A Few Things

Just a bunch of random photos.

 This little cutie---Travis---on his first day of school.

 Oops! I think in his excitement he forgot something!

 Mindy and Justin visiting family in Maine.

When Justin arrived, his mom had this surprise for him. He had not one---but two Cabbage Patch dolls when he was little!

So, I have this Magic 8 ball on my computer. I was going out for the day and decided to ask if I would have a fall. The answer was "try again later." I asked again and got "try again later." Then, I thought, "what the heck are you thinking? Quit being so negative!" So, I didn't try again later. Nor did  have a fall.

I picked up Mindy's needlepoint eggs that I finished for her. They are gorgeous. The finisher does beautiful work.

There is a 4th one that Mindy had already done a couple years ago. It's an adorable bunny. Stephanie is making these too. The needlework part is about 6" tall. Connie and I made them several years ago. It takes about 2 weeks to stitch one if you work 3 hours or so every night.

I stitched these Halloween "sitters" the last time I was laid up. Now I'm finally getting to use them. Oh wait, I didn't make them for me. Hmmm, I wonder who is getting them?

 They look cute sitting on a window.

While I was sitting around doing "nothin'," I put Mindy's wedding pictures in her album. All I had to do was add her little veil to the cover. I used glue dots on the metal barrette part, so she can take it off if she wants.

I made quite a haul to the post office. Some people are getting mail!

As I write the post, I am in Little Rock. We are on our way to meet up with Butch's brother, Walter and his wife, Chris. We're visiting their aunt and uncle. We'll travel around visiting their childhood home and also some historic sights along Route 66. Butch has spent hours and hours researching all of the things we need to do and the restaurants we need to visit. He did the same thing for our river cruise that had to be cancelled. I felt so bad about that. All his hard work---at least Bruce and Karolyn benefited from it. He puts everything in to a binder.

 He's very organized and thorough. Gotta' love that! This is the daily itinerary. He even has a column for the approximate amount of time each thing should take.

And for a man who doesn't care about food---well, he's made all the reservations too!

When we are traveling, he really tries to find things he knows I love---especially tea rooms! He works hard on the planning and it really pays off for the rest of us. We just go along and are sure to have a great time, see the best sights and have amazing food!

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A Lot Changes in 6 Weeks

The first time I went out last year after surgery, I was surprised to see an entire little shopping center had gone up. There were all kinds of restaurants and shops. I guess I just never noticed it was in the works. By the time I did, it was fully up and running. 

Here are a few new things that have happened this time.

One Saturday, Stephanie was coming over to stitch. She told me that she would get lunch. I had my heart set on a burger, but hadn't mentioned it because I thought she was going to go out at lunch time to pick up something. Instead, she stopped on the way. When she arrived, she said, "I brought us sushi for lunch!" My heart kind of sank. I had never had sushi before. It just doesn't seem like anything I would like---and especially not raw fish! I don't like raw meat, so raw fish is a "no." The rest of the family loves sushi, so a while back, I told the girls that I was going to be open to it. I just figured we'd go out some time after happy hour some Friday. Well, instead, sushi came to me. I put a happy face on it--I mean after all, she brought me lunch! 

She served it up with some edamame. Now I have had edamame before---and don't really get it. It's sort of tasteless. But as it turned out, it was just a little something to have with the sushi. I liked it just fine. As for the sushi, I LOVED it! In fact, I've become a little obsessed. I've had it two other times since Steph brought it. One thing I've learned, is that you if it does contain fish, you have to eat it right away. I went on Saturday and talked to the "sushi maker" at the grocery store. I found that I could order exactly what I wanted. Depending on the thickness of the slices, 4 or 5 pieces is all you need. We're going to Charlotte for Thanksgiving, so Sandy is going to take us to her favorite sushi place. That might be my first time having it at a restaurant. Looking forward to it.

The next thing:

When I walked in to the grocery store on Saturday, this greeted me---a wine display! I had forgotten that the law finally passed to allow the grocery stores to sell alcohol. This will certainly make it more convenient. As for the prices---I don't know about that. Butch handles alcohol purchases around here. He'll be "on" it for sure!

This was the biggest surprise of all. When I "went down" there was just a hole in the ground. This is the house that's going up right behind us. I have heard all the activity, but had no idea that the whole house is up now! I'm still a little worried that they are going to cut down the little patch of woods that separates us. There were surveyors there last week---which means they are checking out the property lines. We'll see what happens. I won't be happy if the woods go. It is home to so much wildlife--not to mention the privacy factor.

And then some things never change:

The last I heard, Ben and Jennifer Garner were "back together!" I guess Ben just has a "thing" for Jennifers!

