Hello Readers United!
Remember me!
Merry Christmas.
Lets go back to normal size!
Donna H.
I sent an email out to everyone today to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I got yours back. Please send me your email address to: donna40m@gmail.com Maybe there is a problem on your provider. Anyway I just want to make sure I can reach you. Thanks.
Amanda, I love the snow pictures. However, glad it isn't me! I do wish we would get some rain we have less than two inches through the end of this year. The weather year starts in July but we don't usually have rain until sometime in October. We are in drought mode which means problems come summer. Hopefully the new year will bring us rain.
Just wanted to let you all know I'm alive. Soon I will come back to try to catch up a bit.
Merry Christmas to all & to all a Good night!
Donna M
READERS UNITED
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
Do I remember November? Lets see, I worked, went to visit two more colleges with Aurora (way closer than that first one in NY - although its still the front runner), and had 5 days off at Thanksgiving (the best part). Its still crazy at work and I have 6 days to get as much done as possible before Christmas shutdown. Vacation can not come soon enough! I have book club this week - we are reading Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. Just found out the movie Christmas with the Kranks was based on this book. Who knew? We are doing bc at The Melting Pot - a nice holiday celebration. I've never been, so will let you know what I think. I am also going to a party on Friday - one of the girls I went to school with is hosting it. Should be fun. Its going to be a busy week!
DonnaH -- Did you read Reconstructing Amelia? What did you think of it? I enjoyed it. Could really feel for the mom in this. Glad the wedding ceremony was nice, despite a bratty child. What were they thinking bringing her? And who makes everyone else suffer like that? I did not regret the "no child" rule at my wedding, esp since it was at night when must young children would normally be going to bed. Wow, 22 people for xmas eve - you are better than me! I don't think I could fit 22 people into my mobile - lol. Sure wouldn't be anywhere to sit. Glad you don't have to do all the cooking, even more so since it looks like this has been a busy month for you.
Trudy -- Happy belated Birthday! How was the show you went to? No doubt, you had a great time. It was nice that your friend was in town to visit. Never a bad day at Epcot, imo. Sorry about the whole health insurance deal. Ours went up in October because of David's work being bought out (I had no notice, thank you very much) and it will be going up again in January - ugh! Also, our dentist doesn't take this insurance, so I will be on the lookout for a new one again. Happy happy joy joy.
If I am not back on here before Christmas, I wish everyone a happy one. Anyone got plans for New Years? I don't - yet. I guess we shall see. I will leave with one more picture . . . this is from today.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas
Wow, Trudy, you've had a busy summer and fall.
I've actually been reading quite a lot, too. I've gotten all my Christmas-themed books together, and am reading "Christmas" like crazy. I'm reading A Bridge to Dreams by Sherryl Woods right now. It's a novella in with 2 other authors. The one I really wanted in this book was Sister of the Bride by Susan Mallery. It's part of her Fool's Gold series. I also have the Fool's Gold Cookbook by Susan Mallery as well. Never thought I'd be "reading" a cookbook. It's got a few pages of the story, then a few pages of recipes, then more story, more recipes. It's actually quite annoying as very few of the recipes are what I would try.
There's one recipe called Easy Pull Apart Elephant Ears which seems to be one I might try. It's mentioned on about page 4, and the recipe is on page 88. Grrr.
Gabapentin causes swollen ankles?!? I'm on gabapentin too, for neuropathy in my feet due to my diabetes. One of my ankles has been swelling a bit the last couple of weeks. It's the ankle I hurt when I fell on the stairs to the soundroom at church back in spring. I'm not due to go back to my Dr. until next Feb. If it gets worse I guess I'll have to see him sooner. When I saw him last month, he was actually on vacation, and I saw his partner. He changed 2 of my meds, and totally messed up the gabapentin one, to the point that I had to go back to the dr's office and get a new one written up. But the two changed ones have brought my bg down almost to the point where it should be. It's in the high 7's to low 9's now, instead of over 11 like it was before. It really should be below 7, but I'm thinking that's just a pipe dream that I'll likely never achieve. (Our 7 is the same as your 100)
The arthritis in my left hand (I'm left-handed) is getting to the point where I can't even roll out the dough for my special Christmas cookies. My daughter and her friend came over last week and mixed up a batch for me. I put it in the fridge to cool, and yesterday my daughter came back and between her and Hardy, we got half the batch baked. I've got 4 gallon ice cream containers full now. Tomorrow she's coming back to help me bake the other half, and then we'll also mix a batch for her. Hardy was rolling the dough out, and he pressed so hard that he broke my rolling pin. {:-D So Joy had to rush home and get hers. My job was to take the pans out of the oven and take the cookies off the pans. Hardy and Joy did all the rest.
I just sat down and added up all the people who will be here for Christmas Eve. 22. We do pot-luck, so I don't actually have to do all the cooking, but I do still have lots to do. We've already gone to 6 special Christmas parties and one school concert. 2 more school concerts and I think we're done.
We're having a candlelight Christmas Eve program, and they want my candle sticks. I've got 24 x 5 foot tall candlesticks that I made. They stand on the floor and have a sort of handle thing that fits over the ends of the benches to hold them steady. Drape some greenery on them, or a pretty red bow, and they look quite elegant if I do say so myself.
Oh my! Have I ever been chattering on. Many apologies!
I hope every had a very good Thanksgiving.
Merry Christmas! to everyone. {:-)
I've actually been reading quite a lot, too. I've gotten all my Christmas-themed books together, and am reading "Christmas" like crazy. I'm reading A Bridge to Dreams by Sherryl Woods right now. It's a novella in with 2 other authors. The one I really wanted in this book was Sister of the Bride by Susan Mallery. It's part of her Fool's Gold series. I also have the Fool's Gold Cookbook by Susan Mallery as well. Never thought I'd be "reading" a cookbook. It's got a few pages of the story, then a few pages of recipes, then more story, more recipes. It's actually quite annoying as very few of the recipes are what I would try.
There's one recipe called Easy Pull Apart Elephant Ears which seems to be one I might try. It's mentioned on about page 4, and the recipe is on page 88. Grrr.
Gabapentin causes swollen ankles?!? I'm on gabapentin too, for neuropathy in my feet due to my diabetes. One of my ankles has been swelling a bit the last couple of weeks. It's the ankle I hurt when I fell on the stairs to the soundroom at church back in spring. I'm not due to go back to my Dr. until next Feb. If it gets worse I guess I'll have to see him sooner. When I saw him last month, he was actually on vacation, and I saw his partner. He changed 2 of my meds, and totally messed up the gabapentin one, to the point that I had to go back to the dr's office and get a new one written up. But the two changed ones have brought my bg down almost to the point where it should be. It's in the high 7's to low 9's now, instead of over 11 like it was before. It really should be below 7, but I'm thinking that's just a pipe dream that I'll likely never achieve. (Our 7 is the same as your 100)
The arthritis in my left hand (I'm left-handed) is getting to the point where I can't even roll out the dough for my special Christmas cookies. My daughter and her friend came over last week and mixed up a batch for me. I put it in the fridge to cool, and yesterday my daughter came back and between her and Hardy, we got half the batch baked. I've got 4 gallon ice cream containers full now. Tomorrow she's coming back to help me bake the other half, and then we'll also mix a batch for her. Hardy was rolling the dough out, and he pressed so hard that he broke my rolling pin. {:-D So Joy had to rush home and get hers. My job was to take the pans out of the oven and take the cookies off the pans. Hardy and Joy did all the rest.
I just sat down and added up all the people who will be here for Christmas Eve. 22. We do pot-luck, so I don't actually have to do all the cooking, but I do still have lots to do. We've already gone to 6 special Christmas parties and one school concert. 2 more school concerts and I think we're done.
We're having a candlelight Christmas Eve program, and they want my candle sticks. I've got 24 x 5 foot tall candlesticks that I made. They stand on the floor and have a sort of handle thing that fits over the ends of the benches to hold them steady. Drape some greenery on them, or a pretty red bow, and they look quite elegant if I do say so myself.
Oh my! Have I ever been chattering on. Many apologies!
I hope every had a very good Thanksgiving.
Merry Christmas! to everyone. {:-)
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Saturday night
If I did nothing else, I guess I did get everyone to vote on the blog! I'm glad you all want to keep it open actually but I was feeling quite lonely all summer.
On Oct. 3, I went to EPCOT to see a friend from Wernersville, PA whom I've not seen in 10 years. She came to FL to visit her brother who lives in Jacksonville and spent the day at EPCOT. If I wanted to see Kathy, I had to go to EPCOT! It was like it had been yesterday the last time I saw her! Other than it was stinking hot (86), it was a great time had by all!
I've been reading a lot of books and posting on Goodreads; however, they keep telling me that I'm 5-6% behind all the time! Mostly, I read historical romances as you know. I've gotten most of them from my library's book nook sale; then I turn them back in to sell again.
Three weeks ago, my ankles swelled suddenly and without reason. That week I happened to have visits scheduled with two specialists and I also went to see my primary; the consensus was that I have fluid on my ankles, no, duh! My primary told me to go see a vascular guy and I have an appt. on Wed. I've been wearing compression socks for several hours each day which has brought the swelling down considerably. It could be as simple as the gabepentin I take or something more sinister.
To make matters worse, the hospital group that my primary belongs to dropped my insurance for next year. It has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Obamacare but I am devastated to lose my primary; I've been with her for many years and she's an excellent doctor. I was all set to go straight Medicare plus supplement and Part D until my agent realized that I have Rx's; he said that I couldn't afford the co-pays on top of the monthly payments for the plans. And that was that. Last year, this same group dropped that insurance company too and I switched to the one I've got now but managed to keep my doctors; not this time.
On Dec. 5, I'm going to see George Donaldson of Celtic Thunder at a solo gig here in Dunedin. He's the lone Scot. I'm so excited!!! Several of my friends are going with me and I'm going to meet Sue-Ellen Welfonder at long-last who's driving up to see George sing too. I've been following Sue-Ellen's Tartan Ink blog now for a couple of years; she lives a couple hours south of me and writes Scottish medieval romances and time-travel romances. For once my birthday won't be a non-event!
For all of you who have been shivering in the cold, it's been a mild fall here. The temps have been in the 80's this week but that is coming to a screeching halt tonight as the first of two cold fronts are coming through. We will get the big cold front Tues/Wed. with the threat of severe weather before you all get it for Turkey Day. I hope it doesn't last!
I don't know how to access this blog on IE. I'm using my old computer and use Google but I'm giving this computer to a friend who doesn't have her own computer. If you know how I can access this blog using IE, please let me know. My friend is one of the people I'll see Dec. 5th.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Trudy
On Oct. 3, I went to EPCOT to see a friend from Wernersville, PA whom I've not seen in 10 years. She came to FL to visit her brother who lives in Jacksonville and spent the day at EPCOT. If I wanted to see Kathy, I had to go to EPCOT! It was like it had been yesterday the last time I saw her! Other than it was stinking hot (86), it was a great time had by all!
I've been reading a lot of books and posting on Goodreads; however, they keep telling me that I'm 5-6% behind all the time! Mostly, I read historical romances as you know. I've gotten most of them from my library's book nook sale; then I turn them back in to sell again.
Three weeks ago, my ankles swelled suddenly and without reason. That week I happened to have visits scheduled with two specialists and I also went to see my primary; the consensus was that I have fluid on my ankles, no, duh! My primary told me to go see a vascular guy and I have an appt. on Wed. I've been wearing compression socks for several hours each day which has brought the swelling down considerably. It could be as simple as the gabepentin I take or something more sinister.
To make matters worse, the hospital group that my primary belongs to dropped my insurance for next year. It has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Obamacare but I am devastated to lose my primary; I've been with her for many years and she's an excellent doctor. I was all set to go straight Medicare plus supplement and Part D until my agent realized that I have Rx's; he said that I couldn't afford the co-pays on top of the monthly payments for the plans. And that was that. Last year, this same group dropped that insurance company too and I switched to the one I've got now but managed to keep my doctors; not this time.
On Dec. 5, I'm going to see George Donaldson of Celtic Thunder at a solo gig here in Dunedin. He's the lone Scot. I'm so excited!!! Several of my friends are going with me and I'm going to meet Sue-Ellen Welfonder at long-last who's driving up to see George sing too. I've been following Sue-Ellen's Tartan Ink blog now for a couple of years; she lives a couple hours south of me and writes Scottish medieval romances and time-travel romances. For once my birthday won't be a non-event!
For all of you who have been shivering in the cold, it's been a mild fall here. The temps have been in the 80's this week but that is coming to a screeching halt tonight as the first of two cold fronts are coming through. We will get the big cold front Tues/Wed. with the threat of severe weather before you all get it for Turkey Day. I hope it doesn't last!
I don't know how to access this blog on IE. I'm using my old computer and use Google but I'm giving this computer to a friend who doesn't have her own computer. If you know how I can access this blog using IE, please let me know. My friend is one of the people I'll see Dec. 5th.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Trudy
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Rembrance Day & Stuff
Oh boy, everyone's going to be tired of reading blue. . .
I got Reconstructing Amelia from the library. Hard cover, so it's big and heavy. Haven't started it yet as I also picked up The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James. I actually read it first, even though it, too, was larger than usual -- trade size I think they call it. Even though it was an historical, I still enjoyed it, and have a hold put on the other book by this author. She's fairly new, these are the only two books that were listed under her name. I would tell you what the other one is, but I can't remember.
