Ahhhh....movies at home

I turned on my Pandora music station via my Roku this morning and had just the kind of music I was in the mood for. (Iris Dement channel and Randy Travis channel).  At some point, I decided I probably should investigate my Roku stations a little closer to see if I could use more channels.  I already have a few free things I can click on (classic movies, Disney, Crackle), and Netflix which I signed up for at $8 a month.  I love that I can stream in unlimited movies 24 hrs a day. 

Anyhow, I saw Amazon channel so I went online to sign up for that channel as well. I was a little timid at first but Joe helped walk me through the steps and now I have unlimited movies I can rent for $3.99 whenever I want them.  Once you pick a movie, you have it for 48 hrs.  Then your visa card is charged.  Since I pay $7.50 at the movie house and I'm usually  uncomfortable before the movie is over, I'm thrilled that I can  stream the movies in.  I didn't think I could do it without a house phone.

On my list of available movies right now is Midnight in Paris, Hangover Pt 2, Moneyball, Water for Elephants, Tree of Life, Bridesmaid, and The Help. I've already seen The help but I may watch it again.  I'm sure the twins are going to be excited to see the additional channels as well.  I think I'm going to sign up for Hula Plus next.

Went to the doctor this morning. Cholesterol was down but triglycerides were still way high. If I can get my act together, I should be able to lower that.  I go back in six months.

I was determined to get my three small quilts laid out with batting and backing today.  That part of the process is usually tiring for me and today was such a day.  Once I started, however, I wasn't about to stop no matter how much my feet and legs didn't want to participate in the project.  Course I wore them out beforehand by another project in my bedroom.

My bed has been squeaking to beat the band so I took off the box spring and mattress to tighten the screws on the bed frame and then turned the mattress and put on fresh sheets.  Irritates me how jobs like that used to be a piece of cake but nowadays it's a major undertaking.  But then, everything seems to take me a little longer--sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, yard work, cooking....the list is endless.

I just stuck a cornish game hen in the oven so at least dinner will be kind of easy tonight. I found a box of stovetop dressing in the pantry so I think I'll fix that up instead of potatoes.

Got a note on Facebook this morning that a friend died on Sunday.  Sad to hear that as I always liked Harry Gauthier. He used to walk to school with my dad and I worked with him at the mill.  I'd been sending him postcards a few times a week.

I took a few pictures yesterday and today.

                                      back yard was frosty looking yesterday morning

                                             roof looked frosty too

 And here I am taking a picture of my shadow. I obviously have time on my hands.

 saw a cartoon on Facebook that I thought was funny so I took a picture of my lost socks

 this is the fifties puzzle me and Hunter are working on. It's really a fun one. I set up the footstool nearby to keep extra pieces on.  Sammy came running in the house and thought he'd jump up on the stool instead of the couch.  His feet went sliding and so did a few puzzle pieces. I think he was surprised. I know I was and I yelled at him to leave my puzzle alone!

 here he is under a blanket in his bed. I guess I have a tendency to spoil him as I fix the blanket to make a cave out of it

Here's my black t-shirt that I ruined. I stuck it in the bleached white laundry today hoping I could turn it whiter but it didn't work at all.  How do I get rid of the ugly or is there even a way?  You'd think I would know that.  I think if I put it in a sink of bleach water, I'd probably just turn it uglier.  I guess it's gonna have to be my working outside, painting, washing the car shirt.

I had to laugh at Sammy yesterday. I took him for a walk down the alley to meet the kids and a few houses down are two very large and noisy dogs who bark bark bark at anything that moves in the alley. Sammy stayed away from that side of the fence and we passed on by.  Coming back, however, we were with Maddie and Hunter and all of sudden, Mr. Sammy is Mr. Brave and he charges at the fence to bark bark bark at the bullies on the other side.  Made me laugh.  I guess he felt tougher with "his people."  ha ha ha

Got some pictures in the mail today that I had sent to a cousin a few years ago. Sure wish I was this size again.

Well, I guess that's it for today. Looking over my calendar shows that I have a pretty boring life. But that's okay.  I'm taking a friend in Sequim to breakfast on Monday as I have an early morning eye doctor appt. Otherwise, all I see is return library books and set out the trash. Think I'll add: "go bike riding."  Yeah, that's a plan.

Starting the week....again

Doing better this morning.  Got a  bit more sleep and I'm sure that is contributing.  Am confident, also, that the bathroom isn't going to be the place I spend the most time today.  Whatever was ailing my tummy (suspect some food) has cleared up and life is good. Decided to lay off coffee for a few days (or longer if I'm able) to see if my body fares better.

