What's Goin' On??

Thinking: about how our holiday season is going to be so different this year. We've done some decorating, but not like we usually do. My heart's just not in it if there isn't going to be anyone around to enjoy it with us! We do have a few more things we want to do--like put up the tree. We might just use the one we usually put in the living room and put it in the family room--especially since the live trees (which I love) seemed to be all picked over.

Thankful: that we're both healthy and hope to stay that way. Thus, the different holiday season. It's just one year. It's going to be okay!

Cooking: Butch has already made a double batch of Chex mix. He's going to make another to share with the fam. I'm going to do a little baking too. Maybe some cookies for the grands!

Wearing: lots of sweaters. It's freezing in this house--yet it's 74 in here! My nose is constantly cold! Too many windows!

Working: on some Christmas needlepoint. I love doing holiday things during the actual holidays. The girls and I are in the midst of our gingerbread houses. Stephanie has forged ahead on her own and accomplished quite a lot. She's just about finished everything she knows how to do. The next time we get together for the next lessons will be sometime in January.

Reading: Well, where do I begin! I don't think there has ever been a year where I gave five stars to so many books. I'm pretty stingy with my stars/ratings. The book has to really move me in a profound way. Soooo, if you haven't read Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, I would highly recommend it. Many people in our book club did not like it. I definitely didn't like the subject matter, but I think it's an important book. I learned so much! Very eye-opening. Exactly the sort of book that warrants 5 stars or a 10 in book club. I'm the only one who rated it that high. I can't even think of another book I've rated a 10 in all these years (maybe Pillars of the Earth). Another 5 star--more for fun is Lying Next to Me by Gregg Olsen. He's become one of my newest favorite authors. All of his books are exciting. If you need more ideas, just let me know.

Watching: So many things. The Undoing on HBO--recommended by Nicky and Steph--so good. I love Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman. So many surprises. Holidate on Netflix--don't waste your time. The Christmas Chronicles 1 & 2--both good, fun holiday movies--and who doesn't love Kurt Russell? The Crown--I don't really need to say more. Just watch it. Big Sky on regular tv. Butch has already said "no" to this one. I'm going to give it another episode or two. I don't really like things that play in to every parent's worse fears about their kids. This might be too much for me. I'm just interested now in how they are going to bring back a major character that they killed off in the very first episode. I'm sure it's going to be a twin brother or something hokey like that. We'll see.

Bumming: about the loss of the neighbors trees--again. Turns out they are putting in a pool and a line of trees. The trees were planted yesterday. It's going to be awhile before they are big enough to provide the screening I want. Still not sure why they took out the ones that were there. Anyway, we're moving forward with plans of our own. 

Hearing: some Christmas music to kick off the season. I've already watched/listened to Disney's Magical Holiday with my boy, Derek Hough and his sister Julianne. Then there's the Disney Sing-along, the Country Christmas Show--so many fun things. I haven't watched them all yet. 

Planning: another decorating project. Stephanie and Nicky have just bought an investment property. They have put us in charge of getting it ready for their tenant. They didn't give us a budget, but we won't go crazy. We know how to do some inexpensive things to really make it nice. We love that challenge! And, I love everything about decorating! Thanks to friends who have donated some things--that's really been helpful--especially those appliances! The place is old, but nice. It hasn't been up dated since it was built in the early 70's. We're working with it and I'm excited about that.

Needing: to get to the beach to check on our own remodeling project. We were supposed to go this week to meet the refrigerator delivery. We were able to get our "guy" to do it since he's there working. Still, we have quite a bit to haul. I think it's going to take two trips. Butch says we'll rent a U-Haul if we need to. But with our car top carrier, he doesn't think we'll have to. I'm hoping everything will be done and we can go right after Christmas to put it all back together. Makes me a little nervous to not be able to check on things. I hope there have been no miscommunications!

