a bit more, but it's going to look really good against that new paint color!

Finally, this is the new ceiling fixture for the toilet/shower area of the bathroom. I opened the box and there are so many parts that I closed it back! I don't know if I'm supposed to put it together of if the guy installing it will. Of course, I'll want to clean it. 

So there's my mail report for the week. Thanks to Sian from High in the Sky for this fun meme!

Did you get anything fun or interesting in the mail this week?

Monday Memos, Mail and Me

I got a few things in the mail this past week. 

I got two of these ceiling fixtures. I had planned one for my closet and one for Butch's. But then he informed me that he has two lights in his closet, so I guess both of these will go in there. My closet has florescent lighting, but I was going to take that out just so I could have a nice looking fixture. I still might do it---thinking about it. This light reminds me of my new chandelier. I don't have that yet.

It's official. I'm OLD! Finally, after all of the problems, I got my card. The one thing I don't understand: our social security number is supposed to be sacred. You are supposed to be very careful about keeping it secret and not letting anyone know your number. So, your medicare number is your social security number with a letter added to the end. It's right there on the card for all the world to see (and memorize and commit fraud)! Since you never know who you can trust, I've covered mine up!

And then, there's this. I didn't get this in the mail, but I got this image via EMAIL! I'm counting it. Sandy sent me a really good recipe for Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos that uses these. Maybe I'll share it after I serve it at our farm crop at the end of February.

So that's about it for mail this week. I'm really enjoying this meme. Thanks to Sian for starting it from High in the Sky