Friday Funnies

In honor of all the dog lovers out there and my recent post about my sisters dogs:

Five Things Thursday

1. How to Get Away With Murder---OMGosh!! The series finale was last Thursday night. It did not disappoint. Crazy plot twists and surprised right up to the very end. The. very. end! If you've never watched it, I would suggest you check it out on Netflix. Each episode leaves you with a little cliff hanger. And, they solve plenty of things along the way. I'm telling you, it's very smart writing! One of my favorite shows ever.

2. A couple recipes---an old family favorite that I haven't made in years.

Vermicelli Salad
1 lb. vermicelli, cooked and cooled
1 lg. bottle Wishbone Italian salad dressing
1 jar McCormick Suddenly Salad seasoning mix
1 cucumber, diced
1 red onion, diced

Mix together and chill overnight.
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This recipe came from the Memory Make Inn where we went on a scrapbook retreat in February:

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And lastly, a new recipe:

 If you like an old fashioned brownie, you'll like this one.

3. I'm very happy with my front porch pots. 

 There's one on either side the door.

 It didn't take long for this to happen. I think it's chipmunks. Last year, they dug up the plants and several died.

Or, it's possible that the HUGE lizard or salamander (I think they are the same) that lives out there did it. Butch thinks it's living in the fern hanging on the wall. But It could be living in the pot. I just hope whatever it is doesn't kill my flowers.

4. Speaking of my wall baskets with Boston ferns, we have another critter living in one of them.

 Some little bird has taken up residency. I had Butch look in.

I asked him to take a photo because it's higher than I can see. Sure enough, there's little tiny eggs. 

I realized that I did not have a picture of the baskets on the wall. You can see one near Butch. The other is on the far side of the porch. They are between the French doors on either side.

5. I've done a little scrapbooking. 

 This is for our round robin. We each swap photos and make a layout. I did this one for Pam. I'm pretty sure she'll like it.

I tucked the journaling inside the card along with another picture. I hadn't done this particular technique in years. Basically, you cut circles--I think I used my 
1 1/2 punch (could have been 1 1/4--either would work). Then you just fold up the sides to form a square. 

That does if for this week!

What I Buy Wednesday

I didn't buy much this week. 

I couldn't resist this little beauty:

It's a pink polka dot plant I picked up at the grocery story for $2.99! I just couldn't pass it up! The poinsettia is still going strong since last November. 

We also went to Grassland Aquatics to pick up a few water plants.

It's a small pond, so we can't have much. We do have a couple things that come back every year like the tall one--can't remember what it is. It blooms pinkish flowers. There's creeping Jenny on the other side. 

New this year is the four leaf clover. It's supposed to come back, we'll see.

And then there was my Stitch Fix box. This falls under "what I didn't buy!" I think this is the first time I didn't buy a single thing. Whoever styled it did not look at my profile. There were styles I didn't like---no sleeveless for me anymore. I've reached that age! There were colors I didn't like either. After each box, they ask if you would like the same stylist, a new stylist or you want them to pick. I usually let them pick. Not this time. I definitely don't want that same one. 

That's about it for what I bought this week.

Update on the make-up clean out challenge I posted last week. 

Sandy was the only one who took me up on it.

I didn't think her "before" was too bad.

 But the "after" looks great!

This is everything she got rid of. Good job Sandy!! Wait, is that turquoise one the Thrive lightener? If so, I'll take it!!

Later...

A Tuesday Test For You

Who remembers "Highlight" magazine? Our dentist had it in his office. We really liked it. But I'd say, our favorite page was the one where you had to find various items in a busy picture. 

Well, that's what I thought of when Jennifer sent me this picture.

Can you find 5 dogs? Yep five!! My sister, Janice is living with her twin, another of my sisters, Jennifer. She's moving back to St. Louis after 20+ years in Texas. Well, technically, she's moving to Jennifer and Parvez's farm in Salem, MO. She's going to put a house on the property near by. Two of those 5 dogs are hers.

There are also 2 cats roaming around. The twins each have one.

Meet Daisy. She's in quarantine. Not sure if they are keeping her away from the chickens, or the chickens away from her OR if it's really quarantine because of the virus!!

She looks like a chubby little thing!!

All of these dogs make me break out in a cold sweat. I told Jennifer the this was my worse nightmare! I swear, I can smell them from here!!

Monday Mystery

This might be a mystery to you as to what it is.

 It's a sticky mat for beading---for my needlework.

The beads stick to the mat and make it easier to scoop them up on your needle. After a couple weeks, the mat is no longer sticky. Whatever beads are on it will still be stuck, but dust and whatever else is floating in the air, takes the sticky away. If I were to try to sprinkle some beads on the bare spots, they would just roll off. 

Now here's the mysterious part. If you wash the mat with plain water, it becomes sticky again. I don't get it. I don't know what material it's made of that is constantly sticky. I guess by rinsing whatever is stuck on it, the sticky remains---forever. I've had it for probably 10 years already.

It might remain a mystery to me, but I'm just glad it stays sticky. I wouldn't be able to bead without it! Before this came along, I can't tell you how many times I've "spilled the beads" and lost so many. Luckily, beads are one of the cheapest part of stitching.
😜

What We're Doing

We started out on Monday by hiking around Radnor Lake. So beautiful---this could be a picture hanging in my house!

 There was one are where there had to be a hundred turtles. They were lined up on logs as far as the eye can see.

 What a gorgeous photo---the contrast of the trees and that bright blue sky! I'm quite the photographer! Actually, since we were out "in the country," I couldn't listen to music or a podcast. So I decided to really pay attention to my surroundings.

 After our 3 miles at Radnor, we headed south to do some geo-caching. We went  to Thompson Station where we saw this little bird. I haven't looked it up yet, but it was new to us.

 We stopped at this park and remembered that we had been here about 10 years ago when we first started out geo-caching. In this sandbox, there is a cache hidden under one of these Tonka trucks. I really wanted to look for it again, but there was a lady and little kid there, so we didn't.

Butch went off in to the woods to find the cache while I enjoyed my book in the sun. Then I noticed this and walked over.

I've never seen anything like it. It's some sort of outside exercise facility. There's just all this wooden things and bars. Each one has a sign of all the different ways you can work out.

This week, we've started to venture out a bit. I met Connie at Nashville Needleworks to stitch. We social distanced. Afterwards, we went to Five Guys for a burger and sat outside. We had the whole patio to ourselves.

On Thursday I did this:

I desperately needed a pedicure. I made an appointment. They had plenty of space. Plus, there was a plexiglass partition between me and the technician. It wasn't the greatest pedicure, but it will do until my favorite place reopens.

Sandy and Greg came in for the weekend. We went to Stephanie and Nicky's  on Friday night and sat around the fire pit. So fun! The rest of the weekend was pool time. Nothing like being outdoors to feel like we have plenty of space to spread out---even in the pool.

We're heading to the beach for a couple days to check on things down there. 
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.