Taking: the new coffee maker back. I bought it for my tea, but it stinks! Yes, stinks! It has a terrible smell of plastic. You can smell it when you walk in the house. It permeates my tea and is disgusting. The instructions said to run it through with plain water one time to get rid of it. I've probably used it 20 times! I bought it through Amazon. I wanted white--you know, I have that thing about white--and am willing to pay extra for it! This was cheap--20 bucks. The only other white one I found was a Mr. Coffee--also for 20 bucks. Since it's for my tea, I didn't want it to say "coffee." I know, I'm being ridiculous. I'm funny that way. Having no other choice, I ordered it. Butch suggested that I put a sticker over the "coffee" part and call it anything I want. I probably won't bother. I'll get used to it. Oh, and did you know that if you need to return something from Amazon, all you have to do is print out the return label and take it to Kohl's and they'll handle it. No box of any sort is required. Just take the thing as is with the label. Couldn't be easier.

Creating: a surprise for the family. Thanks to Malinda (Connie's daughter) for the idea. I've got to work it out first. Not quite sure when we'll do it. We'll see.

Dreading: the "take down." For years now, whenever I've decorated for the holidays, as I'm doing it, I'm already dreading the "take down." At least this year, it will be less to deal with. That's the bight side!

What big plans do you have this holiday season? Or little plans?

What I Buy Wednesday.

Well, I did a little more Christmas shopping this week. And, a little furniture shopping for the beach condo. 

I had my heart set on this:

This color was called sage. It look more blue to me. Either way, I would be okay. But, they are on backorder---which keeps getting pushed back. The last notice I got was January 9th. I decided that since this was the 3rd push back, I better just settle for something else. 

I decided on the same coffee table in white.

Then I thought, well, I could still get blue end tables.

I asked Butch for his opinion. He said that he thought I would be introducing too many colors. I disagreed with him. I ordered them anyway. After all, he said I could do anything I want! But after thinking about it for only one day, I thought he might be right. 

This is the rug I've gotten for the living room.

It's sort of hard to tell, but there are several colors: blue, green and yellow in the rug. So I think the blue set would have worked fine. But the more I thought about it, I decided that Butch was right. Maybe there would be too many colors going on.

Instead, I went ahead and ordered the matching end tables that go with the coffee table. 

Now I'm having second thoughts again. I really like the blue ones. I don't believe everything has to be "matchy, matchy." The white seems definitely beachy--and I always love white, but that blue sure is nice!!

What do you think? 

That's my buying report for this week!

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!!

What's Happenin'!

Thinking: About when we're going to get to start doing a little traveling again. Butch and I are going to the beach on Sunday to check on the condos. It's not really a vacation as we'll be working and not in contact with people. I'm also bringing food, so we don't plan to eat in any restaurants just yet.

Thankful for: Podcasts! Mindy sent me a pretty good list of things to listen to.  It definitely helps pass the time when I'm out walking. I'm still doing a minimum of 2 miles--5 days a week. Takes me longer these days, so it's nice to have something that engages me.

Cooking: I'm pretty much back to how I cooked before---one or two meals a week. I don't count soup and sandwiches as cooking. I had fun trying new recipes early on during the "stay at home" order, but Butch said I was cooking too much. That's okay by me. Now I know I don't ever have to feel guilty about only cooking twice a week!

Wearing: At this moment, I'm still in my jammies. But I'm happy to report that I've transitioned out of my "quarantine clothes!" Getting back out there a little, so decided to wear some nicer clothes for a change. 

Hoping: I'll get my money back for the theater tickets I bought for New York. I'm sitting on $1250 worth. Broadway is not re-opening until September 6th. We were due to go the very next week. Well, I don't think I want to be part of the guinea pig group quite yet. Plus, the whole reason we're going was to see Hugh Jackman performing in the revival of The Music Man. I don't know if that's going to happen now. Anyway, I'm waiting to hear back about the tickets. I would be happy with a credit too. I love New York so it's not like I'm never going again.

