It's white outside

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....
And then let it be gone!  It's pretty, it kept me out of physical therapy this a.m. but I have plans for tomorrow and I'm not brave enough to drive to PT unless it's all pretty much history. From my front and back doors... and the window in this room.

I kept my little Christmas tree lights on last night and my blinds open in the bedroom so I could look out to see if snow had arrived.  I was glad to see it but only because I hate physical therapy.  I got my pictures and I'm ready for it to go away for the rest of the year.

Jenni and the kids stopped in last night to pick up a Christmas hat for Hunter. They were on their way to their music concert at school.  Good opportunity for a photo shoot although I regret not donning a hat myself since my hair looks so very stylish.

I pretty much loafed yesterday.  After I spent close to an hour doing exercises and riding my indoor bike, that is.  I intend to get back in there this morning as soon as I finish this post.

When I pulled the trash bins out to the alley, I noticed five piles of dog poop.  Not that unusual 'cause Sammy has spent some time here off and on.  What had me puzzled, however, was that it was much larger than his usual contribution, and I wondered how another larger dog could have  gotten into my yard since the gates are always closed.  (yes, I'm writing about dog poop today. Nothing is sacred)

Anyhow, I took some pictures of it and emailed it to Jenni at work asking her if she thought Sammy was capable of poop this big.  She emailed me back that she couldn't judge so would I go out and take another picture with a dollar bill by it.  I wrote back:  You have got to be kidding. I know I have time on my hands but not that much time.  She replied:  Well, you started it.

This morning I wake up to an email from her showing a picture of poop in her back yard.

I'm still laughing!

Had stew and dumplings for supper last night, and French toast for breakfast this morning.  As you can tell, I'm low on blog topics.  Not to worry, though...before this year is over, I'm going to have some very interesting news.  And no, I'm not getting married and I'm not pregnant.

Am off to the exercise bike now and then I have a letter to write to Ruthie who is still at Swedish.

Thursday early

I peeked out the windows a couple times during the night hoping I wouldn't see snow.  So far, so good, but the weatherman seems to delight in talking about how it's coming tonight.  It'll probably be gone by Christmas (when I have to be on the roads) but I did have a short car trip planned for tomorrow morning  so I'm hoping the white stuff misses  us altogether.  My short trip is only a mile or two downtown (for physical therapy) but the appointment is at 8:30 a.m. and I long ago convinced myself that I don't need to be behind the wheel when it's snowy or icy. I'll just have to play the waiting game and see what develops.  Certainly won't break my heart to miss the appt but I kind of did want to drive into Port Townsend on Saturday.  Again....the roads have to be completely clear or this weenie baby stays home!

Busy busy night in the dream world last night.  I had three holes in my right hand and there was stuff stuck in there like post-it notes.  I kept pulling them out and the wound was starting to heal over but it was decided I still needed surgery.  The hospital was in Reno or Vegas I think. I was strolling around casinos and knew I had to find an exit so I could make my appt. on time.  I went out one door and saw the roof of what looked like the Port Angeles hospital so I started to make my way in that direction but a lady said, "no, that's the library; the hospital is on the other side of the building."

The rest of the dream amounted to obstacles I met along the way as I tried to make my appt on time.  Met a ton of people and once I got in the hospital, I was lost in a maze of doors trying to find the lobby. Kept going through rooms with really old men laying in bed.  It  went on and on but I won't bore you with the details.  Always interesting, though, how I can run in my dreams and am very agile in everything I'm doing.  (not hard to analyze that)  Ha!

My blog website is sponsored by Google and I think they've set up something where you have more problems posting if you choose Explorer instead of Chrome.  I noticed it a while back when I couldn't post pictures. Now I see I keep getting an error message unless I use Chrome.  Jenni noticed the same problem with trying to play certain games on Pogo.  I don't mind Chrome at all except I can't really understand the settings sometimes and I'm more comfortable with Explorer.

Not too much on my to-do list today outside of doing my exercises.  I plan to do them this morning and later in the afternoon since I missed doing them yesterday.  I'm still babying that damn incision scar on my knee.  it's mostly healed except for one spot and it continues to act up.  It scabs over but gets quite black looking and when I try to release some of the blood underneath, I have a heck of a mess which requires bandaging it again.  I put on a regular bandaid yesterday and then when I tried to remove it (carefully) the scab that had started came off and I had to begin again using bandages that don't stick with cloth tape to keep it on.  Such a nuisance.  I wonder if it's refusing to heal because it's right on the spot where I have to bend the knee doing exercises.