This is nothing new at all. The scandal sheets have been reporting on their divorce for months now. I haven't heard anything official, but I always say---with these "rags"---"where there's smoke, there's fire!"****

***OMGosh! Just after I posted this, they have announced on the news that Brangelina are definitely splitting. And it's going to be ugly!

Okay, so not much has changed in my regular life. I'm back at it full force! Had my first "Movie Monday" in weeks. We saw The Light Between Oceans. Although we thought the movie was a little slow, it was excellent. It was just as gut-wrenching as the book. It was so good---and poses so many ethical questions. It's hard to figure out the "right side." One decision affects so many people. Except for one incident, the movie followed the book pretty well. 

Tuesday, I went to stitching with Connie and Nancy. While I've been away, Nashville Needleworks has expanded in to the 3rd storefront. I just hope they haven't gone too far! They have a lot of business, but rent on 3 stores--must be astronomical. I've seen it happen in the scrapbook industry---once they expand their space, they end up going out of business. The NN shop owner is a smart business woman, so I'm sure she knows what she's doing. She's also a great teacher and have people come in from all over the country to take her classes and workshops. 

I realize that change happens all the time. It's just that when you are out-of-the-loop for a bit, it seems more sudden!

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Hello Fresh Update

Well, we've done Hello Fresh for 3 weeks now and LOVE it! The food is fresh, organic, healthy and delicious. We've been exposed to things we've never had before. They use fresh herbs that I haven't always been familiar with. I've learned a lot about types of peppers---usually, unless they are bell peppers, I think "hot"--which is not the case. The dishes are unusual--you definitely have to be open to them.

You have a date by which you need to choose your 3 meals. If you don't, they just send 3 of their choice. The box arrives on Tuesday. It's so much fun to open it. I love everything about it---the box itself is awesome, very sturdy and a keeper. Butch says we can't keep all the boxes, but I plan to use them right away---to clean out this house! The box has cushioning at the bottom in the way of foam, so it would be great to store fragile things. Then, there are these ice packs---some are really big. I am already running out of room in the freezer to store them, but I cannot bear to throw them away. 

The cans and jars that come for each recipe are little miniatures. They are so cute!

Each meal last week called for a red onion. I only needed half for each recipe, so I have that leftover. There are always leftover fresh herbs too.The meals are supposed to be for two people, but there is definitely enough for three. This particular recipe was for Carmelized Pineapple Burgers. That's not anything I would ever order in a restaurant--pineapple and meat---uh, no. They were so good! 

The side dish for the burgers was a Monterey Jack Cheese and Red Cabbage Slaw. The slaw called for using all three of the carrots you see above. I felt like that was way too much. I only used one.

All of the dressings and sauces are homemade and fresh. This is the slaw mixed with just the one carrot. I thought it was just fine. Butch thought it could have used more carrot.

The recipe booklet  is high quality with clear instructions. I'm sorry that Butch threw away the first one as they are totally re-usable.

The amount of time it takes to make each recipe is definitely "off." Start to finish---preparation to eating---is about an hour. There is a lot of chopping involved. And you dirty up a lot of dishes. But by the time the food is ready, I've had time to do all the clean up. It is totally worth it!

This was another of our meals for the week. Once completed, the dishes look exactly like the pictures.

This recipe was a total surprise! It was our favorite meal so far. Butch and I talked about how we would never have ordered something on a restaurant menu called: "Roasted Pork with Balsamic Fig Sauce." It was so good that I purchased some fig jam to make it again. Seriously, this is "company worthy" and so easy! Look at how much pork they consider to be one serving---and all the recipes are calorie conscious---not necessarily 300, but below 6.

There is one downside---well, not really, it's just my problem. Just about every recipe calls for olive oil--a drizzle here and a drizzle there. What exactly is a drizzle?

I certainly cannot get a drizzle out of this bottle. The opening is way too huge. So, Butch figured out how to solve that problem.

He bought this dispenser at Walmart for 96 cents. It works perfect. Just the right drizzle every time!

In our last box, they sent us 3 coupons to extend to our friends for a FREE box. I don't know if you have to buy another to get the free one, but I'm happy to offer up the coupons. If you want one, let me know. There is a redemption code on it, so you don't actually have to physically send the coupon.

You can suspend your membership at any time. I told Butch that we'd probably average two weeks a month with our travel and social schedules. We're going on vacation next week, so we've suspended our delivery for two weeks (when we get back, I turn around and leave again for my "sister's crop."). The only bad thing about that is I wonder what great food I'm missing! Cost $69.00 total for 3 meals.