Taking: it slow getting out in the world again. Butch and I are wearing our masks everywhere we go. Connie and I went to Nashville Needleworks to stitch on Tuesday. We were the only ones there. Afterwards, we went to Five Guys for burgers. We sat outside and had the entire patio to ourselves.

Planning: my first pool day with my friends of the season. Actually, it's going to be an extension of our AYM meeting. It's going to be this next Friday. I told everyone to bring their own drink and lunch. This will be the first time getting together since Covid began. Still, if everyone comes, we're way less than 10.

Working: Well, I did a big job this week! I sorted through all of my recipes. It started like this plus another smaller one:

I've had this recipe box for years and years. My recipes had overgrown by about half more than this. Probably about 15 years ago, I removed all of the desserts to it's own box.

I went through and threw out any recipes that I have never made or don't think I ever will make. I was ruthless. Any recipe that called for things I don't normally buy---like self rising flour---I got rid of. This picture represents just one of four piles like this.

Everything including all the desserts are back in the box with room to spare! Hopefully this will make my favorites easier to put my hands on! I'm not kidding myself. Since I'm cooking so little, I'll stick with the family favorites.

Reading: Just finished The Giver of Stars. It was pretty good. The story was a bit lame, but I learned about the "packhorse librarians" who delivered books by horseback in the backwoods of Kentucky. Learning something new always makes or breaks a book for me. This was a book club book. The first question I want to ask is "what the heck does the title have to do with the book?"

Loving: this weather. It's not going to last long. Here in the south, we usually get about two weeks of mild weather in the spring and then it's just hot and humid. Due to a little cold snap, we've had about 4 weeks of cool temperatures. In fact, I just had my last fire a couple days ago. The house is still chilly.

Watching: We finished the first season of Baptiste on PBS. It's about a retired, French detective who is called back in to a case by his previous partner. It's set in Amsterdam. Lots of twists and turns. We really liked it. We just started the new Netflix series, Hollywood. After episode one, the jury is still out. I'm going to give it two more episodes before I make a judgment. I love period pieces---the clothes, the cars the decor!

Creating: You would think I'd be scrapbooking up a storm. But with walking and puzzle "doing," I haven't had a lot of extra time. That's crazy to say, but with reading and stitching and the cooking I was doing, my days have been pretty busy. Plus, I'm a little sad to say, I still have not regained my zest for scrapbooking. I lost it when my brother died a couple years ago and have not gotten it back. I guess it's a good thing that I still have AYM and our "round robin". At least that's two layouts a month.

Bumming: that my Aunt Marie had a stroke a couple weeks ago. She is not recovering as quickly as we'd hoped. Plus, my poor Uncle Tony is not allowed in either the hospital, nor the senior facility she's been moved too. I feel so sad for them and worry that she doesn't understand why no one is there for her. I called her last night and I could tell she knew who I was. But everything she tried to say was garbled.

Hearing: MOWERS!!! OMGosh! I never realized how noisy it is around here. There has not been a single time that I've tried to sit on the front porch swing reading that the mowers are not going somewhere. I wish I could get the whole neighborhood to do their mowing all on the same day. 

Then there was this:

The Blue Angels die a "flyover" on Thursday in honor of those on the front lines. We heard them, but just missed seeing them. The news said that they were going to be over our way at 12:08. They were early! Connie's daughter, Amanda caught this shot. Darn!

Appreciating: Margarita! I've always appreciated her, but never so much as now! After 9 weeks of doing our own cleaning, we were very happy to welcome her back!

Weekending: Sandy and Greg have come in town, so we're all looking forward to plenty of pool time. Being outside in the fresh air is the best way for us to "social distance."

That's about it from here. Hope you have a nice weekend.

What's Happenin'

Thinking: About all I need to accomplish in the next couple months. I promised Aunt Marie that I'd help her do some clean out before she moves. I need to get to St. Louis. Our resolve to travel more is having an impact on our free time!! Mostly in a good way.