Well, the wedding was yesterday. Went off okay, but IMHO was very disorganized. Supper was supposed to start at 6:30, and we finally got to eat at 7:30. The ceremony was almost half an hour starting, and the seating was so crowded in the place they had rented that my daughter commented to me that she was sure glad she knew the people on either side of her as she'd feel very uncomfortable sitting that close to a stranger. The woman sitting behind us had a 3 yr old kid with her. A 3 yr old undisciplined !! kid. My daughter and I both turned around and glared at her until she finally got the idea that we didn't like someone yelling in our ears and kicking our chairs, so she finally tried to keep her quiet. Obviously the kid has never been taken anywhere before where she had to be quiet as she was a total monster the whole half hour of the ceremony. But the ceremony in itself was actually very nice. Brief, but nice. No frills. A 5 min talk on what love was, then the vows and the rings and finished.
Tomorrow we'll go to the Rembrance Day service in the morning, and probably go in to town for birthday cake as one of my granddaughters is turning 12.
I got Reconstructing Amelia from the library. Hard cover, so it's big and heavy. Haven't started it yet as I also picked up The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James. I actually read it first, even though it, too, was larger than usual -- trade size I think they call it. Even though it was an historical, I still enjoyed it, and have a hold put on the other book by this author. She's fairly new, these are the only two books that were listed under her name. I would tell you what the other one is, but I can't remember.
Well, the wedding was yesterday. Went off okay, but IMHO was very disorganized. Supper was supposed to start at 6:30, and we finally got to eat at 7:30. The ceremony was almost half an hour starting, and the seating was so crowded in the place they had rented that my daughter commented to me that she was sure glad she knew the people on either side of her as she'd feel very uncomfortable sitting that close to a stranger. The woman sitting behind us had a 3 yr old kid with her. A 3 yr old undisciplined !! kid. My daughter and I both turned around and glared at her until she finally got the idea that we didn't like someone yelling in our ears and kicking our chairs, so she finally tried to keep her quiet. Obviously the kid has never been taken anywhere before where she had to be quiet as she was a total monster the whole half hour of the ceremony. But the ceremony in itself was actually very nice. Brief, but nice. No frills. A 5 min talk on what love was, then the vows and the rings and finished.
Tomorrow we'll go to the Rembrance Day service in the morning, and probably go in to town for birthday cake as one of my granddaughters is turning 12.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Oops!
Oops. Guess I messed up on the title of that book. Reconstructing Amelia. I think I'll just see if I can get it from the library.
Friday, November 1, 2013
I'm glad we're all in favor of keeping this blog open. Even though we don't post very often, it's still nice to connect when we can.
Holy Cow, Mary!!!! Losing 22 pounds is fantastic!!! And yes, losing any amount of weight will result in lower blood glucose and pressure. Good for you!
I lost 20 lbs last summer, and the results were the same as you, but I couldn't sustain it, and gained them all back again from last Christmas till now. I think you just encouraged me to get off my @$$ and get going again. I've got about the same lbs as you to lose. I think the reason I gained them back is that I lost them too fast. I'm going to try losing them a little slower and see if it doesn't make a difference.
Amanda, Belated Anniversary Congrats! What a great gift from Aurora! She's better than some arrangers I've seen who call themselves pros.
"Recreating Amelia" - what imprint is it? Would I be able to find it at eHarl? I still go there once a month to order my books. I find it much easier to have them come in the mail than to go out to stores and look for them. But they did another update a month or so ago, and it's even harder now to find where you want to go. Plus you have to find and enter a code each Friday if you want the free book feature. What a pain!
The pictures you posted are great! You'll give DonnaM a run for her money. . . {;-)
Sandi, oh my gosh! I don't think I could handle days like that any more. No wonder you don't get here very often. I'm really sorry the issues with your boys haven't been worked out yet. Hopefully it won't be much longer.
I'm 66 and I'm going to be a great-grandma in March. My youngest son's step-son's fiancee is pregnant. They moved their wedding date up from next July to Nov. 9th. I also had to alter the dresses for 2 of her attendants (2 of my granddaughters). And spent a day helping my ddil make perogies.
So yeah, my life is as crazy as everyone else's. Oh yea, I almost forgot. I'm still painting that mural on my granddaughter's bedroom wall. The horse finally has color, but there's lots and lots of detailing yet to finish. Maybe by this Christmas???
DonnaH waves as she heads out the door. . . {;-)
Holy Cow, Mary!!!! Losing 22 pounds is fantastic!!! And yes, losing any amount of weight will result in lower blood glucose and pressure. Good for you!
I lost 20 lbs last summer, and the results were the same as you, but I couldn't sustain it, and gained them all back again from last Christmas till now. I think you just encouraged me to get off my @$$ and get going again. I've got about the same lbs as you to lose. I think the reason I gained them back is that I lost them too fast. I'm going to try losing them a little slower and see if it doesn't make a difference.
Amanda, Belated Anniversary Congrats! What a great gift from Aurora! She's better than some arrangers I've seen who call themselves pros.
"Recreating Amelia" - what imprint is it? Would I be able to find it at eHarl? I still go there once a month to order my books. I find it much easier to have them come in the mail than to go out to stores and look for them. But they did another update a month or so ago, and it's even harder now to find where you want to go. Plus you have to find and enter a code each Friday if you want the free book feature. What a pain!
The pictures you posted are great! You'll give DonnaM a run for her money. . . {;-)
Sandi, oh my gosh! I don't think I could handle days like that any more. No wonder you don't get here very often. I'm really sorry the issues with your boys haven't been worked out yet. Hopefully it won't be much longer.
I'm 66 and I'm going to be a great-grandma in March. My youngest son's step-son's fiancee is pregnant. They moved their wedding date up from next July to Nov. 9th. I also had to alter the dresses for 2 of her attendants (2 of my granddaughters). And spent a day helping my ddil make perogies.
So yeah, my life is as crazy as everyone else's. Oh yea, I almost forgot. I'm still painting that mural on my granddaughter's bedroom wall. The horse finally has color, but there's lots and lots of detailing yet to finish. Maybe by this Christmas???
DonnaH waves as she heads out the door. . . {;-)
Friday, October 25, 2013
Friday 10/25
The picture is our anniversary gift from Aurora - she made it in school. The best part, for me, is she got a great compliment from the teacher on it - yeah!! I think it has also helped her want to do better. BTW, our anniversary was 9/23.
On that note, we took our first college trip with Aurora. The school is in Morrisville, NY, which struck me as we live in Morrisville, PA - lol. David and I liked it enough to think we needed to go back to school, esp as neither of us went to college. So all others we visit will have to beat it. The only thing that is bad is its 4 1/2 hrs from near w/o stopping. We left at 3:45 am to go up there - can you say tired? We got there at 8:45, left just after 2 and didn't get home until after 9 (stopped to eat once we got back to town). What a long day! We are going to do two open houses next month - one at Temple - Ambler campus and at DelVal in Doylestown. Both are about 45 min from home. Closer is good:)
Been pretty busy. Work is crazy, as usual. The girls are doing ok in school - we did hit both back to school nights. Aurora is back to bowling on Saturdays, Amelia to dance on Mondays and she finishes up lacrosse clinic tomorrow. My gf Jen is moving - once the house she'll be renting passes inspection (it failed today - something electrical). So she was going to move Monday, but now hopefully it will be Wednesday. I am taking the day off to help and have been over there on and off this month to help her pack. We did go out to dinner with her and a few others a couple weeks ago and had a great time. I did not know Don Shula had a chain of steak restaurants (for those not into football, he was coach of the Miami Dolphins for a long time). The food was good - and expensive. Wasn't quite expecting that. Dessert was totally fabulous though - a chocolate molten lava cake - that was huge! I should have taken a pic of that.
Book Club was last week. We read Reconstructing Amelia. I liked it, even though you know it will be sad. Amelia is 15 and dies at school - the cops called it suicide. Her mom, Kate, gets a text that says Amelia didn't jump and the rest of the book is her "reconstructing" the last few weeks of her life. It was interesting as it was written for today's world - pages were done with "text" messages and Facebook pages, just like all kids do now. I liked it a lot. Next book is The Natural by Bernard M (I can't remember the name). This book was made into a movie in the 80s starring Robert Redford. Saw the movie but never read the book, so that works for me.
Ok, off to bed. I have to take both girls in the morning, as David has to go to work. Lets leave with another picture . . . .
Amanda
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Tuesday evening--Oct. 22
Hi everyone!
It has been a while since I posted but I have been checking in and reading posts. I also vote not to shut down the blog. I do check in and I will try to post more often.
I have been busy as well--the days and weeks fly by. We just celebrated Lauren's 6th birthday--can you believe it? She loves kindergarten and is on a soccer team. Jake is doing well in pre-k and likes his teachers. We are watching them this weekend so Karen and Jer can get away for a few days.
I have been dieting. My last doctor's appt. my blood sugar was too high and my doc wanted to start meds but I suggested I try dieting first and she agreed. So far I have lost 22 pounds and my blood sugar and blood pressure have come down. I am pleased with the results and I am sure she will be as well. I would like to loose 40 pounds altogether.
I have been reading a lot. I know you will all be happy to hear I finally discovered Robyn Carr and have read the first three books in her Virgin River series. I love them and can't put them down once I start a new one. I have also been reading a historical mystery series by Carol K. Carr (no relation to Robyn!) called the India Black mysteries which I am enjoying. I am continuing to read the Bullet Catchers and the Black Ops. series. I just read the newest Carla Neggers book, Declan's Cross which is very good. Right now I am reading an older Andrea Kane book, No Way Out.
As you can imagine Don and I are watching a lot of football. The Steelers are finally doing better and Penn State is having a pretty good year.
I hope everyone is well and posts when they have time. Can't believe it is almost Halloween and the holidays will be here before we know it!
Mary
It has been a while since I posted but I have been checking in and reading posts. I also vote not to shut down the blog. I do check in and I will try to post more often.
I have been busy as well--the days and weeks fly by. We just celebrated Lauren's 6th birthday--can you believe it? She loves kindergarten and is on a soccer team. Jake is doing well in pre-k and likes his teachers. We are watching them this weekend so Karen and Jer can get away for a few days.
I have been dieting. My last doctor's appt. my blood sugar was too high and my doc wanted to start meds but I suggested I try dieting first and she agreed. So far I have lost 22 pounds and my blood sugar and blood pressure have come down. I am pleased with the results and I am sure she will be as well. I would like to loose 40 pounds altogether.
I have been reading a lot. I know you will all be happy to hear I finally discovered Robyn Carr and have read the first three books in her Virgin River series. I love them and can't put them down once I start a new one. I have also been reading a historical mystery series by Carol K. Carr (no relation to Robyn!) called the India Black mysteries which I am enjoying. I am continuing to read the Bullet Catchers and the Black Ops. series. I just read the newest Carla Neggers book, Declan's Cross which is very good. Right now I am reading an older Andrea Kane book, No Way Out.
As you can imagine Don and I are watching a lot of football. The Steelers are finally doing better and Penn State is having a pretty good year.
I hope everyone is well and posts when they have time. Can't believe it is almost Halloween and the holidays will be here before we know it!
Mary
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Sunday 10/20
Hi,
I know it's been forever since I've been here. It seems like with the job I have now that time just gets past me. I really don't know where it goes, but it sure does seem to fly by! I leave home to go to work about 6:30 in the morning and don't get home again until about 5:30 at night.
Lately I've been just exhausted. Things still aren't settled with Brian, and his issues. Every time I turn around I find out something more about it, and have been trying to cope with that. Constantly trying to learn to get along with Richard and him living here, and trying to get him to understand that I'm just requesting normal things, not things that are trying to rule his life, but to be respectful of my home and life. Grown kids!!!!
The last few weeks have been stressful because Travis our big dog is sick. We don't know what's wrong with him, and he won't eat daily and he hasn't pooped in a week! He's been to the vet 3-4 times and even spent a week at her hospital! Still no clue what's wrong.
Wednesday I'm hosting the book club for dinner. It's our annual Halloween one, and Mike has made a ton of lego things for this year's event.
It seems like I'm doing more listening to audio books than actual reading.
I vote no for closing the blog. I don't think we can really make it go away anyway, but it's a nice place to pop into occasionally and see who has posted what!
Sandi
I know it's been forever since I've been here. It seems like with the job I have now that time just gets past me. I really don't know where it goes, but it sure does seem to fly by! I leave home to go to work about 6:30 in the morning and don't get home again until about 5:30 at night.
Lately I've been just exhausted. Things still aren't settled with Brian, and his issues. Every time I turn around I find out something more about it, and have been trying to cope with that. Constantly trying to learn to get along with Richard and him living here, and trying to get him to understand that I'm just requesting normal things, not things that are trying to rule his life, but to be respectful of my home and life. Grown kids!!!!
The last few weeks have been stressful because Travis our big dog is sick. We don't know what's wrong with him, and he won't eat daily and he hasn't pooped in a week! He's been to the vet 3-4 times and even spent a week at her hospital! Still no clue what's wrong.
Wednesday I'm hosting the book club for dinner. It's our annual Halloween one, and Mike has made a ton of lego things for this year's event.
It seems like I'm doing more listening to audio books than actual reading.