I'm also experimenting with shoe inserts again.  After spending $50 on new inserts, the one little metatarsal pad the doctor glued under one insole continues to plague me to such a degree that I'm limping and uncomfortable from the minute I put my shoe on. I'm keeping the pad in there but I've fashioned another little cushion on top of it, and I'm hoping that will do the trick.  I have three small quilts I want to put batting and backing on today and you pretty much have to do that on your feet.  I'm also determined to get Sammy out for a daily walk so do or die, it's gonna happen.

Yesterday I taught myself how to use the program on my laptop that allows me to print one or a whole page of labels.  I was surprised at how easy it was. For whatever reason, though, the pictures showing you how to print a certain size envelope don't seem to run true.  You can print face up or down and in several positions on the printer but I think some of the diagrams are incorrect as they continue to print the envelope upside down.  I know it's not me.
I still have to experiment with the scanner controls.  I'm sure it will scan in my cross stitch patterns and give me a picture I can work with but I haven't been able to print off a workable pattern yet.  Could just be my old scanner will be the better option.

Gotta prepare a couple of postcards for mailing now.  Sure am pleased that I found such a huge supply to draw from.  I need to make a postoffice run down to the local grocery store too.

I watched an old movie called Marooned last night. (1969)  It wasn't the greatest movie but it was still fun to watch some of the old stars, most of whom are gone now....Gregory Peck, David Janssen, Richard Crenna, and James Franciscus.

Gonna have to activate both VCRs  tonight as there are 4 shows I want to see...Southland, Justified, The River, and Unforgettable.

Obit notes:
Perry Como: May 18, 1912 -May 12, 2001 Retired to FL with his wife of 60 years. After sharing ice cream with his daughter and grandson, Perry laid down for a nap and died of natural causes at 88. Buried in Tequesta, FL

Waylon Jennings: June 15, 1937 - Feb 13, 2002 Waylon was a lifelong sufferer of diabetes and had a foot amputated in 2001. He died at age 64 of the disease and is buried in Mesa, AZ.

Housework chores

There are days when I wonder why I even bother to get out of bed.   I had kind of a bad night. Not sure why. Sometimes I wonder if I have restless leg syndrome. At any rate, I tossed and turned until after 2 a.m. with general body aches and pains.  My left fingers keep going to sleep but this happens every now and again so I'm thinking it's a pinched nerve somewhere.  Never fails to amaze me how many places an aging body can cause you grief.  I figure it's God's plan to help us deal with our eventual demise. If we felt good all the time, nobody would be happy about kicking the bucket.  Some days I kind of look forward to the pain being done and over with.  My, that's a happy Monday morning thought, isn't it? I have a tendency to get like this when I haven't had enough sleep.

I took a hot shower and proceeded to get a little housework done. Figured I'd feel better if I kept moving. Could be a little stomach flu floating around as I'm dealing with a touch of nausea as well.  I swept and vacuumed the house which I sometimes put off indefinitely because my low back hurts.  Once that was completed, I figured I might as well mop the bathrooms and kitchen.

As I emptied the mop water I was glad I had finished the chore. Always validates my effort when I see grayish black water going down the drain.  I had put on rubber gloves to keep my hands clear of the bleach water as I rung out the mop.  Once I finished the mopping, I went into the bedroom to put on cooler clothes. The toil of working had made my black sweats and black t-shirt too warm to wear.

Much to my dismay, I discovered that the mop residue had splattered all over the ankles and bottom of my fairly new black sweats.  I had bought them not too long ago because my other black sweats were too shabby looking.  Oh well, I sighed. This is my life.  As I took off my black t-shirt...one of my newer shirts that I love (has the Blues Brothers on it) I noticed a HUGE area of reddish discolor marks where I had  grabbed my low back every few minutes while mopping because my damn LOW BACK HURT!  Now my favorite black t-shirt can only be worn around the house and while gardening or washing the car.

Yeah, I know. If this is all I have to worry about, I should be thankful.  And I am. It's not like my closet isn't full of black shirts already.

I plan to work on a couple of small quilts today but that's probably about it.  I did finish the border of my 1000-pc jigsaw puzzle during the Superbowl yesterday. It's going to be a fun one. Full of people and items having to do with the fifties.  I kept the game on but I lost interest.  I'd look up at the commericals now and then, though.  I had two favorites--the graduating kid who thought he was getting a yellow sports car but his folks had actually bought him a little fridge and the dog who decided to lose weight and did all the exercises.

I watched parts of The Voice afterwards but there's so much "fluff" I may record it tonight so I can zip through the parts that just take up air.  I also watched Downton Abbey and a couple episodes on Neflix of Damages with Glenn Close.