Thankful for: Spring! It's upon us. Also, we're getting lots of rain and it's not even April. 

Cooking: So. We tried a new home delivery meal service. Marley and Spoon---it's the Martha Stewart one.  Right away, I was not impressed with the packaging. There were individual brown bags for each meal, meat in another package and then assorted ingredients in yet another. Once you decide to make the meal, you have to figure out the ingredients. Not hard, I know, but still an extra step. Plus, unlike the other two that we've tried, you have to add ingredients. Now I don't know about you, but I don't keep apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or sea salt. So, Butch had to go to the store for those---$6.00. You have to figure that in to the cost of the food. And now I have these things that I don't use. The recipes  took about the same time to cook as Hello Fresh. There were a couple things that I thought were ridiculous to do. Two of the meals required grated parmesan, so they sent two tiny squares that I was to grate myself. WTF? I just used the parmesan that I always have on hand. To grate those tiny squares would have ruined my nails and/or bloodied my knuckles. The first meal was a steak with parmesan roasted potatoes. The instructions said to put the grated cheese on an olive oiled baking sheet and the potatoes on top. I knew what was going to happen. That cheese browned and stuck to that pan. They didn't even taste that good. The steak was a sirloin, but we are filet people. Filets just melt in your mouth. The sirloin was too chewy for my taste. The chicken schnitzel with braised cabbage was really good and so was the French Dip burger---but what a mess on the stove--grease splatted everywhere. We NEVER fry things. I'm not sure the cleanup was worth it. Anyway, the bottom line, we'll stick with Hello Fresh---and not very often. We've about had it with roasted vegetables. After awhile, they all taste the same!

Wearing: Workout clothes. Don't be fooled. I was just on the treadmill. Trying to get back at it.

Hoping: To finish some travel planning. Everyone knows, we are planners---to the nth degree. That requires a lot of time. A lot.

Taking: Some bridge classes with Connie. We're both learning a lot and getting a lot mixed up! It's a very complicated game. I've always said I'm an average bridge player. I might have to downgrade that.

Planning: Finished planning our mother/daughter trip to Newport. Lots of fun surprises in store for the girls. Starting on our family vacation at the Stillwater Resort near Branson. We are not sit around people, so you can expect our week will be jam packed with activities.

Working: I'm ashamed to admit, I'm not. This is the second year in a row where I vowed to clean out all the closets and haven't started yet! I didn't even finish my closet yet. I thought we might do one room at a time on our Butch and Barb days, but that hasn't happened either.

Reading: Becoming Mrs. Lewis for our book club. It KILLS me that I had to buy the book as the wait was too long for the library. I've gotten spoiled with ebooks from the library AND I'm saving a ton of money! Last year alone I saved $663. Since I'm living off of my social security, this is significant! As for book club, we need to pick older books that are easier to get!

Loving: Morgan's new life. We went down to her new apartment this afternoon to help her hang a few things. She lives near downtown in an area called Germantown. She asked for macrame plant hangers for Christmas. At first, I was just going to buy the supplies and help her make them since I made so many in the 70's. But then, I saw that you could get a set of 3 for less than 20 bucks and decided it wasn't worth the effort. Butch put up the hooks and we shopped across the street from her new apartment (not only new to her, but a new complex) at the Farmer's Market. Wow! People always talked about buying plants at the farmer's market. Well, I don't think they are cheaper. I was very surprised at the cost of houseplants. Admittedly, I haven't bought any in years. We bought Morgan 3 as a housewarming gift Then we went back to the apartment to get them in the hangers. Now I remembered what a hassle that was. By the time you wrestle the plants in to the hangers, they are pretty mangled. We convinced Morgan to forget about putting the wandering jew in one. It was just too thick and hard. Instead, we put it on her entry table. Everything looks great. She got her first paycheck from her "real" job! She's on her way!