I'm reading four books right now, and they're all holding my interest.  At least so far.  I don't know why I can't stick with one book at a time but it's been a habit for years.  I can remember when I used to read a book  from cover to cover and frequently.  Now, I'm lucky if I get through one, even though I visit the library often and have books  all over the house.  Right now, I'm into one on the first ladies, and bios of
Sissy Spacek, Mickey Rooney, and Katherine Hepburn.

Okay. I've put it off long enough.  Time to get the morning exercises done so I can concentrate on fun stuff.  Sold two more books because of the ad in the alumni newsletter so I need to get them in the mail too.  One thing I like about selling on ebay is that I can print my own label.  You can't do that for media mail, otherwise.  Which I think I've already complained about.

Here's a story I saw on the Today Show this morning....





And I almost forgot....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LINDA WILSON FARINA!  Here she is just a few years ago in the kids parade.

I didn't win

I didn't really expect to win anyhow but it might have been nice to have gotten at least one number.  Oh well...

Alumni newsletter came out today and so far, I've sold two books from my ad that appeared.  Hope it continues.

I got one of the Christmas presents I ordered in the mail today.  It's going back.  It was a book called
'642 things to draw.'  Only problem is -- every page is blank!  There are two to four blank boxes on each page with a small notation saying: draw a wrench, draw a tree, draw an elephant, etc. etc.  I thought it would be an instruction book showing you how to draw 642 things.

I went down to Swains to pick up a replacement gift and they were doing a brisk business. I found something that satisfied me  and then made my way to one of the two book stores in town.  They were busy too. I bought a Norman Rockwell calendar.  Man, but calendars have gotten expensive.  If I had money to burn, I would have bought this big ole stuffed tiger they had sitting on a shelf.  It was white with black markings and very beautiful.  $80 was more than I could afford, though.  I looked over all their little gadgets, books, and toys and then came home to take a nap.

Weatherman is irritating the hell out of me with his continual snow talk.  I wouldn't care if I didn't have travel plans but I'll figure out something.  I thought it felt like snow when I went out to get the mail this afternoon.  Course the wind was blowing and that always cools things down but there was still that "nip" where you can tell.

My nap was kind of short so I guess I'll be heading off to bed fairly early tonight.  I'd like to sit and read a while as I have four or five books that all look interesting but I tried to read the other night and promptly nodded off.  Since I've been yawning for the last hour (and it's only 6 pm) I can tell it's going to be an early to bed night for me.  I vaguely remember the times where I could read past 2 a.m. with no problem. I just finished Tom Brokaw's book, A Long Way From Home...it was a pretty good read.

Heard that an old girl friend from grade school and high school days passed away Dec. 4. Judy Bare Howe. If the roads aren't scary, I might drive into PT on Saturday for her memorial service.  Here's a picture taken several years ago when we got together (I think at my Hadlock mobile)

And that's about it for tonight.

Christmas baking

There used to be a time when I put a lot effort into making my Christmas cookie packages for people.  I also used to spend a lot of time addressing cards, writing a letter, shopping, wrapping, making gifts, going to parties, and fixing a big dinner.  Most of those activities have gone by the wayside.

I made three new recipes that I saw on Facebook. The Nutella brownies turned out okay, and the lemon fudge looks okay too (except I had to cut the pieces small as it's way too rich in my opinion.  Pretty, though.  I remember now why I don't make divinity often.  It's too hard and mine never turn out right.

They taste just fine but they're not supposed to look flat like this.  I even went to the trouble of scooping up each one and putting them on parchment paper and setting it out in the garage where it was cold.  The scooped up candy looked fine but when I checked on it a few hours later, it went flat too.  Seems a shame to toss them in the trash but that's where they're going.  I don't see how I can package them as gifts.

The recipe was pretty easy. You made it in the microwave and then poured the mixture over beaten egg whites.  I assume I didn't beat the eggs whites long enough or the final mixture long enough.  The bowl was getting heavy and I wanted to sit down.  Probably would have worked better if I had one of those fancy wancy electric mixers that stand alone.  Dad had one when I was growing up and we used it all the time.  When I got married, I got 7 hand mixers as gifts-- and not one toaster.  Ha!

I decided to clean the kitchen after supper tonight.  Some times I'm too tired and let it go until morning. Kind of nice knowing I can get up and not have to wash dishes.  Well, it's almost time for Wheel of Fortune so I think I'll get my jammies on and settle in with my knitting needles so I can play the granny that I've now become.