I vote no for closing the blog. I don't think we can really make it go away anyway, but it's a nice place to pop into occasionally and see who has posted what!
Sandi
Friday, October 18, 2013
Fri evening, Oct 18/13
You know, I've been wondering about that as most of us hardly come here any more. I don't know about you, but my life has exploded lately, and with my computer acting up like it is, I hardly go anywhere any more. Yet, I'm like DonnaM, I'm not quite ready to let go.
I miss her pictures.
And I got quite a few good ideas for books to read from you all. I've read the whole Fool's Gold series by Susan Mallery as well as several other of her books. I've been doing a lot more reading of library books, which was encouraged here.
Oh dear, what to do. . .
My old blog that I set up many years ago is still here. It's got something like 4 posts. I haven't checked to see if it still works or not.
We're getting ready for winter -- I've even got my Christmas music out already {:-o and you're preparing for tropical storms. Keep safe!
I have to sew gold ribbon onto the dresses 2 of my granddaughters are wearing for their brothers wedding. They were going to get married next summer -- the baby's due in March. . . He's actually a step-grandson, and he's lived with his dad for quite a few years, until the last few months, so I don't know him all that well, though he is very polite. I guess that will make me a step-great-grandma. Yikes! I'm not ready for that!
I miss her pictures.
And I got quite a few good ideas for books to read from you all. I've read the whole Fool's Gold series by Susan Mallery as well as several other of her books. I've been doing a lot more reading of library books, which was encouraged here.
Oh dear, what to do. . .
My old blog that I set up many years ago is still here. It's got something like 4 posts. I haven't checked to see if it still works or not.
We're getting ready for winter -- I've even got my Christmas music out already {:-o and you're preparing for tropical storms. Keep safe!
I have to sew gold ribbon onto the dresses 2 of my granddaughters are wearing for their brothers wedding. They were going to get married next summer -- the baby's due in March. . . He's actually a step-grandson, and he's lived with his dad for quite a few years, until the last few months, so I don't know him all that well, though he is very polite. I guess that will make me a step-great-grandma. Yikes! I'm not ready for that!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Thursady night
DonnaH~~spoke to DonnaM about whether we should close this a few weeks ago and she said not yet. However, neither she nor the others have stopped in so, I don't know what else to think. Everyone must have gone their separate ways; there has been very little action all year in here. What do you think?
My trip to Epcot today was really nice. It's good to see an old friend again. Epcot is part of Disney World and features different countries. Some of them are really interesting, like China with a 360 degree movie. Of course, each country features its own food! The weather was perfect and TS Karen is waiting until the weekend to bother us.
Trudy
My trip to Epcot today was really nice. It's good to see an old friend again. Epcot is part of Disney World and features different countries. Some of them are really interesting, like China with a 360 degree movie. Of course, each country features its own food! The weather was perfect and TS Karen is waiting until the weekend to bother us.
Trudy
Monday, September 23, 2013
Monday, Sept. 23. {:-)
I'm having so much trouble with my computer again. I think (at least I've been told) that it's because it is so old. A suggestion was that I update it. I'm afraid it will simply have to wait as I have too many other things that are higher up on my "to get" list than a new computer. I wonder, if I got a laptop would it work through the wireless if the desktop computer is too old? Hmmm, I'll have to ask John what he thinks. (John is our resident computer geek).
Trudy, the ends of the branches are more than 10' away from the side of the house -- closer to 15' away. The tree trunk itself is about 23' away from the house. Terry told us the roots he encountered were almost 40' from our sewer clean-out, which means they were well onto town property. The last thing we want is to have the front of our house dug up just before winter, so $200 every 5 years or so is a small price to pay.
I've heard of the Epcot Centre, but truthfully have no idea what it's all about. {:-o A two-hour drive is about how far we are from Regina. When we go there in one day, I'm always glad Hardy is along to drive. I'm still whacked at the end of the day, even when I don't do the driving.
I had to actually shut my ereader off for a while because I was reading too much on it, and my library books were sitting there getting overdue. . .
I had 2 tellHarlequin books. Forgiven but Not Forgotten? was the first one I read. It was so-so. The second one, His Final Bargain, was horrible. Now I remember why I quit reading Presents books. They fought like cats and dogs for the first half of the book, went at it like rabbits for the next quarter book, and fought again all through the last quarter book until the last 3 pages when they declared their undying love for each other. Sheesh. No story line to speak of. I hated it. And that's exactly what I'm going to put in my tellH review. Maybe then they'll quit sending me stuff I don't usually read. Nah. The whole idea of it is to get you reading more than what you read now. Unfortunately, when you've only got so many "book" $$ to go around, getting you to read something different will only mean that you stop reading what you read now.
The house thing with my daughter still hasn't been settled. Everyone is STILL waiting to see what Revenue Canada is going to decide. Dd and family may still end up living in my back yard. . .
Hi to everyone who's been lurking. . . {:-)
Trudy, the ends of the branches are more than 10' away from the side of the house -- closer to 15' away. The tree trunk itself is about 23' away from the house. Terry told us the roots he encountered were almost 40' from our sewer clean-out, which means they were well onto town property. The last thing we want is to have the front of our house dug up just before winter, so $200 every 5 years or so is a small price to pay.
I've heard of the Epcot Centre, but truthfully have no idea what it's all about. {:-o A two-hour drive is about how far we are from Regina. When we go there in one day, I'm always glad Hardy is along to drive. I'm still whacked at the end of the day, even when I don't do the driving.
I had to actually shut my ereader off for a while because I was reading too much on it, and my library books were sitting there getting overdue. . .
I had 2 tellHarlequin books. Forgiven but Not Forgotten? was the first one I read. It was so-so. The second one, His Final Bargain, was horrible. Now I remember why I quit reading Presents books. They fought like cats and dogs for the first half of the book, went at it like rabbits for the next quarter book, and fought again all through the last quarter book until the last 3 pages when they declared their undying love for each other. Sheesh. No story line to speak of. I hated it. And that's exactly what I'm going to put in my tellH review. Maybe then they'll quit sending me stuff I don't usually read. Nah. The whole idea of it is to get you reading more than what you read now. Unfortunately, when you've only got so many "book" $$ to go around, getting you to read something different will only mean that you stop reading what you read now.
The house thing with my daughter still hasn't been settled. Everyone is STILL waiting to see what Revenue Canada is going to decide. Dd and family may still end up living in my back yard. . .
Hi to everyone who's been lurking. . . {:-)
Monday, September 16, 2013
Monday night
Here I was worrying that I wasn't keeping up my end of the blog and it hasn't been very active anyhow! Y'all must be very busy and I hope you all are well.
DonnaH~~Those roots can travel a long way, generally at least the span of the branches! Having roots clog water pipes is not uncommon here. My neighbor had a root from a tree follow their water pipe into their condo a few years ago. The plumber had to go through the concrete block wall, concrete slab, and pull up the tile floor to fix it. To top it off, they are snowbirds and were back in PA! Thanks for the condolences on the loss of my friends; I appreciate it a lot.
You spoke of, gulp, frost and cleaning out your garden! It's something that's not even in my vocabulary and I hope I never see here (but have). The daytime temps are still in the lower 90's and nighttime lows are around 78, down from the 80's. Thunderstorms are occurring daily, accompanied by high winds, fortunately no longer by tornadoes or waterspouts. The tropics have become very active....
In a few weeks I'm going to Epcot for the day because a friend of mine from Reading is coming to Florida. I haven't seen her in about ten years and this is the only way I can do it. My neighbor said that he'd drive as I feel it'd be too much for me to drive there (2 hours each way) and walk around all day; besides, he's never been to Epcot believe it or not. I told Kathy that if a hurricane was coming, I wasn't coming though! Pray for no hurricanes!
I can't seem to catch up with my goal at Goodreads no matter how hard I try. I read and read and read and still am 8% behind! I've finished Stephanie Lauren's latest and have almost finished Grace Burrows' newest release. I've also read Tawny Weber and Vicky Lewis Thompson double books, plus some really good Blazes. Wonder if I'll make my goal?
Have a good week everyone!
Trudy
Time sure flies. . .
Aw, Trudy, many {{{{HUGS}}}} on the loss of your friends. It's hard. I know I still think of telling Oma something, and she's been gone for almost 4 months already.
Seems like everyone must be really busy these days. Actually, I've got a million and one things I should be doing, too. We got frost on Sat night, so today we have to go clean out our garden. Ugg.
We went up north on Sat -- about a 2 hr drive -- to where our son hunts. We helped him set up his tent, as it's too big and heavy for him to set up alone. When we got there we discovered that a bear had wrecked the door on his storage shed, pulled everything apart, and eaten all the macaroni and oatmeal. What a mess. It took us about another hour to pick up everything and restore order. Our son was staying up there alone until the next day when his hunting buddies were supposed to come. You could not have paid me enough to stay up there alone overnight. But he said he'd take his rifle to bed with him, so he was fine. Sheesh. He's hunting elk with a rifle, and moose with bow & arrow. If he gets anything he said he'd share with us.
We've had water coming into our basement off and on all summer, and could never figure out where it was coming from as it was in the middle of the basement, rather than around the edges. FINALLY! A couple of weeks ago I was taking a shower on a Sat morning, when I could hear Hardy yelling "TURN THE WATER OFF!!!" Lo & behold, the water was backing up in our sewer, and running out the pipe that had been connected to our water softener. We called Terry's Roto Rooter, and 45 minutes & $190 later, we once again have a free-flowing sewer. He found a bunch of roots, so now we have to figure out where they're coming from and get rid of the problem. The nearest tree is 20' away to it's nearest branch, so we're not sure if that's it or not.
Must go help clean out the garden *sigh* {:-(
Seems like everyone must be really busy these days. Actually, I've got a million and one things I should be doing, too. We got frost on Sat night, so today we have to go clean out our garden. Ugg.
We went up north on Sat -- about a 2 hr drive -- to where our son hunts. We helped him set up his tent, as it's too big and heavy for him to set up alone. When we got there we discovered that a bear had wrecked the door on his storage shed, pulled everything apart, and eaten all the macaroni and oatmeal. What a mess. It took us about another hour to pick up everything and restore order. Our son was staying up there alone until the next day when his hunting buddies were supposed to come. You could not have paid me enough to stay up there alone overnight. But he said he'd take his rifle to bed with him, so he was fine. Sheesh. He's hunting elk with a rifle, and moose with bow & arrow. If he gets anything he said he'd share with us.
We've had water coming into our basement off and on all summer, and could never figure out where it was coming from as it was in the middle of the basement, rather than around the edges. FINALLY! A couple of weeks ago I was taking a shower on a Sat morning, when I could hear Hardy yelling "TURN THE WATER OFF!!!" Lo & behold, the water was backing up in our sewer, and running out the pipe that had been connected to our water softener. We called Terry's Roto Rooter, and 45 minutes & $190 later, we once again have a free-flowing sewer. He found a bunch of roots, so now we have to figure out where they're coming from and get rid of the problem. The nearest tree is 20' away to it's nearest branch, so we're not sure if that's it or not.
Must go help clean out the garden *sigh* {:-(
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Sunday afternoon
I'm trying to use my new computer and it won't let me see your posts since I last posted, I'm sorry. Just wanted to update you and let you know that I lost another close friend on Thursday. This is the lady from Peru whom I've known for well over ten years. We didn't speak each other's languages but we were close friends. Luz was 92 years old and died of cancer; she had never been sick before until she got uterine cancer two years ago (I believe I spoke of this). I took care of her for awhile, serving her lunch. In any case, we both loved flowers and admired my plants under my steps all the time! Every time I left her right up until almost the last time I saw her, she'd tell me, "God Bless you" in English and always say, "Gracias a Dios" whenever we'd talk about anything else (we could communicate a little in each other's languages). This is the second close friend in six months whom I've lost and I'm pretty devastated. The family will be taking her remains back to Peru in Feb.
Thursday, I pick up my neighbor who's spent the summer at his home in Ireland. Last week, he lost a relative by marriage who was also a close friend there. He got to go through the experience of an Irish funeral, rosary, wake and funeral mass. We are both in a mess!
I've been reading and posting on Goodreads as some of you know. No matter how fast I read, they keep telling me that I'm behind like 8%!! Have you noticed that authors are writing about people who have had really bad childhoods, abusive husbands, emotional turmoil, etc. lately? Maybe I'm just picking up the wrong books......
Well, el dog is fussing so I guess I'd better take him out. Have a nice Labor Day. I'll try to figure out how to read your posts somehow and link them to my other thread.
Trudy
Thursday, I pick up my neighbor who's spent the summer at his home in Ireland. Last week, he lost a relative by marriage who was also a close friend there. He got to go through the experience of an Irish funeral, rosary, wake and funeral mass. We are both in a mess!
I've been reading and posting on Goodreads as some of you know. No matter how fast I read, they keep telling me that I'm behind like 8%!! Have you noticed that authors are writing about people who have had really bad childhoods, abusive husbands, emotional turmoil, etc. lately? Maybe I'm just picking up the wrong books......
Well, el dog is fussing so I guess I'd better take him out. Have a nice Labor Day. I'll try to figure out how to read your posts somehow and link them to my other thread.
Trudy
Monday, August 19, 2013
Adding a title -- I can still see my typing. . .
Okay, I'm typing this first, then I'll add a title and then I'll post it. We'll see what comes of it. . .