Watching: I'm pretty bored with just about everything. Stephanie suggested a Netflix program called Snapped. At first it seemed pretty good. I like all those Dateline shows. But I grew tired of Snapped pretty quick. It's ALWAYS the spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend. Oh wait, that's true of Dateline too. I've watched a couple movies but nothing all that great. I've re-watched The Greatest Showman for about the 12th time. Still love it and never get tired of it.

Creating: I'm moving along on the Easter train that I'm stitching. That's why I want something interesting to watch. I set a goal to do each one in a month. I'm on track to finish in time for my next new project---that workshop in May on this (I know you've seen it before, but I just can't get enough of it! If you are local and want to join me, please do!):

Bumming: That we have to get a new dishwasher. I swear if someone had asked me how old it was, I would have said about 7 years. When the estimate to repair it came in at over $500, I figured I better see how old it really is. I pulled out the file---we bought it in 2004. It's 15 years old! OMGosh, I couldn't believe it. And then I couldn't believe it actually lasted this long. I guess we're lucky. Still, not looking forward to the hassle. Butch is going to do the research. White will cost us. It always does!

Hearing: The news. Funny, I started this post in the early morning--listening to the news and here it is now late afternoon and I'm listening to the news again. Here's something interesting that they just reported:

Nashville is still the "it" city. It's growing 3 times faster than other places in the US. There are currently 379 hotels with approximately 40,000 rooms in the area with 115 more hotels in the building/planning stage. In 2018, there were 6 months where over a million rooms were sold. Lots of people/friends don't like to hear it, but I do. This is a fun, happenin' place! You just never know what/who you might see. Pink did a concert on Sunday night downtown. I love her and wanted to go, but didn't because, well, I'm old and it was Sunday night and then there's the parking situation. For the lucky ones downtown, she made a surprise appearance at Tootsie's across the street from the arena and put on another little mini concert. Gotta' love that!

Appreciating: Butch---every time it comes to reading things like contracts. I can't even. And numbers are not my thing. Luckily for us, he understands all that crap!

Regretting dreading: Those darn taxes! Oh wait, after my experience last year, I don't have to do that anymore! Click on taxes if you want refresh your memory on that story.

Weekending: No real plans yet. I do need to get up in my scrapbook room because, I think I have a problem. I sort of tore things apart trying to use my Circut (electronic die cutter). I think it's been "fried." Now I have to see if my sewing machine is toast too. I hope not. I won't be replacing either one. I'm just not scrapbooking enough to make it worth it. Sad but true. 

Wassup?

Thinking:  About how happy I am that the weather is getting warmer and warmer. Fishing, here I come!

Thankful for:  This little gizmo:

It allows me to plug a thumb drive in to my computer to transfer pictures. Still trying to get the iCloud thing figured out. I spent an hour on the phone with tech support trying to learn how I can save pictures permanently on my computer. If I delete them from there or from my phone, they are gone forever! I don't want the photos on my phone, but can't delete them. I'll be running out of space soon, I'm sure, if I don't get this figured out.

Cooking: I thought I was going to have a recipe to share, but have decided to hold off. I made a really old recipe from my grandma Z. last night for the guys' poker night (they've been playing once a month for nearly 30 years now---we girls go out to dinner). Anyway, it was a disaster. The casserole didn't cook---vegetables were raw. The guys had to resort to pizza. I'm going to try cooking the casserole today, but it may be too late to salvage it. Butch said the dessert was good. That was a new recipe. I have't had it yet. If I really like it, I'll be sure to share that recipe.

Wearing: Time to get out the capris. Unfortunately, my legs are so white---kind of hard to get used to.

Hoping: To get my closet cleaned out. Who am I kidding. That's not going to happen. I might as well just wait until next January! 

Taking: A new stitching class that was supposed to start in April. I'll be teaching it to Stephanie and Mindy. We all have done the pre-work and were ready to begin. Now I find out that it won't start until the end of the month. In the mean time, I didn't have anything to stitch, so I'm finishing up some Easter eggs for Mindy. I finished the pig this week:

The dimensions are 5"x4"---really fun to stitch. Just as much fun as the first time I made them!