I sent my brother, Les, a scratch ticket in his Xmas card and he won $50 on it.  He sent me a mega ticket in return and another scratch ticket.  The scratch didn't win but wouldn't it be something if the mega hit?
I wouldn't mess around with buying fancy cars and boats, though.  My plan is to give it all away --mostly to family, friends, charities, and Jefferson and Clallam County organizations that need help.
I'd also get my teeth fixed, hire a cook and a driver, buy a house on the beach, and a good bra!

Christmas Eve in one week!

I'm sitting eating a baloney sandwich for lunch.  I don't usually have baloney in the house but I just did a walk-thru at Safeway and it looked kinda good sitting there among all the other meats we probably shouldn't eat.  Yum! Nothing like a baloney sandwich now and then.

I went to physical therapy at 8:30.  I had pedaled on my exercise bike at home first thinking things might go easier for me. Nope! Everything hurt to high heaven.  She did show me a couple of exercises I can do when I stay with Mary over the holidays (maybe longer).  One was putting a belt around your foot and pulling it towards you to make the knee bend.  It definitely hurt so I stopped at Serenity House to pick up a belt I thought might work.

Made a quick Walmart run to get my prescription and another ink cartridge for my printer.  Hate buying those suckers!  I filled up the car with gas at this one station on the way that always "used to have" the cheapest prices.  When I left and drove by Safeway, I noticed I could have saved 20 cents a gallon.  Hate it when that happens.

Noticed a bit of a line at Safeway for mega tickets.  Not as long as I've seen on television but I was glad I picked mine up earlier at the neighborhood grocery when there was no line at all.

Guess I'll head out to the kitchen and clean things up a bit. Bought some sugar and I plan to make divinity this afternoon.  I've got a tiny bit of Xmas wrapping to finish up but am still waiting on three things I ordered.  Mainly, I plan to relax and entertain myself.  Got a new puzzle started, books to read, and Netflix shows to watch. 

Looking gray and dark outside.  Rain on the way, I suppose.  That's fine.  Just don't send any white stuff.

Hope I win

I wasn't going to buy a mega ticket for the drawing tomorrow but I changed my mind.  I don't have any expectations but even if I get four numbers, the money would be a nice win.  I decided to put up a few outside lights this afternoon.  I strung a bunch on the little tree in the backyard and while my camera doesn't take good night pictures, it is kind of neat to see it shining in the dark out there.

I went to the dentist at 2 pm and was all ready to be told I needed a root canal.  Much to my delight, however, that wasn't the case.  The tooth that has been "acting up" is the one that had a root canal in September so the dentist thinks perhaps my bite was altered when I fell on my teeth.  I know that's the case because sometimes when I drink a glass of water, the rim of the glass hits my top tooth.  He did a little adjusting and drilling and hopes that will ease the problem a bit.  So far it hasn't but I'll be careful biting in that area and hope that it behaves.  I know what an abscess tooth feels like 'cause I've had a couple in my lifetime.  I'm not dealing with that kind of pain; just a general discomfort.  Hell, my whole body is one general discomfort most of the time anyhow!

I go to physical therapy tomorrow morning early and again on Friday morning.  Not sure when I'm heading over to Mary's place but it looks like "maybe" Christmas day.  We're still working on the details.

Here's a cute commercial...

ten days to go

I had another productive day. I'm not taking it for granted, either, as my energy level has been way low for months.  I spent 40 minutes on exercises and like I knew it would -- it hurt!  Have got to make myself do them every single day.

I finished up the last of my Christmas gift cross stitch projects, wrapped a few more presents, swept the kitchen and ran a quick mop over it, ironed a blouse, cleaned under the sink, and finished my jigsaw puzzle.  Seemed a shame to tear it apart without taking a picture of it.

I'm thinking I just might pull out another to work on as it was so much fun --especially towards the end. I've got a ton of 1000-piece puzzles but I think I'll work on another 500-piece for now.

Saw a recipe on Facebook for divinity that looked really easy so I think I'll buy the ingredients when I go to Walmart tomorrow to pick up my prescription. We always looked forward to my Aunt Lillian's divinity when I was growing up, but for some reason, I seldom ever make it.

First thing on my agenda tomorrow, however, is to make a dentist appointment.  I've been darn lucky so far but I don't want to push my luck on waiting to see what that upper front tooth is up to.

Saw a picture on FB of the class of '63 at their 50th reunion.  I love seeing those "kids". Thought I'd post it here....