Hi all! {:-) I'm scared to post a title, lest it not let me write a message. Maybe I'll post this, and then try again using a title. . .
Amanda, Yes, thanks, the party was great! I'll do that kind of party again any day. . . {:-)
Wow, a 2 1/2 week vacation -- some kids have all the luck, eh? I'm really glad she's having a good time! Kids seem to have to grow up way too soon now-a-days. *sigh*
School shopping -- that is one thing I DON'T miss at all!!!
I got 2 Presents from TellH. One is the same as you got: "His Final Bargain", and the other is "Forgiven But Not Forgotten?" by Abby Green. I believe both authors are NTM, as I very seldom read Presents (I used to, but just got away from it over time).
My youngest daughter and her husband are major stressed right now. They just learned that the house they live in is on the verge of being repossessed by the bank because they're 2 months behind on the mortgage payments. It's a long story -- short version is they were making the mortgage payments in lieu of rent, because the house was supposed to have been theirs, but someone screwed up and the co-signer ended up as the owner. Then he got into major financial trouble, Revenue Canada ended up freezing all his assets, reversing 2 month's mortgage payments and taking the $$ for themselves. This happened back in Jan, and our daughter is just finding out about it now. (the person who told them could be fired if it was ever found out that she told, as it's technically not their account, it has the other guy's name on it) At any rate, if they can't come up with $1100 in two weeks, they could be out on the street. Rather, they would be living in their RV in our back yard, and all their furniture would be stored either in our house, or our garage. Sheesh! What a mess!!! Oh yes, their girls would be living in our basement. . . I don't even want to think about moving all my craft stuff. . .
Hopefully this will post. Have a good week, everyone.
Amanda, Yes, thanks, the party was great! I'll do that kind of party again any day. . . {:-)
Wow, a 2 1/2 week vacation -- some kids have all the luck, eh? I'm really glad she's having a good time! Kids seem to have to grow up way too soon now-a-days. *sigh*
School shopping -- that is one thing I DON'T miss at all!!!
I got 2 Presents from TellH. One is the same as you got: "His Final Bargain", and the other is "Forgiven But Not Forgotten?" by Abby Green. I believe both authors are NTM, as I very seldom read Presents (I used to, but just got away from it over time).
My youngest daughter and her husband are major stressed right now. They just learned that the house they live in is on the verge of being repossessed by the bank because they're 2 months behind on the mortgage payments. It's a long story -- short version is they were making the mortgage payments in lieu of rent, because the house was supposed to have been theirs, but someone screwed up and the co-signer ended up as the owner. Then he got into major financial trouble, Revenue Canada ended up freezing all his assets, reversing 2 month's mortgage payments and taking the $$ for themselves. This happened back in Jan, and our daughter is just finding out about it now. (the person who told them could be fired if it was ever found out that she told, as it's technically not their account, it has the other guy's name on it) At any rate, if they can't come up with $1100 in two weeks, they could be out on the street. Rather, they would be living in their RV in our back yard, and all their furniture would be stored either in our house, or our garage. Sheesh! What a mess!!! Oh yes, their girls would be living in our basement. . . I don't even want to think about moving all my craft stuff. . .
Hopefully this will post. Have a good week, everyone.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Sunday night
Hi Ladies!
DonnaH - The party sounds like fun! So much better than wasting all that food:)
DonnaM - Great pictures! Working sure puts a damper on being out getting some nice pics. We had three gorgeous days of weather last week, all of which were during the week, so I was working - boooo:( Yesterday was nice, but I was busy busy so no time. One of these days. So cool about your 55th reunion. I went to my 20th last year. Hope you are able to work it out since your cousin is out of the equation. Sorry about your ex. That has to suck.
Sandi - Brian turned 21 - wow! He wasn't even a teenager when I first "met" you on eHarl. Of course, I had your opinion when Aurora turned 16 in May. Just where does the time go? Sorry things are a bit rough right now. Hopefully it will all work itself out sooner instead of later.
Mary - Happy belated 40th! I feel like a baby in that department - lol. How about the weather lately? As I mentioned above, I could not enjoy like I would have liked. And this week it will get hot and humid again - ugh! I won't even discuss the Phillies except to ask what you thought of them firing Charlie? Why bother? You couldn't wait until the end of the year? Did you see they lined up to see at Granite Hill Mall? I thought that was great.
Trudy - So sorry your "friend" turned out not to be so. I will never understand people. Glad you enjoyed the magazine though:)
So, the only interesting news is Amelia got herself a free trip to FL! How do I get a deal like that? She is having a great time. They left on the 8th and won't be back until the 26-27 (school starts the 29th). Totally jealous except for the fact that they left with a 2 week old (vaca was planned prior to unexpected baby news). It was only suppose to be a week in Daytona, but since everyone was off this month due to baby, they decided to extend it which is probably why Sarah was allowed to invite a friend.
Other than that, its work as usual. I got the girls shopping done for school (or so I believe). I haven't read much - had book club last week, so finished that one, but haven't started the book for next month (of which I don't remember the title of). I read a couple Blazes and now reading a free Presents that was sent to me - His Final Bargain by Melanie Milburne. Its an easy book - pretty typical Presents.
Ok, off to get ready for bed. Can't believe the weekend is over already. I really think the work week should be 2 days and the weekend 5. Who can I send this suggestion too? LOL
Hope everyone has a good week!
Amanda
DonnaH - The party sounds like fun! So much better than wasting all that food:)
DonnaM - Great pictures! Working sure puts a damper on being out getting some nice pics. We had three gorgeous days of weather last week, all of which were during the week, so I was working - boooo:( Yesterday was nice, but I was busy busy so no time. One of these days. So cool about your 55th reunion. I went to my 20th last year. Hope you are able to work it out since your cousin is out of the equation. Sorry about your ex. That has to suck.
Sandi - Brian turned 21 - wow! He wasn't even a teenager when I first "met" you on eHarl. Of course, I had your opinion when Aurora turned 16 in May. Just where does the time go? Sorry things are a bit rough right now. Hopefully it will all work itself out sooner instead of later.
Mary - Happy belated 40th! I feel like a baby in that department - lol. How about the weather lately? As I mentioned above, I could not enjoy like I would have liked. And this week it will get hot and humid again - ugh! I won't even discuss the Phillies except to ask what you thought of them firing Charlie? Why bother? You couldn't wait until the end of the year? Did you see they lined up to see at Granite Hill Mall? I thought that was great.
Trudy - So sorry your "friend" turned out not to be so. I will never understand people. Glad you enjoyed the magazine though:)
So, the only interesting news is Amelia got herself a free trip to FL! How do I get a deal like that? She is having a great time. They left on the 8th and won't be back until the 26-27 (school starts the 29th). Totally jealous except for the fact that they left with a 2 week old (vaca was planned prior to unexpected baby news). It was only suppose to be a week in Daytona, but since everyone was off this month due to baby, they decided to extend it which is probably why Sarah was allowed to invite a friend.
Other than that, its work as usual. I got the girls shopping done for school (or so I believe). I haven't read much - had book club last week, so finished that one, but haven't started the book for next month (of which I don't remember the title of). I read a couple Blazes and now reading a free Presents that was sent to me - His Final Bargain by Melanie Milburne. Its an easy book - pretty typical Presents.
Ok, off to get ready for bed. Can't believe the weekend is over already. I really think the work week should be 2 days and the weekend 5. Who can I send this suggestion too? LOL
Hope everyone has a good week!
Amanda
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Well, it's letting me type. . .
Mary, lucky you! A vacation at the shore! We spent last week-end in Edmonton with my parents and my siblings -- and I came home with a nasty cold. {:-( :( All the symptoms are gone but the cough. I still sound like I'm ripping out a lung. Thankfully, it's not too severe -- I can go for hours without coughing, and I don't cough at night either.
You've been doing a lot of reading! I like Elizabeth Lowell, but haven't read anything by her in a while. I'll have to look for it.
Congratulations on your Anniversary! 40! That's a biggie!
Note: I have now read Midnight in Ruby Bayou, and am looking forward to reading the rest of the Donovan books by Elizabeth Lowell. :)
I may be able to type, but I can't highlight or bold or underline, or anything else. I sure hope it lets me post it after I'm done typing. . .
Trudy, Wow! My oldest grandson won't be 17 until Oct. Though I do have a step-grandson who's 21. . . My youngest grandson is 7.
Hmmmm, that's weird about your internet access for wifi. My access code is printed right on the back of my modem. Of course, I had to get my grandchildren to show me where. . . I needed it so I could download books onto my ereader. I've been playing with my ereader more, and have learned lots of nifty things about it.
What wonderful news about your student loan! I don't blame you for being light-headed and dizzy -- you earned it! :)
That's awful about having your trip taken away. {{{{HUGS}}}} That really is dirty!
Are all the summer storms missing you? We haven't had a decent rain in weeks, but it's also been cloudy and cool, so that helps the garden, but we're not having a nice summer at all. Who wants to go to the beach when it's cloudy?
I took notes before, and now as I'm finishing them, I'm throwing them out. I sure hope I can post this when I'm done.
Donna M, good to see you back! Very cool that you get to go to your school reunion! I sounds like a fun trip/vacation! (Adding in: Oh no! I hope you can figure out an alternate place to stay!)
Thanks for the anniversary congrats! I agree, there are a lot of couples who go into marriage thinking that if it doesn't work they can always get a divorce. Those are doomed from the start! But there are also many divorces that are necessary due to some form of abuse by one spouse or the other. I can actually see the physical improvement of my daughter since she left her husband. I can't believe I didn't see anything sooner, but then, she was trying to hide it.
I'm sorry your ex is sick. I hope what he's trying works. A friend of ours died of leukemia. Not pretty! I don't wish it on my worst enemy.
Love your bridge pictures! It's good to see you back here! {:-) :)
Sandi, Sorry that you've got so much stress in your life right now. Our lives were full of stress too, when Oma passed. We've settled back to normal now -- whatever "normal" is. . .
I've been having major trouble with my computer but hopefully that is over now. At least it seems to be!
Belated Birthday Greetings to Brian! Our momentous step to becoming an adult comes at age 18. Age 19 I got married, and by age 21 had 2 kids. Yup! How little did we know! Even by age 29 with 5 kids in tow I still didn't know how little I knew. . .
We had a BBQ dinner at our house on Sunday. Started at noon with 25 people in attendance, and didn't end until 10:30 p.m. All I did was make the coffee. Went through 45 cups of coffee, and I don't know how many cans of pop and bottles of water! My sister-in-law brought all the food. She'd catered a party where 65 people said they were coming, and only 30 showed up. So she invited a few friends, borrowed our back yard (it's bigger than hers), and we had ourselves a party! It was actually fun. Beautiful day! The weather was perfect -- sunny, but not too hot!
Well, I'd better see if they'll let me post this today. I didn't save my notes, so if it doesn't post, I'm sunk.
Greetings to everyone who's still holidaying. . . {;-)
Mary, lucky you! A vacation at the shore! We spent last week-end in Edmonton with my parents and my siblings -- and I came home with a nasty cold. {:-( :( All the symptoms are gone but the cough. I still sound like I'm ripping out a lung. Thankfully, it's not too severe -- I can go for hours without coughing, and I don't cough at night either.
You've been doing a lot of reading! I like Elizabeth Lowell, but haven't read anything by her in a while. I'll have to look for it.
Congratulations on your Anniversary! 40! That's a biggie!
Note: I have now read Midnight in Ruby Bayou, and am looking forward to reading the rest of the Donovan books by Elizabeth Lowell. :)
I may be able to type, but I can't highlight or bold or underline, or anything else. I sure hope it lets me post it after I'm done typing. . .
Trudy, Wow! My oldest grandson won't be 17 until Oct. Though I do have a step-grandson who's 21. . . My youngest grandson is 7.
Hmmmm, that's weird about your internet access for wifi. My access code is printed right on the back of my modem. Of course, I had to get my grandchildren to show me where. . . I needed it so I could download books onto my ereader. I've been playing with my ereader more, and have learned lots of nifty things about it.
What wonderful news about your student loan! I don't blame you for being light-headed and dizzy -- you earned it! :)
That's awful about having your trip taken away. {{{{HUGS}}}} That really is dirty!
Are all the summer storms missing you? We haven't had a decent rain in weeks, but it's also been cloudy and cool, so that helps the garden, but we're not having a nice summer at all. Who wants to go to the beach when it's cloudy?
I took notes before, and now as I'm finishing them, I'm throwing them out. I sure hope I can post this when I'm done.
Donna M, good to see you back! Very cool that you get to go to your school reunion! I sounds like a fun trip/vacation! (Adding in: Oh no! I hope you can figure out an alternate place to stay!)
Thanks for the anniversary congrats! I agree, there are a lot of couples who go into marriage thinking that if it doesn't work they can always get a divorce. Those are doomed from the start! But there are also many divorces that are necessary due to some form of abuse by one spouse or the other. I can actually see the physical improvement of my daughter since she left her husband. I can't believe I didn't see anything sooner, but then, she was trying to hide it.
I'm sorry your ex is sick. I hope what he's trying works. A friend of ours died of leukemia. Not pretty! I don't wish it on my worst enemy.
Love your bridge pictures! It's good to see you back here! {:-) :)
Sandi, Sorry that you've got so much stress in your life right now. Our lives were full of stress too, when Oma passed. We've settled back to normal now -- whatever "normal" is. . .