I've been sending postcards a few times a week to a couple of guys in nursing homes. I had run out of cards, though, and was searching the thrift stores to see if I could recycle some.  I then remembered that I had a box full of postcards I'd been saving for years.  Lots and lots of postcards and dozens were blank on the back.  Perfect!  Now I gotto go buy stamps.  I was tempted to use my state-by-state postcards but couldn't make myself part with them yet. They're in a special book with several old Port Townsend scenes.

That bowling team picture on yesterday's blog was not Eileen Martin, by the way. I wonder if it was Doris Yesberger?  I got a call from an old neighbor in Green Acres yesterday who is helping another neighbor (in her 90's and in a nursing home now) clean out her house for an estate sale. She spotted a framed picture of the Presbyterian Church in PT by Wally Exum and asked me if I wanted it.  I said sure and will pick it up next week when I go by to take another neighbor to lunch for her birthday.

Obits: Louisa Mae Alcott :  She devoted her last years to women's suffrage and died at age 55 from long-term effects of mercury in her system. It was a common treatment then for typhoid fever.

Tennessee Williams: A well known hypochondriac, the often took pills he didn't need. After a night of heavy drinking, he choked on a bottle cap at age 71. He's buried in St. Louis.

That bowling team

Carol Musial thinks the IDs are:

Susie Northup, maybe Eileen Martin?, Ed McMinn, Fran Bixby, Dorothy Littrell Hopkins, Gladys Rustad

Saturday activities

I managed to knock a large glass-covered picture off the wall and break the glass so I got to spend a little bit of time moving the sewing table contents so I could pull out the table and sweep up the mess. That was fun. The picture got moved to another wall which meant I had to change four other wall hangings as well.  I never can just let it go.  I kind of like my NY picture without the glass. Makes it brighter looking.

Got a Facebook greeting from my granddaughter so I had her show me "again" how to turn off chat so people won't see I'm online when I just check in quickly to see if there are any new pictures.  She was at work so I told her to take some pictures of her office with her phone so I could see where she works.  This is in Kirkland. She sent one of her half sister, Carol (on the right). Sitting next to Carol is her sister, Melanie.

                                 Catie at her work station getting in some overtime on Saturday.

                                                        Catie's office area in Kirkland.

I ran to Swains to buy a pair of socks and ran into a woman upstairs (who didn't remember me but I knew her) Karen Hufford Kettel. She graduated from Port Angeles in '62 but went to PT long enough to be included in that class' activities.  She lives a few blocks from me.  I thought Jenni and Maddie were going to be selling Camp Fire Candy at Swains but they were at another market next to the liquor store so I drove over there to take a picture.

I bought a chicken sandwich at McDonalds and then made my way over to Safeway to fill up the car.

Close to $50 which depressed me so I went inside and bought a cake.  ha ha  Gotta have something for the Super Bowl Party tomorrow.  I'm expecting at least three people..me, myself, and I.

Yesterday I finished my second tulip wall hanging. I had made one a few weeks ago but didn't like the colors I used so I decided to try again. Looks better but still not as cute as the picture in the magazine. Maybe they never look that good.  Here's the first one and the second is below that.

I sure am getting disgusted with the political news lately.  So much back stabbing and strutting around.  I have to turn the channel the minute I see Donald Trump has been given air time again.  That pompous ass makes me puke!

I guess I'll head out into the kitchen and see  if I can't get another quilt top finished.  I posted on my Leader blog last night so take a peek if you have a mind to.
www.ptleader.com         blogs       Town Kid      My Time as Ma Kettle

The woman (Marjorie Main) who played Ma Kettle, by the way, was named Mary Tomlinson. She changed her name when she started in vaudeville so her minister dad wouldn't be embarrassed.  Ha!

Obit book:
Irving Berlin: May 11, 1888-Sept. 22, 1989  Irving was illiterate and could never read or write music. He died in his sleep at 101 just a few miles from the Lower East Side tenement where he hd lived while hawking newspapers some 95 years earlier. He's buried in the Bronx.
 Nat King Cole: March 17, 1919 - Feb 15, 1965
Nat was cherished by white viewers but southern stations wouldn't carry his show. He outraged some white viewers by touching the arm of a white female guest, the shows was cancelled in 1958. He died of lung cancer and Jack Benny talked at his funeral. He's buried in Glendale, CA

Old Pictures & Newer Stuff

Picked up Mary Norton about 10:10 yesterday morning and we were off to Port Townsend. Stopped to pick up my sister-in-law, Lill, and then drove over to Linda Pedersen's to pick up some Harry Potter books that she had for Hunter.  Which reminds me...I need to send out an email about his rope jumping for the Heart Assn.  (be prepared if you're in my address book)

We stopped by the Research Center on the Airport Cutoff but I wasn't able to find what I was looking for. Next we dropped in at my sister's apartment at Claridge Court so I could give her some zippers she needed for the bags she's making.  She showed me her finished supply so far and they are really great! I bought two of them to use as gifts.

