Wednesday's Wonderings

I woke up about 0230 and woke up about every half hour until about 0500 hen I finally went back to sleep and did not get up until about 0800. I went downstairs and made some cinnamon raisin nut toast with peanut butter and banana.

I had taken the craft gloves that Kathleen got for me last night off and was amazed at how much better my hands felt. I left them off most of the day and put them on for a while this afternoon after I had been outside working.

After eating, I washed the pan that Kathleen cooked the bacon in last night. I had soaked it with hot water and Dawn so the grease came off easily. Reggie liked the bacon grease and dry dog food that I gave him last night.

After straightening up the kitchen, I went into the living room to read the paper. Before I finished the paper, the mail came, there was really nothing there, I think Kathleen got a couple things and I got a catalog, but the rest was junk mail. After recycling the paper and mail, I took the full bag out to the garage, and while I was out there, I thought that I would do a little work, so I cut some more of the Italian prune tree down and pulled some weeds in the garden.

I was getting hungry so I went inside and made myself a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. After eating that I went back outside, dug up a couple blackberry bushes, picked up some of the fallen branches from the back yard, and then dumped the barrel into the main barrel that I use for yard debris pickup.

While I was dumping the branches, I noticed that Andrea’s Jeep was in her old parking spot, so I went inside and cleaned up. She brought over some chocolate covered marshmallows that she made, so I had a couple. Kathleen and I were going to go to her house and help her clean up today, but she had a couple things to do so we decide to do it tomorrow instead.

Andrea left about 1600 and shortly after that, Kathleen left to pick up her prescription that she did not get yesterday. She asked me to put some water on the stove and cook some ravioli for dinner tonight. I filled the frying pan with water, but got busy doing something for church and I never got the ravioli into the pan.

Kathleen came home about 1740 and added the ravioli and we had ravioli and Alfredo sauce for dinner tonight. Well, Kathleen has gone upstairs, probably for the night, so I think that I will just say my good night now.

Today is Tuesday

I slept in again this morning, I guess because there was no reason to get up earlier and I must have needed the sleep. My thumb joints have really been bothering me a lot today. I have been taking a lot of Advil and it helps, but it seems to wear off too soon.

I made my first winter breakfast, oatmeal, raisins, and black strap molasses. I used up the last of my regular cereal, so it was a good time to make the change. I also had my first morning cup of coffee. After eating, I cleaned up the kitchen and then went into the living room with another cup of coffee to read the paper.

Shortly after I finished the paper, the mail came, not much of anything exciting, just a couple of catalogs. After depositing the junk mail into the recycling bag, I went outside to pull up some more of the ivy that is growing west of the driveway. When I got tired, I cleaned up and then went upstairs to change clothes so that we could go to the grocery store. Then I went back downstairs and looked over a couple of the catalogs that came today.

While waiting for Kathleen to come downstairs, a UPS package came for me, it was the cover to store my soft-top side and back windows in while I have the hard top on.

I have not used one in the past, but the windows get really dusty and I was afraid that they would get scratched. Shortly after I opened the box, Kathleen came downstairs dressed to go shopping. She even remarked that she was dressed for the first time since Sunday.

Well, we went grocery shopping, and put everything away and then Kathleen wanted to go to a craft store, I was just too tired to go, so I stayed home and since she is not back yet, I thought that I would do my blogging.

We are planning on having bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato on croissants for dinner tonight whenever Kathleen comes home.

Well, I cannot think of anything else to write home about so I might as well say good night now.

My Monday Miseries

I was awakened at 0030, or shortly after midnight, with my Wrangler alarm going off. It was in the garage, so I was not too worried about anyone breaking into it as I could see that the garage door was shut from one of our bedroom windows. Since it had gone off a couple times about an hour earlier, I thought that I had better get up, get dressed, and go downstairs and out to the garage to see what was going on.

When I got out into the garage, I could hear the wind blowing against the metal garage door and I figured that it was just the vibration that was causing the alarm to go off. So I disarmed the Jeeps alarm system and went back into the house, upstairs, changed out of my clothes, and back into bed.

I wish that I could have fallen asleep as quickly as I normally do, but no such luck. I lay there for what seemed like most of the night and finally fell asleep. I finally awoke and got up about 0800, but I was by no means rested.

I think that I was in slow motion all day long; I made myself some cereal and coffee and then sat down for breakfast. After eating, I went through some of the coupons from yesterday’s paper. After sorting the coupons and throwing out the expired coupons, I went into the living room to read the paper.

I thought that we were going to go grocery shopping today since we have not done it the last two or three days, but Kathleen never came down to go. I went out to the garage to check on the Wrangler, and found out that the battery was just about dead and that may have added to the alarm going off last night. The alarm goes off if some one tries to cut the power to it, so when the battery is getting low the alarm will sound.