I've been having major trouble with my computer but hopefully that is over now. At least it seems to be!
Belated Birthday Greetings to Brian! Our momentous step to becoming an adult comes at age 18. Age 19 I got married, and by age 21 had 2 kids. Yup! How little did we know! Even by age 29 with 5 kids in tow I still didn't know how little I knew. . .
We had a BBQ dinner at our house on Sunday. Started at noon with 25 people in attendance, and didn't end until 10:30 p.m. All I did was make the coffee. Went through 45 cups of coffee, and I don't know how many cans of pop and bottles of water! My sister-in-law brought all the food. She'd catered a party where 65 people said they were coming, and only 30 showed up. So she invited a few friends, borrowed our back yard (it's bigger than hers), and we had ourselves a party! It was actually fun. Beautiful day! The weather was perfect -- sunny, but not too hot!
Well, I'd better see if they'll let me post this today. I didn't save my notes, so if it doesn't post, I'm sunk.
Greetings to everyone who's still holidaying. . . {;-)
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Oh my goodness! 8/11/2013
Yea, now I'm a pest after a long absence!
Sandi, I can't belive Brian will be 21. Time flies! Have fun buying him his first drink. 21 was such a momentous step to being an adult when I turned that magical age. At that time you could register to vote, buy/order alcohol. We though we knew it all! Ha, little did we know!!!
Good luck & A Very Happy Birthday to Brian.
Donna M
Sandi, I can't belive Brian will be 21. Time flies! Have fun buying him his first drink. 21 was such a momentous step to being an adult when I turned that magical age. At that time you could register to vote, buy/order alcohol. We though we knew it all! Ha, little did we know!!!
Good luck & A Very Happy Birthday to Brian.
Donna M
It's the missing me!
Hi,
So gald to see that everyone is still keeping in touch with everyone else!
I've not been here because there is so much going on in my life and it's just not good. I can't really go into yet, because I'm not totally sure how it's going to turn out in the short term, because we know the long term is years away. I will tell you no one is sick, dying, or getting divorced. So I have moments where I dwell on my problems, and think ugh, and then moments where I am fine and think life is good.
It was really great to get away to RWA and forget life at home for awhile! My suitcase went to Florida before coming home because my friend Pat drove herself, and was nice enough to bring my suitcase back for me as there woudn't have been room in the vehicle I came back in! There was barely room for my little tote and me! I still haven't gotten my books from RWA yet because they're at Pat's, and she had a death in her family almost as soon as she got back from Florida, so she's gone again.
Julie Garwood was in Dallas on Friday. I went to her signing, and asked her to sign my Kindle cover. She said no one had ever asked her to do that before. She gave everyone who was in attendance really nice bags with all her titles on them. I wish they were a little bigger, but beggars can't be choosers!
Donna H I'm sorry about your MIL. I skimmed messages and saw that.
Trudy, sorry you were excited about a trip to NC and then didn't get to go.
Amanda, hope the new glasses weren't too expensive. Brian has finally gotten a pair that he hasn't broken. Only took him about 4 years of wearing glasses!
Donna M, your pictures continue to amaze me!
Cady, Mary, I'm sure I've missed something!
Tomorrow is Brian's 21st birthday. We'll take him to dinner and buy his first drink.
Hope everyone is good and hope to not be such a stranger!
Sandi
So gald to see that everyone is still keeping in touch with everyone else!
I've not been here because there is so much going on in my life and it's just not good. I can't really go into yet, because I'm not totally sure how it's going to turn out in the short term, because we know the long term is years away. I will tell you no one is sick, dying, or getting divorced. So I have moments where I dwell on my problems, and think ugh, and then moments where I am fine and think life is good.
It was really great to get away to RWA and forget life at home for awhile! My suitcase went to Florida before coming home because my friend Pat drove herself, and was nice enough to bring my suitcase back for me as there woudn't have been room in the vehicle I came back in! There was barely room for my little tote and me! I still haven't gotten my books from RWA yet because they're at Pat's, and she had a death in her family almost as soon as she got back from Florida, so she's gone again.
Julie Garwood was in Dallas on Friday. I went to her signing, and asked her to sign my Kindle cover. She said no one had ever asked her to do that before. She gave everyone who was in attendance really nice bags with all her titles on them. I wish they were a little bigger, but beggars can't be choosers!
Donna H I'm sorry about your MIL. I skimmed messages and saw that.
Trudy, sorry you were excited about a trip to NC and then didn't get to go.
Amanda, hope the new glasses weren't too expensive. Brian has finally gotten a pair that he hasn't broken. Only took him about 4 years of wearing glasses!
Donna M, your pictures continue to amaze me!
Cady, Mary, I'm sure I've missed something!
Tomorrow is Brian's 21st birthday. We'll take him to dinner and buy his first drink.
Hope everyone is good and hope to not be such a stranger!
Sandi
Saturday, August 10, 2013
P.S. 8/10/2013...
My cousin called before I had a chance to go over the post. I realized I had not mentioned Amanda. So sorry to leave you out.
Anyway, loved the picture of your daughter & her date, also the dance pictures. I had never heard of a ring dance maybe it is something done more on the east coast. Not that I am current on everything with younger people! How fun that you got to see (or did you meet) Jeff Gordon up close! I don't follow racing but I do know he has raced at the Infineon (I think that is the name now) Raceway over near Napa. He likes the area. Those races draw huge crowds no matter what type of cars are racing.
Okay, I think this is complete now. Except to tell you that after my cousins call I'm having a pity party, will you join me?!! She is not sure I can stay with her as a friend called with a family emergency & needs to stay with my cousin. I do understand since her (the friends) brother has cancer, is not doing well, but it sure throws a monkey wrench into my plans. I'll keep you posted. Not just sure what I am going to do. Maybe tomorrow I will find a reasonable solution. Here is hoping!!
Since I came back I'll post another picture. I visited friends in Lake County, about 60 miles from here. They are former neighbors. We had a great visit, they spoiled me. They have bird feeders & bird baths out that attract all types of birds & as you can see a few squirrels also. Had lots of fun trying to catch some pictures. Their place overlooks Clear Lake but it is not all that close. I'll post more pictures another time.
Good bye again for now!
Donna M
Anyway, loved the picture of your daughter & her date, also the dance pictures. I had never heard of a ring dance maybe it is something done more on the east coast. Not that I am current on everything with younger people! How fun that you got to see (or did you meet) Jeff Gordon up close! I don't follow racing but I do know he has raced at the Infineon (I think that is the name now) Raceway over near Napa. He likes the area. Those races draw huge crowds no matter what type of cars are racing.
Okay, I think this is complete now. Except to tell you that after my cousins call I'm having a pity party, will you join me?!! She is not sure I can stay with her as a friend called with a family emergency & needs to stay with my cousin. I do understand since her (the friends) brother has cancer, is not doing well, but it sure throws a monkey wrench into my plans. I'll keep you posted. Not just sure what I am going to do. Maybe tomorrow I will find a reasonable solution. Here is hoping!!
Since I came back I'll post another picture. I visited friends in Lake County, about 60 miles from here. They are former neighbors. We had a great visit, they spoiled me. They have bird feeders & bird baths out that attract all types of birds & as you can see a few squirrels also. Had lots of fun trying to catch some pictures. Their place overlooks Clear Lake but it is not all that close. I'll post more pictures another time.
Good bye again for now!
Donna M
Guess who? 8/10/2013...
Hello to Everyone,
Remember me? The missing Donna M. Two things, I am so sorry I haven't been here for so long. I kept thinking I'd get here but I never seem to find the right time. Nothing special going on just seem to be busy with reading, pet sitting, photography, etc. I've missed hearing what everyone has been doing. So glad I am caught up with each of you.
Second, there are two birthdays this month! Mine is Tuesday, the 13th. Sandi's is August 20th. On my birthday I will be heading out to go north. A former classmate contacted me through the website Classmates asking if I was going to our 55th class reunion. I sent back an email asking him "what reunion"?!! He emailed me the contact info & I finally decided I would go as it might be the last time I would even consider it!! Since I haven't attended one since the 20th it should be interesting. I will also head north via Hwy. 101, spend a couple of nights with my friend Pat, then on to Medford to stay with my cousin, see my brother & sister in law & attend the class reunion. On this trip I will have my laptop with me so I might dash off a quick message if I get a chance. I'm not sure how often I will have Internet connection until I get to my daughter's in Eugene. I will drive up there on Monday the 19th, probably stay there until that Friday. After that, not just sure. I'm going to wing it but will be home before Labor Day weekend as I don't want to deal with that vacation, last summer holiday traffic. Not to mention that by then I will be more than ready to be home, have my own bed, etc.
By the way, that first picture is looking through the cables of the Golden Gate Bridge over to the city of San Francisco & the Bay Bridge. We were on the Marin Headlands when I took the picture.
Trudy, I'm so glad that your kidney stone surgery went ok, that it is gone. I'm sorry you had the aftermath of problems from the surgery. What a terrible thing for your "friend" to do in inviting you to go to NC, then uninviting you. That is not a friend. Another grandchild. Reason to celebrate? If I had a 17 year old I'm not sure I would get excited about a new baby. But that is me!!
Donna H, I know that your mother in law is in a better place but it is still difficult to say good bye. It is very hard to see someone linger if they are ill & will never improve. Very belated Congratulations on your anniversary. A wonderful thing to have been together for so long. I am one of the people that mentioned loving Karen Rose books. I do admit that some of the scenes are hard to read but her books are enjoyable to me.
Mary, belated Congratulations to you also on the 40th anniversary. Wonderful to have stayed together for so long. I admire both you & Donna H for that. I think so many these days don't work very hard at staying together. Having your dental work finished was probably a great relief. I'm not a good dental patient!
Sandi, lucky you getting to go to RWA. I would love to go again sometime. There is one coming up in San Diego but I'm not sure if it is next year or the one after. I would fly down there if I could go. San Diego was not my favorite place but it would be so fun to see some of my favorite authors again. This time I would be more prepared for the experience!! Did Richard get a plan in place for paying the IRS? I had to do that a long time ago when I owed some money. It was not fun.
Margie, Hi there! Glad to know the classes about autism helped you which will also help Gavin. It has been a long time since I was at the Pinnacles but I remember it was spring & beautiful as it was still green. I also went as a child with my grandparents when they lived in San Jose but I don't remember that at all, just that we went.
I miss seeing Cady here. I did see any posts from her. Hope all is okay with her & the family.
Since I have not been here for so long I would like to tell you that I found out my exhusband has a rare form of lukemia. Right now he is in a hospital in Portland, OR. going through a chemo routine that may make him eligible for a bone marrow transplant. Our daughter is not convinced it can help him. She is up there this weekend to see him. She said he was not sounding good. There is apparently not much they can do for this particular type of the disese which is why is he trying what I gather is a somewhat experimental therapy. I don't get a lot of information about it all. I'm sorry he has to go through this but more sorry for my daughter & grandson as they have taken it pretty hard. My other daughter & the ex have been estranged for quite a few years so she hasn't said to much.
Speaking of my daughter in Eugene! She & her husband just celebrated 25 years of marriage. It doesn't seem possible that it has been that long.
I'm going to close out for now as my eyeballs are protesting being on the computer so long. Another reason I've been absent so long my eyes get tired very easy so reading or computer time is in spurts. I'll back sooner this time, I promise. Hope you all have a good weekend.
This picture is taken from a boat ride we took out on the bay & under the Golden Gate Bridge. I love this perspective. I'll try to write more about that day another time. Enjoy the pictures.
Until next time, Happy Reading, Take Care,
Donna M
Monday, August 5, 2013
Monday
This will be short, I hope. Before any of you start congratulating me on my trip to NC, I have to tell you that I'm not going. The person who asked me to go as her guest did me dirty to say the very least. I feel betrayed, humiliated and am extremely upset. The worst of it is that the email said it was scriptural and she signed it "In Christ;" let me tell you, there was nothing Christian about it! I will get over this but right now, I'm not functioning too well. Fortunately, my friend in NC has been very sympathetic.
Well, summer has finally caught us here in Florida. It's sunny, hot (low 90's) and so humid you can hardly breathe, typical Aug. weather. But don't worry, Sept will be worse! We just got spoiled b/c it was cloudy so long earlier that it kept the temps down and now we can't take the heat.
I'm trying to read but I'm having trouble concentrating, obviously. I did, however, order and receive a magazine from Ireland which features, guess who, Celtic Thunder, on the cover. That I could read! It was a 5-page spread on the newest member but included a lot of information about the group. The reporter did a really nice job since Celtic Thunder is unknown in their own country! The magazine is kind of like People but less glitzy and more folksy; I wish I could afford a subscription to it.
I'm glad to learn the shore has been cleaned up a lot. I worry about it. I'm sure there's still a lot of work to do around NYC.
Trudy
Well, summer has finally caught us here in Florida. It's sunny, hot (low 90's) and so humid you can hardly breathe, typical Aug. weather. But don't worry, Sept will be worse! We just got spoiled b/c it was cloudy so long earlier that it kept the temps down and now we can't take the heat.
I'm trying to read but I'm having trouble concentrating, obviously. I did, however, order and receive a magazine from Ireland which features, guess who, Celtic Thunder, on the cover. That I could read! It was a 5-page spread on the newest member but included a lot of information about the group. The reporter did a really nice job since Celtic Thunder is unknown in their own country! The magazine is kind of like People but less glitzy and more folksy; I wish I could afford a subscription to it.