And now, I'm sharing one of the recipes. It's for Corn Salad. Don't let the name fool you. It's a warm salad and so, so good--again, combining ingredients I would never have thought went together.

Corn Salad

1 can corn, drained

1/4 cup red onion

drizzle of olive oil

1/2 tsp chili powder (can add more if desired)

2 T. sour cream

squeeze of lime

salt and pepper

Drizzle olive oil in skillet. Saute’ onion until soft. Add corn and turn to medium high to brown corn. Add chili powder, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in lime and sour cream. Serve warm.

How the Weekend Went

After starting off too quickly on Thursday, I paced myself for the rest of the weekend. Friday was a fine day---nails, hair, dinner. 

Saturday, gas crisis, grocery store, stitching with a movie, a little Halloween decorating AND---this is BIG---I got my paper plate and napkin obsession under control:

Whew, this was a relief! Over the course of my "confinement" things were a mess. Regular and Christmas in the back. Fall and Halloween in front. Now lest you think I'm crazy, I get this stuff when it's half price or more after the holidays. I didn't realize I had so much Halloween since I had that packed away with the decorations. 

Anyway, by Saturday night, I had overdone it again, but just a little--nothing like Thursday. 

It was probably the grocery shopping. I wore the lace-up ankle brace when I went out. It felt good--extra support. I'm going to wear it when I go out for awhile.

On Sunday, I worked in my scrapbook room. I still have quite a bit to do up there---my AYM layout, round robin layout, get photos together to hand off to Pam for my round robin page, send the info for the Christmas page and put the October kits together. We leave Friday for Oklahoma for a week. When we get back our AYM meeting will be right away on Monday. I'll only have one day when I get home to finish whatever doesn't get done this week.

While I was upstairs, I got out the rest of the Halloween decorations. Butch hauled it all down. I spent about an hour finishing the decorating. I don't know why I'm bothering. There's really no one around to appreciate it anymore. I just have a lot of cool stuff! I am having a Halloween "appreciation" luncheon for my friends to thank them for being so good to me while I was laid up. I took a lot of pictures and will share them later. I figure, if I'm going to all this trouble, I want to enjoy it for more than two weeks! In the meantime, here's a really quick, easy and fun decorating idea:

Pick up some old books in Halloween colors with creepy titles; stack them; tie with Halloween ribbons. Puke green and purple would be good too. I love using books in my decorating---although they do remind me of the beautiful library that I have full of books that I don't read anymore. That's just sad. "Oh, the times they are a changin'!" (quote directly from Bob--Blowin' in the Wind).

After the decorating, I cooked dinner. I figure I was up on my feet for 2 full hours. Side note: After dinner I watched The Emmy's. I don't know what's going on. I felt like I never heard of more than half of the shows that were nominated. I probably was only familiar with 20%! I only know the major networks and we don't have premium channels. 

Anyway nothing I did on Sunday seemed to bother me. Soooo, I've gotten back on the treadmill this morning---just for 10 minutes. Enough time to read my excerpt from A Little Daily Wisdom by St. Teresa of Avila. This was the final passage for today: "If you stumble, don't give up. God will even work something good out of your fall."

Yep, He has! Come on week---bring it on!! 

Gas Crisis in Nashville

I'm sure the pipeline break in Alabama has made national news. That's where all of us mid-south people get our gas. Although they are working on it, they say we might be in to late this week before we get any gas. Of course, that caused a huge panic as our local news announced that prices had jumped as much as 30 cents a gallon overnight. We were watching the news about 6:15 a.m. when Butch commented that I should fill  my tank as he had already filled the Aspen SUV. I told him that I would do it when I went to the grocery store later in the morning, but that I would not be driving all over town (like he prefers) to get the cheapest gas. I go wherever my route takes me. Granted, Brentwood is probably some of the most expensive gas in town---and I don't usually get it here, but that's where I would be today.

Butch decided to take off on my behalf and get gas. He went to Bellevue where he usually goes. My thinking is that even if it's 10 cents a gallon more, that's roughly 2 bucks! You probably burn a buck going out of your way and then I consider that extra 15-30 minutes of my time is worth a buck. I will admit, I must be the only one who thinks this way as just about ALL of my friends are always driving around for the best price.

Anyway, when Butch got back--around 7:30, he said that one place he'd gone was already out of gas. When he went to the next place, he ended up having to get premium at $2.49 a gallon. He asked me to take his car and top it off and pay any price! I decided to go on and head out then. There are 6 gas stations in Brentwood. The first 3 were already out of gas. Then I came upon the long lines at the Shell station---a place I never go. 