At first, I was going to use the jump starter, but then I thought that I would just put it on the charger, so I did. When I checked on it about an hour later, the charger was giving me an error, so I unplugged it and then plugged it back in again. I kept checking on it every hour or so, and it seemed to be working okay.

I spent a while picking up some of the branches that had been blown down the last couple of days and put them into the yard debris container. When I went inside, I heated up some of the leftover turkey and stuffing and put some of the gravy on it for my lunch. After eating, I went out to the garage again to check up on the battery’s charging progress.

While the battery was charging I decided to clean up the mess on my office desk, it seems like I did that not all that long ago, but it was stacked pretty high again. This time it was much easier and I can see the top of the desk once again.

While I was working on the desktop, I remembered that yesterday as I was looking for a program disk on the shelf above the desk, everything started to slide off. I just kind of restacked everything and thought that I would have to sort it out one of these days, well; one of these days was today.

I was able to throw out several outdated manuals and put some other things into the file cabinet with the contracts. Then I put everything left back on the shelf and it is now usable. I also sorted out several disks and was able to throw out several that were out of date. Before I threw them away, I broke them up, because they contained backups to my bank accounts.

When I finished I asked Kathleen what plans she had for dinner and she said that she was going to make some tuna noodle casserole. After dinner, I went into the living room and promptly dozed off. I was awaken when Alyssa called, Kathleen answered at the same time I did, so I just hung up and decided that I better get in here and do my blog, before I fell asleep for the night.

I have a feeling that it will be a real early night, as I did not get much sleep last night at all. So good night!

Sunday's Saga

I got up a little before 0700 this morning, I could have slept in longer, but I knew that I had to get up to shower and get ready for church. After my shower, I let Reggie out and made coffee and toast for myself for breakfast.

I got dressed and waited for Kathleen to get ready and we left the house a little after 0830. All the front parking spots were taken when we got there, so I dropped Kathleen off and went around to the back parking lot.

After church and Sunday School, we went home to grab a bit to eat and then off to Natalie’s “princess” birthday party. Alyssa had the outside of the house looking like a castle and the inside as well. Natalie had several her girlfriends there as well as Becca, Lexis, Toni and Chucky were also there. Andrea arrived a while later, but could only stay a short time as she had to go to work.

Alyssa had made all kind of decorations, crafts and things for the girls and they were all dressed up as little princesses. I think that everyone had a really good time and I am sure that Alyssa will sleep well tonight. I do not envy her having to clean up after everyone leaves.

The party got over a little after 1700 and we stayed a little while longer, but we were home around 1830. I did stop and get some gas while we were out, the tank still was about a third full, but in the wintertime, I like to keep the tank as full as possible.

I think that I will just say good night now, as I am too tired to think about writing any more. So, good night!

Sarurday's Stuff

I really slept in this morning, I got about 10 hours of bedtime and did not get up until after 0800. I guess turning 60 was harder on me than I thought! Actually, I think that I was just catching up on lack of sleep earlier in the week.

I made some coffee and had some cereal this morning. After breakfast, I washed the pan I used for yesterday's breakfast. I had not had a chance to do it yesterday, as we seemed to be on the run most of the day.

I saw that the mail had arrived so I went out, got it, and opened it up. I had three birthday cards, one from my Mom with a check, one from my sister and one from my finical advisors with a Home Depot gift card. I also got a couple catalogs and a magazine, the rest was junk.

After cleaning up the kitchen, I fixed the back storm door with parts I picked up at Home Depot yesterday. It works much better now. Next, I took off the old broken dryer vent cover and replaced it with one that fits closer to the house and does not stick out as far as the old one. I think that the other one stuck out far enough that it was always being bumped when I mowed that area; the new one is almost flush to the house.

After doing the outside chores, I went downstairs to sort out some of my tools, by use, i.e. electrical, pluming, carpentry, etc. and put them into separate plastic boxes. Then I put the electrical tools into the electrician’s bag that I bought yesterday.

I already had a bag that I did not have anything in so I put the plumbing tool in it. I also had a bag with some carpentry tool in it, so I added a few to it and then put the bags into the plastic boxes and labeled them and put them on one of the workbenches, for now.

After finishing that, I went back upstairs and read the paper. Then I started to go through some more of the magazines that I started a couple days ago. I made more progress the first day than I have the last two or three days.

My stomach started to growl, so I thought that I had better make myself some lunch. I went into the kitchen and saw that there was just enough leftover potato soup from the other day for one person, so I heated it up. There was just enough for a little less than one bowl, so I was a little hungry after I finished it so I grabbed some peanuts and almonds, and that filled me up.

I went downstairs to the basement, moved my mobile tool carrier over to my workbench, and re-arranged some things and before I knew it, it was about 1800. So here I am writing, I think I will have to see what Kathleen is planning on doing for dinner tonight. I am not anticipating anything else going on tonight so I will just say good night now.