I'm glad to learn the shore has been cleaned up a lot. I worry about it. I'm sure there's still a lot of work to do around NYC.
Trudy
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Sunday evening
Hi everyone!
It has been a long time between posts. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I know you are all busy as we have been. I don't know where the summer has gone. Can't say I miss the hot weather. It was brutal in July but is nice today. We spent 3 days in Ocean City, NJ with Karen and her family two weeks ago and had a great time. We rented condos that were very nice and affordable. I was amazed at how well NJ cleaned up after the storm and got ready for summer tourism. We ate a lot of seafood there and didn't want to leave. Lauren loves the ocean. Jake is still a little afraid but will go in around the edges. They both love playing in the sand.
I have been doing some reading but not as much as earlier this year. I recently read The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig which was good. Not as good as her Pink Carnation books but still a good read. I also read Midnight in Ruby Bayou by Elizabeth Lowell. It is the final book in her Dovovan series and I think it is the best. Then I read 1st to Die by James Patterson. This is the first book of his I have ever read and is the first book in his Women's Murder Club series. I liked it except for something that happened near the end which really threw me out of the story for a bit. I will probably continue the series but I hope he doesn't do that in all his books. :-( I am now reading The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian. It is good so far. I have read other books by him and enjoy them.
Don and I will be celebrating our 40th anniversary on Saturday. Karen is having a bbq and inviting family. We will also go out to dinner by ourselves at some point and maybe take another short trip in Sept. Haven't decided yet.
Trudy--Happy belated b-day to your grandson. I hope you get your problems solved with the new computer. Where in NC is your friend living now? Enjoy your upcoming trip!
Everyone enjoy the rest of the summer and stop in and blog when you can. I have missed you all this summer.
Mary
It has been a long time between posts. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I know you are all busy as we have been. I don't know where the summer has gone. Can't say I miss the hot weather. It was brutal in July but is nice today. We spent 3 days in Ocean City, NJ with Karen and her family two weeks ago and had a great time. We rented condos that were very nice and affordable. I was amazed at how well NJ cleaned up after the storm and got ready for summer tourism. We ate a lot of seafood there and didn't want to leave. Lauren loves the ocean. Jake is still a little afraid but will go in around the edges. They both love playing in the sand.
I have been doing some reading but not as much as earlier this year. I recently read The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig which was good. Not as good as her Pink Carnation books but still a good read. I also read Midnight in Ruby Bayou by Elizabeth Lowell. It is the final book in her Dovovan series and I think it is the best. Then I read 1st to Die by James Patterson. This is the first book of his I have ever read and is the first book in his Women's Murder Club series. I liked it except for something that happened near the end which really threw me out of the story for a bit. I will probably continue the series but I hope he doesn't do that in all his books. :-( I am now reading The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian. It is good so far. I have read other books by him and enjoy them.
Don and I will be celebrating our 40th anniversary on Saturday. Karen is having a bbq and inviting family. We will also go out to dinner by ourselves at some point and maybe take another short trip in Sept. Haven't decided yet.
Trudy--Happy belated b-day to your grandson. I hope you get your problems solved with the new computer. Where in NC is your friend living now? Enjoy your upcoming trip!
Everyone enjoy the rest of the summer and stop in and blog when you can. I have missed you all this summer.
Mary
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Thursday night
Well hello everyone! Today is Aug. 1st and it's my oldest grandson's 17th birthday! I have been with some of you since he was little so, can you believe this, 17 years old? And he'll be a big brother again in Jan.!
I've been busy reading as many of you know if you're on Goodreads since I blog there. I've read Monica McCarty's latest Highland Guard release, The Hunter, which I recommend to anyone who wants an authentic period piece of Scottish medieval romance; if fact, I recommend the whole series very highly. I've read several other new releases as well including Michelle Willingham's "To Sin with a Viking" about a Viking who comes to Ireland to trade and is taken prisoner by an impoverished Irishwoman; the problem, he's married despite the sparks that fly between them. This is a book with real depth that explores cultural morals in the early Middle Ages. Another book dealing with cultural expectations but in the present is Kate Hewitt's "An Inheritance of Shame" about two people who grew up poor and unwanted in Sicily; one is now extremely wealthy while his friend has become a chambermaid in one of his hotels. When she delivers news that rocks him to the core, their lives change forever. I've read a lot of historicals and Blaze/Presents; this year has been difficult with the losses I've endured and I need the escape.
You know the close friend I said that was moving to NC and that I'd never see again? She has moved to NC and I said good-bye to her thinking I'd never see her again. However, a friend from my church has asked me to go to NC in a couple of weeks to her timeshare. Guess what? It's where my close friend has moved to!!! I'm excited to see her again, to go with my friend from church, who's b-day is the same day as mine (yes!), and to leave Florida for the first time in over 4 years!
I broke down and bought a new computer two weeks ago when QVC had a deal going on HP's. It arrived last week but I can't use it b/c I can't access the Internet!!!!! It recognizes my modem but keeps asking for my security key. I called Bright House and they told me that the installer should have written it down on the paperwork when he installed the modem, wrong! They also said that I could find it by going online and accessing my acct, again wrong. Nothing, none of the info I have works. Ugh!!!!!!!!! Now I'll have to call Bright House back and get them to walk me through this.
The other good news is, my student loan has been discharged! I've tried for years to get that discharged; the original loan was $27 and now it was $49 b/c of re-capitalized interest at almost 8% interest. There's no way I could pay it back at this point nor can I work ever again; this was the only option. I was dizzy and light-headed the whole day from the relief.
Trudy
I've been busy reading as many of you know if you're on Goodreads since I blog there. I've read Monica McCarty's latest Highland Guard release, The Hunter, which I recommend to anyone who wants an authentic period piece of Scottish medieval romance; if fact, I recommend the whole series very highly. I've read several other new releases as well including Michelle Willingham's "To Sin with a Viking" about a Viking who comes to Ireland to trade and is taken prisoner by an impoverished Irishwoman; the problem, he's married despite the sparks that fly between them. This is a book with real depth that explores cultural morals in the early Middle Ages. Another book dealing with cultural expectations but in the present is Kate Hewitt's "An Inheritance of Shame" about two people who grew up poor and unwanted in Sicily; one is now extremely wealthy while his friend has become a chambermaid in one of his hotels. When she delivers news that rocks him to the core, their lives change forever. I've read a lot of historicals and Blaze/Presents; this year has been difficult with the losses I've endured and I need the escape.
You know the close friend I said that was moving to NC and that I'd never see again? She has moved to NC and I said good-bye to her thinking I'd never see her again. However, a friend from my church has asked me to go to NC in a couple of weeks to her timeshare. Guess what? It's where my close friend has moved to!!! I'm excited to see her again, to go with my friend from church, who's b-day is the same day as mine (yes!), and to leave Florida for the first time in over 4 years!
I broke down and bought a new computer two weeks ago when QVC had a deal going on HP's. It arrived last week but I can't use it b/c I can't access the Internet!!!!! It recognizes my modem but keeps asking for my security key. I called Bright House and they told me that the installer should have written it down on the paperwork when he installed the modem, wrong! They also said that I could find it by going online and accessing my acct, again wrong. Nothing, none of the info I have works. Ugh!!!!!!!!! Now I'll have to call Bright House back and get them to walk me through this.
The other good news is, my student loan has been discharged! I've tried for years to get that discharged; the original loan was $27 and now it was $49 b/c of re-capitalized interest at almost 8% interest. There's no way I could pay it back at this point nor can I work ever again; this was the only option. I was dizzy and light-headed the whole day from the relief.
Trudy
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Trying Again. . .
Well, what do you know, I do believe it's going to work this time. I've come here half a dozen times in the last couple of days, and could never post anything but a title.
I finished reading "Count to Ten" by Karen Rose. It was sort of "horror" but more "blood and gore" I thought. The back of the book had a preview of the next book by Karen Rose called "Die for Me". After I read the preview I crossed the title off my list. That preview "showed" a man taping people while he tortured them to make them scream until they died. That was it for me.
I also just finished "On the Prowl" by Karen MacInerney. Now THAT was more what I consider horror. The first book in this trilogy was about an Urban Werewolf, and was almost a comedy, and I enjoyed it. The second book, "On the Prowl" was about the same urban werewolf, but was very "dark". Fights with satanic creatures, werewolf packs killing each other, things like that. I really didn't care for it at all. The third one in this trilogy is "Leader of the Pack" and continues with the urban werewolf's life. I'm really thinking hard about whether I should read it or not.
Right now I'm reading "Suspect" by Jasmine Cresswell. The first book in this miniseries is called "Missing" It's about the same family. These books are more along the lines of murder-mysteries, and are almost "light" after the ones by the two Karens. . .
Thank you for wishing good weather for us for the funeral. I went shopping with my daughter today to buy her an outfit for the funeral. She broke down in the dressing room and cried. She's the grandchild that was closest to Oma, as well as being the one with Oma at the end.
We also need good weather for the next day, please. {:-) My sister-in-law and my husband decided we needed to have a family get-together on Sunday afternoon -- almost like a mini-reunion -- for the whole family. There will be something over 100 of us. And yes, you guessed it -- they want it at our house because we have the largest yard. If it rains, we'll spend the afternoon visiting in the church basement. I almost think I wish it would rain. . . Not only do I have to make a large potato salad, I'm also in charge of the coffee and juice. Although thankfully one of the other sisters-in-law is in charge of telling everyone what to bring this time. I always hate that job.
Well, now that my messages are showing up again, I'd better not over-tax the good fairy who fixed it with too long of a message. I may not get back here until some time next week. . .
I finished reading "Count to Ten" by Karen Rose. It was sort of "horror" but more "blood and gore" I thought. The back of the book had a preview of the next book by Karen Rose called "Die for Me". After I read the preview I crossed the title off my list. That preview "showed" a man taping people while he tortured them to make them scream until they died. That was it for me.
I also just finished "On the Prowl" by Karen MacInerney. Now THAT was more what I consider horror. The first book in this trilogy was about an Urban Werewolf, and was almost a comedy, and I enjoyed it. The second book, "On the Prowl" was about the same urban werewolf, but was very "dark". Fights with satanic creatures, werewolf packs killing each other, things like that. I really didn't care for it at all. The third one in this trilogy is "Leader of the Pack" and continues with the urban werewolf's life. I'm really thinking hard about whether I should read it or not.
Right now I'm reading "Suspect" by Jasmine Cresswell. The first book in this miniseries is called "Missing" It's about the same family. These books are more along the lines of murder-mysteries, and are almost "light" after the ones by the two Karens. . .
Thank you for wishing good weather for us for the funeral. I went shopping with my daughter today to buy her an outfit for the funeral. She broke down in the dressing room and cried. She's the grandchild that was closest to Oma, as well as being the one with Oma at the end.
We also need good weather for the next day, please. {:-) My sister-in-law and my husband decided we needed to have a family get-together on Sunday afternoon -- almost like a mini-reunion -- for the whole family. There will be something over 100 of us. And yes, you guessed it -- they want it at our house because we have the largest yard. If it rains, we'll spend the afternoon visiting in the church basement. I almost think I wish it would rain. . . Not only do I have to make a large potato salad, I'm also in charge of the coffee and juice. Although thankfully one of the other sisters-in-law is in charge of telling everyone what to bring this time. I always hate that job.
Well, now that my messages are showing up again, I'd better not over-tax the good fairy who fixed it with too long of a message. I may not get back here until some time next week. . .
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Tuesday night
Hi Ladies!
So, obviously the above is not me - lol! This was the production number she did - A Donna Summer Tribute. You got to love the wig:-) I hadn't downloaded them yet when I was here last.
Trudy - Sorry about the no tea rule. That be like telling me not to eat chocolate :-0 How could I live without that?? Glad no more kidney stones though - they suck. Had them a few years back and thought I had a stomach bug, as I hadn't had them before. Def not fun. Drinking lots of water and/or cranberry juice works wonders for the pain though. Those pics of that tornado were wicked! So glad not to have those basically here. And I am with you on the lazy river ride - its great! Could float there all day. And how come you have to see you will have another grandbaby on FB? They couldn't call you? That's just terrible.
Mary - The Phillies are trying to get back to some winning ways. Wonder how long that will last? Did your area set a new record for rain in June? Philly did. I was glad to see it go for a few days, but it should have taken this darn humidity with it. Glad the work on your mouth is done. Sounds like you had a very nice 4th.
DonnaH - So sorry to hear about your dmil. Glad so many could be with her on her last day. I am sure it was a comfort to her. Not sure how I would feel about having to help move her though. Will send sunny weather your way on funeral day. Glad you were able to figure out how to get books on your ereader. Always a plus! I don't think I'd call the horror book "genteel" but considering only 1 person died in the "horror" part of it, I guess it would be considered a bit "horror lite" - lol. I am with you on the not wanting to be stranded with a 1 & 3 yr old. Glad they are all ok.
Sandi - Your book clubs always sound fun - wish I could attend them too! Mine didn't do horror two months in a row. The Stephen King book wasn't horror - its fiction based on JFK's assassination. Its really good. Still haven't finished it:( And I need to read the next club selection - sigh. Sorry Richard has to pay the IRS. I never wish that on people. For the first year at my current job, I saw the IRS building everyday when I passed it. Then they moved downtown. I also have a gf that's worked there for years. Still wouldn't want to deal with them though. I got my class ring Jr year too - and no dance. Always something new. Also didn't get the root canal yet. Since I went to my dentist about it, it hasn't really bothered me. So I am putting it off since I am sure its not cheap. I am sure I will need it eventually.