We met up with Ev Muehlethaler and Patricia Willestoft for lunch down at Point Hudson. I've been experimenting with my camera settings on my computer program and ended up trying this mode. Think I lost the color one but you get an idea of how our corner looked.

 

I picked up a Leader while in town and was pleased to see all the old pictures in the Who's Who booklet enclosed.  I just love looking at old photos and have scanned in some of them to post here.

                                                             Aldrich's around 1926

                                                                         The Ax Men

                                                              School kids in Shine

Still waiting to get IDs on this bowling group. Ed McMinn in center and Gladys Rustad on far right.

I took about 30 photos yesterday but most I deleted when I got home. Needed to have a few to experiment around with trying to learn my camera settings and printer/scanner.  My new scanner doesn't scan in newspaper pictures very good so I'm glad I've kept my old one connected to my old computer.  At least I can't find a place on the new one to make the pictures clear enough to share. Below are a few I took here and there.

 My latest jigsaw puzzle. It's a print by C.F. Payne called 'Classic Rock'. I found a $7 frame at Serenity House and decided it was cute enough to hang.

The last of my snow on Ground Hogs Day. All gone now.

 The road heading up to Jenni's house

 Jen and Wayne's place a couple blocks from my house

 Sitting at the light at Lincoln & Front Street in downtown Port Angeles

 Cool looking tree  at Pt. Hudson

 3 plants I've got in my bathtub hoping they'll perk up as spring gets closer.

This is the one on the right in the picture above. I think it's going to sprout some leaves soon.

I went to see 'The Grey' Wednesday night. I was all ready to be entertained but I didn't think it was that great. I got up as soon as the credits started and I found out later via FB that the real ending was after the credits!  That irritates me all to hell!  How dare they pull such a stunt!  Normally I sit through the credits or at least most of them but I didn't this time because I was so disgusted with the ending. Not worth the price of a ticket but that's just my opinion.

Jenni dropped off the dog this morning and said the kids were fighting again. They got put on restriction last week because of their constant bickering. Anyhow, seems the girls (6th graders) have taken to fighting among themselves like girls that age will do.  The drama never ends.  Jen told me they now call each other names in sign language.  Hunter picked up on it right away and now him and Maddie are signing stuff to each other like bitch, whore, and slut.  Yes, we're ever so proud.

Well, it's looking  awfully nice out today. Think I'll surprise Sammy with a walk around the block. Nothing planned for the weekend except writing, sewing, watching tv, and maybe pushing the bike out of the garage to see if I can convince my knees that it doesn't matter how old they are.

February already

The days, weeks, months, and years certainly seem to pass a whole lot faster since I've  become a senior citizen.  I've kind of just dinged around all morning. Did run down and get my blood drawn at 7:45 so the doctor can verify next week at my appt that "yes, I am still eating ice cream." 

I went to Safeway later in the morning. Didn't actually need anything except lotto tickets but I browsed through the aisles anyhow.  I did resist buying ice cream but I spent 99 cents on a chocolate cake mix. Have half of it baking now. I often use half a cake mix at a time. Doesn't seem to matter if I use two eggs instead of 1-1/2 eggs but I still cut down the water and oil, of course.

I made a walk-thru at Serenity House as well. Wanted to see if they had any posterboard or something I could use to mount my latest jigsaw puzzle on.  I finished it this morning and hate the thought of putting it back in the box.  I did find a $7 frame with posterboard that I'm thinking might work.  We'll see once I try to put the glass or plastiglass back on.

Does anybody know if you can use Pampered Chef baking stones on top of the stove?  I have a large grill that sits on two burners for pancakes and such but sometimes I just want a little area to cook on. I hesitate to use the stone but can't find if it's for oven use only.

I'm going to play with my new scanner and see if I can't figure out how to scan in my various pieces of paper needed to do my taxes. My daughter does them every year and says if I can send her attachments, I don't even need to bother with snail mail.  If I can't get it to do what I want, I'll plug in my old computer and use my other scanner.

My daughter Sue and I are meeting up at 6:45 to see a movie downtown tonight.  Liam Neeson in The Grey.  Tomorrow I'm driving into Sequim to pick up Mary Norton and we'll head to Port Townsend for some quick stops and lunch at Point Hudson with another friend.

Here's two trailer movies showing how my tastes have changed from my younger years to now...