Fun Friday

Well, I slept in two more hours this morning than I did yesterday. It was a little overcast, but not too bad for a December day. After Letting Reggie out, I started to make myself breakfast.

Before I had a chance to make the hash browns, Kathleen sliced the potato up and even the onion and mushrooms that I had set out. Then I had to fry them all up myself.

After the vegetables were cooked, I fried a couple eggs and sausages. A nice breakfast even if I do have to say so myself. I do not do that very often, but today was kind of a special day so I splurged a little.

After eating, I went into the living room and read the paper. We did not get to Home Depot yesterday so we were planning to go this morning. I finished the paper and Kathleen still had not come downstairs, and just as I was going to go upstairs, the mail came.

So I sat back down and opened up the mail and most of it again was junk mail. I think that the only thing I kept was a card from Alyssa and quarterly statement from Boeing showing how much retirement pay they had paid me.

After recycling the paper and the mail I finally made my way upstairs, I guess my coming upstairs inspired Kathleen to get dressed so that we could go shopping.

We first headed to the credit union to deposit a couple insurance refund checks from Kathleen’s prescriptions. Next, we headed to CompUSA, as Kathleen wanted to look at printers. She saw some that she liked, but we are going to wait a while before we buy another one.

Then it was on to Home Depot, I had a couple items that I wanted to pick up to do some home repair. They also had an electrician’s tool bag on sale and a set of cordless tools that are the same as the ones that I bought myself a couple years ago. I got everything that I was looking for and I found a tool set that had an extra tool in it for the same price so I got that as well.

Michael’s was the next stop and about half way through shopping when I got tired and told Kathleen that I was going to go sit in the car. It was dark before Kathleen finished and then we made our way home.

Well tonight, we are having dinner with Toni, Chucky and Aaron and Tami’s children. Aaron and Tami are at Eagle Crest with Tami’s family, so Toni and Chucky are house and children sitting for them while they are gone.

Well, I think that this is all I will write for tonight, I will probably be too tired when we get home tonight, so good night!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Reggie barking woke me up at 0600 this morning; I think that he just needed to go outside. Anyway, since I was up, I decided to just stay up, it was raining and I did not think that I would be able to get back to sleep anyway, so I might as well start my day...early.

I did the cereal thing for breakfast this morning and then poured myself a fresh cup of coffee and headed to the living room to read the paper. Before I finished the paper, the mail arrived, so I brought it in and opened and read what was worth reading and the rest I put in the recycling bag when I finished the paper.

Since I still had a couple stacks of magazines to go through I started on that...it looks like it will be a long process of these stacks. I have to look at every page and determine whether or not it is something that I will want to keep or will ever use. I worked on it all day and got about a quarter of the way through it.

I called Mom about noontime to wish her a Happy Birthday. She was home alone, so I talked to her for a little while. Kathleen joined in about half way through our conversation and Mom sounded cheerful.

Then about 1330 I decided to make myself some lunch, I reheated some of the stuffing and turkey and added some cranberry sauce and it was almost as good as a week ago.

I also called Boeing to see what I would have to do to rejoin the Health and Fitness facility that I use to belong to when I worked there. I need to do something to get a little more physical activity into my life. Kathleen would also like to go with me, as we both need to be a little more active.

Kathleen made some potato soup for dinner tonight; this is just the kind of weather that soup taste extra good. Well, I think this might be an early night due to getting up early this morning.

So I will just say my good night now and wish my mother a Happy Birthday!

Wednesday's Wanderings

When I got up this morning the first thing I did was look out the window to see what the weather was like and it was just still outside, which meant that it was still cold. I had noticed that it was very quiet and still before I got up, and when I saw that there was very little wind, I knew that we were in for a cold day.

I made myself a couple eggs, sausage and cranberry toast for breakfast. After I ate, I unloaded the dishwasher and then put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. I also washed the pan and the spatula that I used to make my breakfast with.

I poured myself another cup of coffee and headed to the living room to read the paper. When I finished I put the paper into the paper-recycling bag on the back porch and then decided to go outside to pick up after Reggie. The ground was slightly hard, so I knew that we had a frost.

We often do not get a frost in November, although it in not all that unusual to have one either. Some years are really mild temperature wise and others are not. They are predicting freezing rain tonight; although I noticed that the temperature is suppose to get warmer as the night goes on.

After coming back inside I noticed that the mail had come, so I went out and got it. There were a couple magazines, my American Express statement and a lot of junk mail.

I had planned to sort out some more of the boxes of magazines up in my “fly tying” room today so I went upstairs and brought down my first box. All in all, I went through five boxes of magazines and books.