So, lets see if I can condense what I've been doing. Amelia turned 12 on June 22nd. She had a sleepover the night before and she got a new bed and dresser, which David had to put together (Aurora also got a dresser), so her room had to be totally rearranged. Then going to work on Monday, I got a flat tire on Rte 1. Just what you want when you are doing 70 mph. Had my stepdad come out and put the spare on and parked it at the mall. Good thing, as I was taking it in on Tues because my gas gauge wasn't working, because after dropping the car off later on, the spare went flat! Work was totally crazy the last two weeks of the month with no receptionist to answer the phones, so I had to help out in that plus get as much stuff done before shutdown. Absolutely nuts. The week off was great - we stayed in Hershey on the 30th/1st with Jen and Alex. Bought a two day pass, but the weather wasn't so hot so only went on Sunday and have until the end of September to use the other day. Haven't upload the pics yet. Then on Tuesday, I came home with Jen and Alex while David and the girls went to Pittsburgh! It was the best 5 days being home by myself. Now, if I could just figure out how to make that happen more often - lol. Of course, while out there, Aurora lost her glasses in the lake while they were paddle boating. So I had to call in for a new pair. They should be here by the end of the week - hopefully. Good thing I always have them keep their last pair as a spare, but she had to wait until they came home.
The next book club selection is The End of Your Life Book Club - don't remember the author. As I haven't started it, I can't give my opinion - yet. And I haven't read anything else. I need to get back into the swing of it!
One more picture. This was the Hip Hop class. This was also the outfit she preferred. She will be taking this class again next year, but probably not production, as she's thinking of playing lacrosse again. The good part of that is I only will have to go to one night of recital instead of two!
Wishing everyone a good rest of the week!
Amanda
Saturday, July 6, 2013
I Told You it would be long. . .
Okay, I think I may have messed something up as I accidentally hit text background color and then didn't know what the default was. Guess I'll find out when I post this.
This message won't be nearly as long as the last one.
I just borrowed -- on my ereader -- a Karen Rose book called Count to Ten. I hope there's not too much blood and gore in it. Someone from here (I forget who) said they like her, so I'm going to give her a try. I've just finished a whole string of books by Kristan Higgins. I liked the story lines, but each book was close to 400 pages long, I think the shortest one was 377, something like that, and I just felt there was too much wandering around. If she had taken the first 30 pages and added it to the last 150 pages, she could have dropped all the pages in between and it would have been a very good story. Another thing that picked me was that she had a dog as one of the main characters, which I don't have a problem with, but the picture of the dog on the front cover did not match the description of the dog in the book. Okay, one book did, but none of the others matched.
A windsurfer during a tropical storm? Is he nuts? We had a storm here day before yesterday and we got 3/4" of rain in 10 minutes. Thank goodness it was a short storm or we could have been in trouble, too. It's been raining almost all day here today. Hardy went and checked the rain gauge and we've got another 3/4". That should last us for a while. It can stop any time now. . .
Yes, all my family in Calgary is okay. Joshua, my 3 yr old great-nephew, had a hey-day, riding in the army truck, and seeing a helicopter up close. I don't envy my niece one bit. A 3 yr old & a 1 yr old, plus a husband and 2 dogs. . . Sooner her than me. . .
Well, it sounds like everyone is having a busy summer.
This message won't be nearly as long as the last one.
I just borrowed -- on my ereader -- a Karen Rose book called Count to Ten. I hope there's not too much blood and gore in it. Someone from here (I forget who) said they like her, so I'm going to give her a try. I've just finished a whole string of books by Kristan Higgins. I liked the story lines, but each book was close to 400 pages long, I think the shortest one was 377, something like that, and I just felt there was too much wandering around. If she had taken the first 30 pages and added it to the last 150 pages, she could have dropped all the pages in between and it would have been a very good story. Another thing that picked me was that she had a dog as one of the main characters, which I don't have a problem with, but the picture of the dog on the front cover did not match the description of the dog in the book. Okay, one book did, but none of the others matched.
A windsurfer during a tropical storm? Is he nuts? We had a storm here day before yesterday and we got 3/4" of rain in 10 minutes. Thank goodness it was a short storm or we could have been in trouble, too. It's been raining almost all day here today. Hardy went and checked the rain gauge and we've got another 3/4". That should last us for a while. It can stop any time now. . .
Yes, all my family in Calgary is okay. Joshua, my 3 yr old great-nephew, had a hey-day, riding in the army truck, and seeing a helicopter up close. I don't envy my niece one bit. A 3 yr old & a 1 yr old, plus a husband and 2 dogs. . . Sooner her than me. . .
Well, it sounds like everyone is having a busy summer.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Friday night
You don't know how glad I was to read your posts just now! I was really worried as no one had posted since Father's Day, almost a month ago. I even emailed Donna about it but she said that everyone was probably busy. So thanks for posting. I'll go pluck the new gray hairs now if I can figure out which ones they are! ha, ha, ha!
The tea thing: it has to do with something oxide that only tea has. Coffee is OK, except I don't drink coffee. Pepsi is OK, one glass/day. I didn't have any symptoms other than passing the blood clot in April which I didn't realize I passed until I went to flush the toilet. The stone itself was discovered one year ago after I had problems last Fourth of July, either an UTI or passing a stone. I'm just glad it's over; the surgery is was nothing but they really hurt my throat when they pulled the tube out.
"Darius" is part of the Lonely Lords series by Grace Burrows. It's haunting. I want to read the other books also but I'm sure they won't affect me like this one did.
I've read "The Hunter" by Monica McCarty, the 7th book in the Highland Guard series based on Robert the Bruce's secret Highland guard. This book is about Ewen Lamont, a highly skilled tracker who's sent to bring back "Sister Genna," a courier for Bruce. Problem is Sister Genna really is Janet of Mar, twin sister of Mary of Mar (from an earlier book) and she's seeking redemption through her work with Bruce for what happened to her sister and then she intends to take her vows, until she meets Ewen. As with the other books in this series, it's based on historical fact and is very well written and tightly drawn. I couldn't put it down and didn't want it to end.
I also read Brenda Joyce's new release, "A Rose in the Storm," based on Robert the Bruce's beginning rise to power. This book too is based on historical fact. The h and H are fictional but the story is full of intrigue and keeps you turning the page.
Donna~~I'm sorry to hear of the flooding in Calgary. It must have been very scary for your family. I'm glad that they got out OK. It's been raining here in FL so much the past two weeks that much more and we'll be in trouble (the panhandle already is). I'm sorry also about your mil. It's good that the family could be there with her in her last days.
I'll close with my new news. Yesterday, my dil and my older son poster on their FB pages that they are expecting a baby on Jan. 8th. All I know. It'll be 5th grandchild, 6th if you include my step-grandchild.
Have a nice weekend!
Windsurfer during T.S. Andrea. Skies around here looked like this every day for the last two weeks!
Trudy
The tea thing: it has to do with something oxide that only tea has. Coffee is OK, except I don't drink coffee. Pepsi is OK, one glass/day. I didn't have any symptoms other than passing the blood clot in April which I didn't realize I passed until I went to flush the toilet. The stone itself was discovered one year ago after I had problems last Fourth of July, either an UTI or passing a stone. I'm just glad it's over; the surgery is was nothing but they really hurt my throat when they pulled the tube out.
"Darius" is part of the Lonely Lords series by Grace Burrows. It's haunting. I want to read the other books also but I'm sure they won't affect me like this one did.
I've read "The Hunter" by Monica McCarty, the 7th book in the Highland Guard series based on Robert the Bruce's secret Highland guard. This book is about Ewen Lamont, a highly skilled tracker who's sent to bring back "Sister Genna," a courier for Bruce. Problem is Sister Genna really is Janet of Mar, twin sister of Mary of Mar (from an earlier book) and she's seeking redemption through her work with Bruce for what happened to her sister and then she intends to take her vows, until she meets Ewen. As with the other books in this series, it's based on historical fact and is very well written and tightly drawn. I couldn't put it down and didn't want it to end.
I also read Brenda Joyce's new release, "A Rose in the Storm," based on Robert the Bruce's beginning rise to power. This book too is based on historical fact. The h and H are fictional but the story is full of intrigue and keeps you turning the page.
Donna~~I'm sorry to hear of the flooding in Calgary. It must have been very scary for your family. I'm glad that they got out OK. It's been raining here in FL so much the past two weeks that much more and we'll be in trouble (the panhandle already is). I'm sorry also about your mil. It's good that the family could be there with her in her last days.
I'll close with my new news. Yesterday, my dil and my older son poster on their FB pages that they are expecting a baby on Jan. 8th. All I know. It'll be 5th grandchild, 6th if you include my step-grandchild.
Have a nice weekend!
Windsurfer during T.S. Andrea. Skies around here looked like this every day for the last two weeks!
Trudy
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Happy 4th!
Hi everyone! Happy 4th! Hope everyone is having a good day and doing something fun. We had a quiet day--just the hub and me. We grilled beef kabobs and had corn-on-the-cob. Ice cream for dessert. Karen and her family do a neighborhood thing on the 4th so we did not see them today, perhaps over the weekend.
It has been a while since I posted so I will just hit the highlights. My dental work is done for now. I did not need a root canal in that back tooth but I do have a large filling and it hurt for a while. I am finally able to use my whole month for eating. The rest of the work can wait until next year so that is great. I do have to go every three months for cleaning but I can handle that. We had a nice Father's day at Karen's. They had a bbq for the dads. June went by quickly and now it is only two weeks till we go on our beach vacation with Karen and family. We are going to Ocean City NJ and can't wait.
Trudy--I hope you are continuing to recover and have no more kidney problems. I don't understand the no tea thing either. I know soda is a no-no but had not heard tea was. My brother had kidney stones years ago so I know it can be very painful. Take good care.
Amanda--How are you with this heat that looks to continue indefinitely? I am tired of it myself. The Phils continue their inconsistent ways. I don't watch as much as I have in recent years but I do catch parts of the games.
Donna H--So sorry for your loss. It is always hard no matter how old your loved ones are but your mil had people with her to the end and that is good. Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I had heard about the flooding in Calgary. Hope your family members are ok now. I have been reading a lot and am on book # 43 right now.
Sandi--I read a lot of Sharon Sala/Dinah McCall books. She is one of my favorites. Lauren did dance for two years but has decided that is enough. She and Jacob are taking gymnastics this summer and love it.
I have read a lot since I last posted: Black Tower by PD James (one of her earlier books), Blaze by Joan Swan which I really liked, First You Run by Roxanne St. Claire--one of her Bullet Catcher books--not one of the best, And Than I Found You, Patti Callahan Henry's latest--very good and emotional, The Eagle Catcher, the first book in Margaret Coal's series set on the Arapaho rez in Wyoming--I really enjoyed this book and will continue the series, and finally I am now reading Shadow Whispers by Linda Conrad. That catches me up. Don and I are also watching The Sopranos on dvd. We had never seen it when it was on several years ago.
I hope everyone is having a good summer. Stop in and catch us up when you have a chance.
Mary
It has been a while since I posted so I will just hit the highlights. My dental work is done for now. I did not need a root canal in that back tooth but I do have a large filling and it hurt for a while. I am finally able to use my whole month for eating. The rest of the work can wait until next year so that is great. I do have to go every three months for cleaning but I can handle that. We had a nice Father's day at Karen's. They had a bbq for the dads. June went by quickly and now it is only two weeks till we go on our beach vacation with Karen and family. We are going to Ocean City NJ and can't wait.
Trudy--I hope you are continuing to recover and have no more kidney problems. I don't understand the no tea thing either. I know soda is a no-no but had not heard tea was. My brother had kidney stones years ago so I know it can be very painful. Take good care.
Amanda--How are you with this heat that looks to continue indefinitely? I am tired of it myself. The Phils continue their inconsistent ways. I don't watch as much as I have in recent years but I do catch parts of the games.
Donna H--So sorry for your loss. It is always hard no matter how old your loved ones are but your mil had people with her to the end and that is good. Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I had heard about the flooding in Calgary. Hope your family members are ok now. I have been reading a lot and am on book # 43 right now.
Sandi--I read a lot of Sharon Sala/Dinah McCall books. She is one of my favorites. Lauren did dance for two years but has decided that is enough. She and Jacob are taking gymnastics this summer and love it.
I have read a lot since I last posted: Black Tower by PD James (one of her earlier books), Blaze by Joan Swan which I really liked, First You Run by Roxanne St. Claire--one of her Bullet Catcher books--not one of the best, And Than I Found You, Patti Callahan Henry's latest--very good and emotional, The Eagle Catcher, the first book in Margaret Coal's series set on the Arapaho rez in Wyoming--I really enjoyed this book and will continue the series, and finally I am now reading Shadow Whispers by Linda Conrad. That catches me up. Don and I are also watching The Sopranos on dvd. We had never seen it when it was on several years ago.
I hope everyone is having a good summer. Stop in and catch us up when you have a chance.