Planning: More layouts for our Christmas album. These colors are up next:

I really like using non-traditional colors for Christmas---like this recent pillow I made:

Working: I'm not planning on working at all today! Just fun---scrapbooking and stitching. Of course I'll throw a little reading in too.

Reading: The Lake House by Kate Morton. I had this book on my sample list---plus a friend from bridge told me I needed to read it. I have read everything she's written: The Secret Keeper, The Winter Garden, The House at Riverton and The Distant Hours. Kate Morton writes intriguing mysteries from a bygone era.

Loving: Our Sonos sound system. I put on a playlist called "Generational Party Mix" from Spotify at happy hour. We got a good mix of songs from "Ooom Bop" to "Shout"! 

Watching:  Catching up on my favorite shows. I like to let them "pile up" so I can binge watch several. Today, I'm going to catch up on Scandal  and Bates Motel.

Bumming:  That this happened Thursday morning:

How is it that people think it's okay to block traffic lanes? Drivers around here tend to only thing of themselves. Okay, at least I was distracted by the cool old car. Too bad they haven't gotten a new paint job to bring it back to it's former glory. 

Another thing concerning driving---last week, someone blocked me in again!! This time I was with a really skinny friend. She couldn't get in to back it out either. There was a humongous truck blocking me. We took her car to lunch and came back an hour later. The truck was still there. Nancy ended up having to climb in on the passenger's side and climb over the console to back it out for me. I can't do that. Or at least I think I can't. I have done it before, but it was really hard. Unfortunately, I'll be keeping this car a while longer.

Hearing:  News about the Vanderbilt rape trial. I do not know if this is a national story. It's really sad---so many lives ruined. At a minimum, one of the guys will get 15 years without possibility of parole. He can get up to 61 years without possibility of parole. I've always tried to remind the grands that you really need to think about what you do. One wrong move and it becomes the defining moment of your life. No matter the outcome, that will be what people know about your forever.

Appreciating:  That we can afford to let our grandchildren experience everything that college offers. Specifically, Jordan is going to Japan in May to take a class. She has loved Anime and Pokemon for as long as I can remember. Even though she's 21, she still asks for Pokemon cards for Christmas. I hope this trip is everything she wants it to be. Japan is not on my bucket list.

Regretting:  That I cannot find Hydrox cookies around here. I read an article that they were coming back. I emailed my cousins in St. Louis---I used to have them at their house every time I spent the night. Within one day, Chrissy texted me that she found them at her regular grocery store!!! If you've never had a Hydrox cookie, it's like an Oreo---only better. 

That's it from around here. Wassup with you?

What's Happenin'

Outside my window: Spring has sprung just like that! We left for Colorado on Friday and when we got home on Tuesday, the trees were in bloom!

I am thinking: I really need to get myself motivated and back on the treadmill. I'm just really enjoying my morning routine---tea and computer in front of the fireplace. Nice and quiet. And relaxing. I can't think of a better way to catch up on my favorite blogs. Maybe next week... or after our trip to Spain...or after the "farm crop" or after Easter...yeah, then.

I am thankful for: My iPhone camera. I can snap a photo anytime I want. Like this one:

I found this pashmina in Mindy's room. I didn't know which of the girls might have left it behind, so I snapped a picture and sent it to them. Of course, it turned out to be Mindy's. I should have guessed---she leaves everything behind. It's pretty cute. I should have just kept it!

From the kitchen: I haven't made anything new recently. We've been having lots of salads. However, Mindy sent this picture of a healthy brownie recipe that she made recently:

No flour, sugar or oil. I like that she used the cake cutter that I bought all the girls from the Magnolia Bakery when we were in New York a couple years ago. Sandy and Stephanie have not mentioned making any new recipes lately. 

I am wearing: Still in my jammies.

I am NOT surprised: That most of the mail we got while away was pretty much all junk.