I got in the line and immediately panicked. I realized that Butch's gas tank is on the opposite side of my car. I needed to be on the other side of the station. As I inched my way up and got a little closer, I could see that there was one lane I could get in that would be the right one for me. I waited about a half hour and prayed that they wouldn't run out. When I pulled up to the pump, a guy immediately came to my window and told me that the premium and mid-grade were already gone---only the low level was left. I was happy at how lucky I was as we use the lowest grade. I was about ready to get out of the car when he asked for my credit card. Then I realized he was going to pump it for me! I figured that's how they were trying to keep the traffic moving. I turned around to look at the price on the pump and saw that I was in the "full service" line---which I didn't even know existed anymore! Well, except when we were in Oregon last year---where you cannot pump your own---you have to let the attendant do it for you. Hey, I like that! 

When I finished, this is what I encountered trying to get out. the guy in the gray car was blocking the exit---and wasn't in any line for gas. There was a parking spot in front of me, so I asked him if he could park, let me out and then get back in line. He just looked at me and then proceeded to ignore me. Now I'm not the only one he's blocking as there's another line to my right. Finally, one of the attendants came over and asked him to do exactly what I'd asked. People can be so rude--only thinking of themselves! 

Anyway, I got out of the station and glanced down at the dashboard and about died. I thought I didn't get the gas at all. That's when I figured out that the one on the left wasn't his gas gauge. Mine is on the left. I breathed a sigh of relief. 

At the intersection, I looked at the receipt. I paid $2.99 a gallon for the lowest grade! Wow, talk about gouging! There it is---supply and demand! Luckily, Butch only needed 10 gallons.

I got to the grocery store and picked up what I needed. It was kind of creepy.

There wasn't a soul in there. Every aisle was completely empty--just a few workers. And it was 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning---a time you would ordinarily never catch me there. I was thinking, "where is everybody? I hope Publix is not going out of business!" Then it hit me, everybody else was out hunting GAS!! A gas shortage is unlike the threat of snow---when there's a run on the grocery stores and now you're hunting bread, milk and eggs. Still it was really nice to be in and out so quickly.

The plan was for Stephanie and Nicky to come over.  We were going to get in the pool. The rain changed that. Steph texted me that they were going to come anyway. Butch and Nicky watched football while Steph and I stitched with an old movie. 

Bellevue was completely sold out of gas, so Stephanie and Nicky couldn't get any. Stephanie has a long commute for work--nearly an hour--and not the most economical car. She said she had about a half of a tank. Then I started feeling guilty. Here we were sitting on 3 full tanks---mine for our trip to Oklahoma at the end of week and Butch's for a trip to Atlanta earlier. Soooooo....

I loaned her my Solstice! The girls have been begging me for years to let them drive it--especially Stephanie. I've always refused because I'm keeping it as an investment. It's the cutest little car. It's 10 years old now with only 6,000 miles on it. I'm going to sell it for $20,000 when I decide the time is right. Considering the purchase price was only about $15,000 when we bought it, Butch says there's no way. My cousin, Chris, who also had a car like this also scoffs at me. But, just you wait! Heck, I sold---or I should have say, "traded" a '63 Chevy Impala for a $7,000 furnace!! Butch had decided to sell it for $5,000 but hadn't really listed it yet. When the furnace guy was talking about how cool the Chevy was, I said, "hey, you want to trade for the new furnace?" He jumped on it and was really excited. When Butch got home from work that day, he was surprised (and happy) I'd made that deal!

And now you are probably wondering---"how the heck many cars do we have?" We have 6 cars--3 we use all the time. Butch loves cars. One is a '59 Corvette and another '93 Corvette. He says he's going to sell a couple. I don't really care whether he does or not. I always said I'd rather encourage his love for old cars than find out he was in to younger women!!

**Gas update: As I was typing this post, the news has reported that there was some gas delivered overnight to a few stations around town. That means there will be another run today. Luckily, we're covered!

That's How I Roll

So, you might be wondering how my first day of freedom went. Well, let me tell you. After getting the green light from my doctor to resume normal activity while at the same time "letting my body be my guide", here's how that went. Okay, "letting your body be your guide" sounds great in theory. I can do that--or so I thought. The problem---your body doesn't guide you until AFTER you've over-done it!!