Mary
Very Long Post, coming right up
Okay, everyone, here it comes. . . I've been gone for ages, and I've got lots to tell you. I know some of it won't make sense because I took notes from long, long ago. {:-)
Trudy, tea? Maybe it's the catechins or something that's in tea that's bad for you. I know, a long time ago a certain nutritionist told me No More Coffee! Well, now they've come out with the idea that 3 cups of coffee/day, before meals -- black, no sugar -- plus 2 cups of water with each cup of coffee, is supposed to be really good for you. Huh?
Anyhow, I'm really glad you enjoyed your trip! I like driving, too. I've actually driven from our place to my sister's in Calgary alone. It was fun! (10 hours -- driving time -- one way)
Ack! Kidney stones! A friend of ours had kidney stones, and the pain while he was passing one was excruciating! I don't wish that on my worst enemy. I'm so glad he thinks he got it all, and I really, really hope you don't get any more!!! And then a new doctor on top of everything else. . . Um, what is VNS that you have to have it turned on & off? And all of this while you had company from Ireland? {{{{HUGS}}}} I hope you at least got to visit with them a little bit!
Great picture of you at Daytona! I'm jealous! And on the Lazy River Ride! Cool!!!
Is "Darius" of the Lost Lords by Grace Burrows an historical book?
Mary, I've been having trouble getting onto the interner lately, too. And when I do get there, I can't find what I want. . . I've been reading a fair bit lately, too, mostly while sitting beside my dying dmil. (more on this later) My list is up to #97. I was in a store that had "50 shades of gray" on a sale table, so I picked it up and read the back blurb. Decided that series is NOT for me!!
I'm glad that all your dental work is done. I'm looking at a couple more extractions, but not any time soon.
We've had great weather since the snow finally went. We've had about 2" of rain over the last 2 weeks -- just had 3/4" in 10 minutes last night, along with mighty thunder and lightening! Now we need sun to make everything grow. We had a BBQ on Monday, July 1st. 50 people invited, 32 showed up. Had lovely sunshine for then, and even saw some fireworks in the evening.
Happy belated birthday to your hubby!
Amanda, I don't mind a little bit of horror in my stories -- a very little. . . & it can't be blood & gore, it has to be "genteel horror", if there is such a thing. . .
Oh gosh, a root canal! I had one done (30 or so years ago) The pain, for about 3 weeks while the nerve was dying, was horrible! I still think the dentist did something wrong, 'cause tons of people told me I shouldn't have had any pain. Even the dentist told me the pain was "all in my head". Geez, I had 5 kids, don't tell me I don't know what pain is! I was on 3 different pain killers at the same time, and it took me a month to get over them all.
Sandi, yes I did get the insurance thing straightened out. Seems they had insurance on our house to cover the mortgage as they didn't know that we did too. Oy, I don't envy anyone who has to deal with the IRS (Canada Revenue up here, but the idea is the same) They are generally ignorant jerks and won't listen to reason even if they're wrong. At least that's our experience!
Our ddil is well. The surgery seems to have helped, but it will still be a long slow process. She's already lowered the dosage of her morphine pump, but it will be running on saline for about a year after she no longer needs it before they will take it out, and she could still be on morphine for a year before the dosage will be low enough that they can stop it entirely.
Oh my gosh! Arthritis of the Ribs! I've got it in my hands and one shoulder, and that's plenty bad enough!
I've read "Prime Suspect" by Virginia Smith, All I Ever Wanted, Fools Rush In, Too Good To Be True, and Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins, as well as A Cowboy to Come Home To by Donna Alward, and A Better Father by Kris Fletcher. That makes 97 by my count. Next is The Missing Twin from my TBR pile. I've put Karen Rose on my To Look For Authors List.
The Arbonne cream I use is called Seasource Detox Spa, Renewing Body Gel. It's a pale bluish-green, and the jar has a dark blue lid with what looks like a turquoise feather on the top. I really like it and think it helps, but at the cost of it, I'm sure glad a little goes a long way!
Now that I've learned to put books directly onto my Sony reader it's not so bad, but I still think I'll get me a kindle some day. My sister has one, and she LOVES it!
Allison Brennan has 5 Kids? Amazing! I have 5 kids -- it's not so bad when they sneak up on you 1 at a time. . . {;-)
Did you guys have anything on the news about the flooding in Calgary? My niece and nephew were stranded on Mt. Kidd in the Kananaskis area for 4 days -- with a 3 yr old, a 1 yr old, and 2 dogs! They were finally brought out of the area in the back of an army truck.
The Hero by Robyn Carr -- I'll have to get that. I've read The Wanderer and enjoyed it. I'll have to look for both the others.
We finished redoing our pond/waterfall, and it's not too bad. Still not as steep as I had hoped for, but definitely better than it was. At least the water runs down all the rocks now instead of only the top two.
I finally figured out that I don't have to go through my computer to put books on my reader. That makes it much easiser, as wifi is available just about everywhere already. The biggest problem is there's very little browsing, so I need to know the title and author of the books I want. Also, I can only take out 5 books in 2 weeks, so I'm forever sitting and waiting for the books to go off before I can get more. I still haven't figured out how to return them before the end of 2 weeks.
Now. back to the comment I made before. Hardy's mom ended up in the hospital the week of June 19. I know it was that day because that was her birthday, she turned 91, and she was in the hospital for her birthday. Anyhow, she came back to the nursing home about 3 days later, but was very weak, constantly cried, didn't know anyone, and had totally lost all her english and spoke only in German, and only to a couple of us. So started the vigil. There was someone with her almost constantly after that, until the end, which was 5 p.m. Sunday, June 30. It was a relief, because she was ready to go home, and constantly cried out to God to take her home. Hardy and I, along with a couple other of the brothers and sisters, plus our daughter, Joy, and her daughter Codi were with her all Sunday afternoon. Most of us had to leave for another committment around 4:30, which left our daughter and granddaughter alone with her when the end came. Joy was sitting beside her and holding her hand when she said she felt as if someone had taken oma's hand out of her hand. She looked at Oma's face and saw her eyelids move as if she was going to wake up, then Oma left out a long slow breath, and that was the end.
Our other daughter, Lyn, was at work (at the nursing home) and she was the one who had to pronounce the time. We got back about an hour later, along with one other brother and sister. We waited for the undertaker, who happens to be a member of our church, and a second cousin, too. We actually helped him put Oma into the body bag. The only trouble I had with that was a few seconds when he pulled the zipper down over her face. The thought went through my mind "Don't cover her face, she won't be able to breathe." Silly me. But I'm really glad we had that experience. I know she's in heaven with Jesus, and with Opa, and I can see her in my mind laughing and singing like she used to when she was younger and still had her mind. I'm very glad she didn't suffer any longer than she did.
Okay, enough, or I'm going to be crying. It still hasn't hit us how much we're going to miss her. The funeral isn't until July 20th because the rest of the family can't get here until then.
Trudy, tea? Maybe it's the catechins or something that's in tea that's bad for you. I know, a long time ago a certain nutritionist told me No More Coffee! Well, now they've come out with the idea that 3 cups of coffee/day, before meals -- black, no sugar -- plus 2 cups of water with each cup of coffee, is supposed to be really good for you. Huh?
Anyhow, I'm really glad you enjoyed your trip! I like driving, too. I've actually driven from our place to my sister's in Calgary alone. It was fun! (10 hours -- driving time -- one way)
Ack! Kidney stones! A friend of ours had kidney stones, and the pain while he was passing one was excruciating! I don't wish that on my worst enemy. I'm so glad he thinks he got it all, and I really, really hope you don't get any more!!! And then a new doctor on top of everything else. . . Um, what is VNS that you have to have it turned on & off? And all of this while you had company from Ireland? {{{{HUGS}}}} I hope you at least got to visit with them a little bit!
Great picture of you at Daytona! I'm jealous! And on the Lazy River Ride! Cool!!!
Is "Darius" of the Lost Lords by Grace Burrows an historical book?
Mary, I've been having trouble getting onto the interner lately, too. And when I do get there, I can't find what I want. . . I've been reading a fair bit lately, too, mostly while sitting beside my dying dmil. (more on this later) My list is up to #97. I was in a store that had "50 shades of gray" on a sale table, so I picked it up and read the back blurb. Decided that series is NOT for me!!
I'm glad that all your dental work is done. I'm looking at a couple more extractions, but not any time soon.
We've had great weather since the snow finally went. We've had about 2" of rain over the last 2 weeks -- just had 3/4" in 10 minutes last night, along with mighty thunder and lightening! Now we need sun to make everything grow. We had a BBQ on Monday, July 1st. 50 people invited, 32 showed up. Had lovely sunshine for then, and even saw some fireworks in the evening.
Happy belated birthday to your hubby!
Amanda, I don't mind a little bit of horror in my stories -- a very little. . . & it can't be blood & gore, it has to be "genteel horror", if there is such a thing. . .
Oh gosh, a root canal! I had one done (30 or so years ago) The pain, for about 3 weeks while the nerve was dying, was horrible! I still think the dentist did something wrong, 'cause tons of people told me I shouldn't have had any pain. Even the dentist told me the pain was "all in my head". Geez, I had 5 kids, don't tell me I don't know what pain is! I was on 3 different pain killers at the same time, and it took me a month to get over them all.
Sandi, yes I did get the insurance thing straightened out. Seems they had insurance on our house to cover the mortgage as they didn't know that we did too. Oy, I don't envy anyone who has to deal with the IRS (Canada Revenue up here, but the idea is the same) They are generally ignorant jerks and won't listen to reason even if they're wrong. At least that's our experience!
Our ddil is well. The surgery seems to have helped, but it will still be a long slow process. She's already lowered the dosage of her morphine pump, but it will be running on saline for about a year after she no longer needs it before they will take it out, and she could still be on morphine for a year before the dosage will be low enough that they can stop it entirely.
Oh my gosh! Arthritis of the Ribs! I've got it in my hands and one shoulder, and that's plenty bad enough!
I've read "Prime Suspect" by Virginia Smith, All I Ever Wanted, Fools Rush In, Too Good To Be True, and Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins, as well as A Cowboy to Come Home To by Donna Alward, and A Better Father by Kris Fletcher. That makes 97 by my count. Next is The Missing Twin from my TBR pile. I've put Karen Rose on my To Look For Authors List.
The Arbonne cream I use is called Seasource Detox Spa, Renewing Body Gel. It's a pale bluish-green, and the jar has a dark blue lid with what looks like a turquoise feather on the top. I really like it and think it helps, but at the cost of it, I'm sure glad a little goes a long way!
Now that I've learned to put books directly onto my Sony reader it's not so bad, but I still think I'll get me a kindle some day. My sister has one, and she LOVES it!
Allison Brennan has 5 Kids? Amazing! I have 5 kids -- it's not so bad when they sneak up on you 1 at a time. . . {;-)
Did you guys have anything on the news about the flooding in Calgary? My niece and nephew were stranded on Mt. Kidd in the Kananaskis area for 4 days -- with a 3 yr old, a 1 yr old, and 2 dogs! They were finally brought out of the area in the back of an army truck.
The Hero by Robyn Carr -- I'll have to get that. I've read The Wanderer and enjoyed it. I'll have to look for both the others.
We finished redoing our pond/waterfall, and it's not too bad. Still not as steep as I had hoped for, but definitely better than it was. At least the water runs down all the rocks now instead of only the top two.
I finally figured out that I don't have to go through my computer to put books on my reader. That makes it much easiser, as wifi is available just about everywhere already. The biggest problem is there's very little browsing, so I need to know the title and author of the books I want. Also, I can only take out 5 books in 2 weeks, so I'm forever sitting and waiting for the books to go off before I can get more. I still haven't figured out how to return them before the end of 2 weeks.
Now. back to the comment I made before. Hardy's mom ended up in the hospital the week of June 19. I know it was that day because that was her birthday, she turned 91, and she was in the hospital for her birthday. Anyhow, she came back to the nursing home about 3 days later, but was very weak, constantly cried, didn't know anyone, and had totally lost all her english and spoke only in German, and only to a couple of us. So started the vigil. There was someone with her almost constantly after that, until the end, which was 5 p.m. Sunday, June 30. It was a relief, because she was ready to go home, and constantly cried out to God to take her home. Hardy and I, along with a couple other of the brothers and sisters, plus our daughter, Joy, and her daughter Codi were with her all Sunday afternoon. Most of us had to leave for another committment around 4:30, which left our daughter and granddaughter alone with her when the end came. Joy was sitting beside her and holding her hand when she said she felt as if someone had taken oma's hand out of her hand. She looked at Oma's face and saw her eyelids move as if she was going to wake up, then Oma left out a long slow breath, and that was the end.
Our other daughter, Lyn, was at work (at the nursing home) and she was the one who had to pronounce the time. We got back about an hour later, along with one other brother and sister. We waited for the undertaker, who happens to be a member of our church, and a second cousin, too. We actually helped him put Oma into the body bag. The only trouble I had with that was a few seconds when he pulled the zipper down over her face. The thought went through my mind "Don't cover her face, she won't be able to breathe." Silly me. But I'm really glad we had that experience. I know she's in heaven with Jesus, and with Opa, and I can see her in my mind laughing and singing like she used to when she was younger and still had her mind. I'm very glad she didn't suffer any longer than she did.
Okay, enough, or I'm going to be crying. It still hasn't hit us how much we're going to miss her. The funeral isn't until July 20th because the rest of the family can't get here until then.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)