 A lot of catalogs and advertisements. This is 4 days worth.

What was left was bills. Nothing fun at all. I don't know why I'm always excited about the mail. There's never anything good in it!

I am reading: Circling the Sun for book club. I'm enjoying it so far. Our required book---The Magician's Lie---is FABULOUS! Totally worth the read. 

I'm watching: Since we were out-of-town, I'm catching up on my favorite shows. How to Get Away with Murder is at the top of the list. And what about that Bachelor? I think he's gotten himself up the proverbial creek. Telling two women that he loves them---if one of them were me, I would totally believe him and never suspect he would have told another. There is going to be a major blindside ahead. 

I am busy creating: I have a lot of things on my list to work on this weekend. I picked up these "cuties" this week. 

Light bulb Christmas ornaments. They were so quick to stitch and fun too! I think I made at least 8 of them, but 4 are all they gave me so far.

You may recall that right before my surgery in the fall, Connie and I had started a class on a cute little Halloween cat.

It's called a "pudgie" and was one of the most fun projects to work on. 

 There are five individual panels containing all different fibers and stitches. There is beading too, but you can't see that so well in a photo. It's about the size of a cantaloupe.

I have to say that this is one of my favorite things we've done.

I'm bummed: That the Christmas lights limousine tour guy has cheated us out of our money---$162.50. We invited some friends, but the limo broke down before it even got out of the neighborhood. The owner of the company is a liar and a cheat. After several calls from me, I "sicced" Butch on him. He had to trick the guy to get him to call back. The  guy lied to Butch too saying that he sent two checks to us. I guess we're just out the money. We thought about going to small claims court, but that will cost more than the $162.50. I just hate that this cheater is getting away with it.

I am hearing: Way too much about politics! I hate it and we have months more to go. Frankly, I'm scared. I don't like ANY of the candidates. I thought Marco Rubio was my guy until even he sunk so low. It's a quagmire for sure. Maybe someone will surprise us and jump into the ring. Otherwise, I think we'll have an egomaniacal liar as our next president (whichever side wins).

I appreciate: The front porch---even in the dead of winter. I was so hot getting ready for our trip to Colorado that I sat outside waiting for our friends to pick us up. Yes, it was O-dark-thirty when we left. 

I regret dread: OMGosh! I am so dreading getting our tax stuff together. Well, it's already together---I dread filling out the tax planner. Invariably something will be missing that I have to jump through hoops to track down.

How the weekend is shaping up: It's going to be a fun weekend starting with tonight. The "kids" are coming for Happy Hour. Mindy and Justin are finally going to open their wedding presents. It's been well over a month now, but between our travel schedule and their work schedules, there was just never a time to do it. Since they need to store a lot of their gifts here, it just makes sense to open them here. Justin hauled a load over yesterday. After gift opening, we're adding Justin to our "Scrabble" wall in the rec room. We gave him his tiles at Christmas, but told him he couldn't go on the wall until it was official. Afterwards, we're going to Sperry's for dinner. 

On Saturday, Mindy and I are meeting at Stephanies so I can go over our new needlepoint project with them. We're taking a class together. Actually, Connie and I are taking the class. Since the girls work, I'll be teaching them. This is what we're making:

It's a sampler. We've all chosen our own colors. Which reminds me---Sandy, if you'd like to do it, let me know and I'll get you set up. It might be a little trickier---long distance--but we can work it out.

After the stitching lesson, we'll be doing a craft project.

Here's just a hint. Mindy wants to make a housewarming gift for her new sister-in-law. All I can say is it's going to be cute!

Butch is leaving for the beach to take care of some business at the condos. I'll spend Sunday getting some scrapbook classes together that I am planning for our "farm crop" before Easter. We leave next weekend for Barcelona, Spain, so I'm running out of time. We get back a week from Saturday and then I go to the farm on Monday. I'll be ready!

Here's hoping you have a fun and productive weekend yourself!!!