Here's how Thursday went. I woke up at 4 a.m. and hit the ground running. I got on the treadmill---only 10 minutes--as I'm pacing myself and trying to ease back in to it. Still, I walked 10 minutes---slow--2 MPH, but still solid walking after having been completely sedentary for 7 weeks. After that, I did some stuff on my computer, spent about an hour putting the house back to "my" order, unloaded the dishwasher, bagged up the boots to put in the attic, ran a load of laundry and moved things back to my bedroom/bathroom from my lengthy stay in the family room. I made the bed, showered and got ready for the day. I was out the door by 8:15 for my nail appointment (yes--I needed that), ran through the bank and off to bridge. I sat at the bridge table all day.

Wouldn't you know it, we had a tournament with computerized hands. We have a new director who I had introduced myself to for the first time right before my fall. I don't know if he's planning to have the computerized hands every week or not. The cards bother me---they're just way to busy for my brain! And to top it off, I have no idea where we came in. I never wait around to find out because the director usually emails the results. Didn't get that this time. We have 12 tables, so there's really no way of knowing how we did. I'll find out next week.

When I got home, Nancy A. stopped by to pick up her computer (side note: I downloaded 125 fonts for her. Although I did it in one evening she didn't come for her computer for a week! I would seriously have to have been carted off to the loony bin! I can't live without my computer---sad, I know--but at least I'm honest). Anyway, after a brief visit, I had a little rest. Steph came over after work. She and I went to an open house that my friend, Mary's travel company was putting on. I probably stood there socializing for about a half hour before getting a seat.

I got home about 7 p.m., put on my jammies and parked in front of the tv. Around 9, I noticed that my hives were starting to act up---remember---they are pressure related. My feet were starting to become one giant hive---probably because I had shoes on for the first time in nearly 2 months and then put so much weight on them all day.  I had a big hive encompassing the palm and ring finger of my left hand--which started because I had worn my wedding ring all day for the first time in ages. Anyway, when I stood up, my legs actually were weak and quivery. THAT'S THE MOMENT I REALIZED I MAY HAVE OVER-DONE MY FIRST DAY. Too late now. I went to bed.

When I got up yesterday---Oh. My. Gosh!! I was so sore---you know like after you first go to the gym and work muscles that haven't seen the light of day in years? My calves very nearly knotted up. I never realized that my calves are involved in every activity you do including just plain walking.

So, yesterday, I really slowed down. No treadmill. I'll give that another day or two and start with 10 minutes again. Anyway, I went upstairs and worked re-organizing my office. Butch had asked me the day before if I'd seen the mess yet. While laid up, I kept saying, "just take this upstairs to my office or scrapbook room."

 There were piles everywhere--including a few more on the floor you cannot see.

I spent a couple hours sorting and filing. Okay, it shouldn't have taken that long, but my sister,  Jeanne called and we talked for about an hour of that time.  Still, it felt so good to be upstairs. I get "out-of-sorts" when I know things are a mess.

Next, I went in to my scrapbook room. When I last left it, I was in the middle of a couple projects--which now were buried with all the new stuff I ordered while laid up. That shopping on the internet is dangerous for me when I have the time. I did get a little Christmas shopping done too.

More piles everywhere. I'll have to post some photos when I have it all straightened up. This is the room that makes me go "ahhhh" when I'm in there. It means that ALL of my work is done, everything is in order and now I can "play."

The lid to this box was just gone. It took me a while to find it. Turns out it was buried under a pile to the right---out of shot of this photo. I barely got started when it was time to head out.

I had a hair appointment (and boy, did I need that) so I took off about 11 stopping for this first:

It was about time! Christine, here, and her sister, Sophie take good care of me. I have a standing 8:30 on Thursdays before bridge with them. I never know who is going to be there. I love them both!

I got home around 4 after a brief visit to Connie's. I wanted to see her new furniture in person---it's really nice.

 Jack's not loving his new recliner, but I do. That creamy leather is to die for.

I didn't get Connie's permission to post these photos, so I hope that whoever has robbed them twice is not reading this!

Stephanie and Nicky came over after work. We went to the club for dinner. We had a nice time and, as usual, the food was great.

So, day 2 was a much better pace. Aside from my hives--which are nearly under control--it was a good day. Today, I'll get my scrapbook room in order, run to the grocery store and spend the afternoon in the pool Oh, and I plan to get my Halloween decorating started. That sounds like just about the right amount of activity.

We leave for a trip to Oklahoma next Friday and I was hoping to build up a little stamina by getting on the tread mill every day, for all the sight-seeing we plan to do. Butch has meticulously researched all of the places we'll be visiting---Central High School in Little Rock--first integration in the 1950's, Will Rogers house, a trip down part of Route 66 and many other stops. He has even made restaurant reservations at the "must go to" spots. I'll just have to do what I can do, but I don't want to miss a thing!

Warp speed---that's how I roll!