I tore out the articles that I wanted from many of the magazines and sorted the rest by name and date so that they will be easier to catalog them when I get around to it, (my next big project).

Andrea had come over about 1400 and she and Kathleen went “baby” shopping. I kept sorting and before I knew it, it was 1900, so I finished the stack that I was working on and made myself supper.

I heated up some leftover turkey, stuffing and gravy. When I finished I put my dishes in the dishwasher and then went back to the living room to work on the next stack. I decided that there was enough in the magazines that I would just keep them and then catalog them later.

Kathleen and Andrea came back about 1950 and I decided to call it a night as far as the sorting went. So I put the boxes aside and here I am. I think I will just say good night for now

Trying Tuesday

When I got up this morning, I looked out the window to see if there were any snow, but there was none. When I got down stairs to let Reggie out I noticed that it was snowing lightly. While Reggie was outside, I went out the front door and got the paper off the front porch.

I made myself some cranberry/nut toast and put peanut butter and a banana on it. While the bread was toasting I made a pot of coffee. Reggie wanted to come in so I let him in and gave him his morning treat. After breakfast, I poured myself another cup of coffee and went into the living room to read the paper.

When I finished the paper, I took it out to the recycling bag so that it could be picked up today. It was snowing a little harder now, but still not really sticking to anything. When I got inside Reggie wanted to go back outside so I let him out.

As I was letting him out I noticed that the upper area of the back yard had about a 1/4 inch of snow on the grass. The middle and lower areas did not have snow on it, I am not sure why, because the upper portion is not really that much higher than the rest of the back yard.

While I was out there I decided to do a little weeding, not much, but just enough to keep the garden looking like someone cared. When I went inside, I decided to look at some of the catalogs that I sorted out yesterday. I kept three of them and the rest I took out to the recycling bag.

As I was going back toward the house, I noticed some small branches that had blown down from the storms over the last couple of weeks. I picked up a couple handfuls and I noticed a couple cars driving by, the people in them were all bundled up and here I was in my shorts, tee shirt and sandals.

The mail came a little while after I got back into the house, so opened it up and took the junk mail out to the street for recycling. Kathleen came downstairs about 1115 and made herself something to eat.

I decided to go upstairs, bring down a box that I had of maps and travel brochures, and sort it out. I found several duplicates and some really outdated brochures, which I added to the recycling. Next I put them all in a file folder, by location so that they would be easier to find when I wanted them or to see what I needed to get new one for.

Kathleen decided to make herself some more to eat and I thought that it would be a good time to make myself some lunch. I heated up some meatloaf for last night and some mashed potatoes for Thursday’s Thanksgiving dinner.

After I ate, I went upstairs to do some more cleaning up in my “fly tying” room. I was able to get everything off the desk and so I wiped it down and then put things back to where I could use it when I needed or wanted to.

I also put all my empty containers into a large plastic container and all my empty zip lock bags into a large bag, (I use them for storing tying material). Then I put all my flies into containers, fly boxes, and put them into a large plastic container so that they will all be in one place when I need to find them.

Kathleen decided to heat up some left over meatloaf and baked potatoes from last night. We also had some applesauce to go along with dinner. After eating I gathered up all the dishes and flatware that I could find, loaded it into the dishwasher and started it up.

Well, I think that is it for tonight, I guess that our “threat” of snow is on hold for a few days, no precipitation in sight, it is just suppose to get cold for the next few days. By cold, they mean, just below freezing.

Good night!

Monday's Menu

Well, it seems like everyone of the family blogs is including a menu or recipe for what they are making so I thought that I would give you a sampling of what I had for lunch. I did not include any pictures, as I did not want anyone to copy my delicacies. (I am sure Kathleen would add that the picture might make the week of stomach really sick.)

First off, I started off with the left over green bean casserole, from Friday's Thanksgiving dinner; then I added the left over corn, from Thursday’s Thanks giving dinner; then I added the leftover sauerkraut from Alyssa's Oktoberfest; and since there was still room on my plate, I added a little dressing from Thursday's Thanksgiving dinner.

Another reason that I did not add any pictures is that you could really substitute any of the above leftovers with whatever you happen to have leftover in your refrigerator. If nothing else I cleaned out three of the many containers that were in the refrigerator before they spoiled. Of course, Kathleen would also add that having a cast iron stomach helps when preparing such a gourmet delight.

Wow! I kept dozing off this morning and when I finally awoke, enough to get up it was about 0815. The first thing I did when I got up was look out the window to see if we got any of the snow that was suppose to be falling around us. Nope, not even a hint of snow, so I went downstairs to let Reggie out.

While Reggie was out in the back yard, I got the paper off the front porch and then went into the kitchen to make myself some cereal, banana and heated up a left over grill cheese sandwich from the other night. After breakfast, I emptied the dishwasher from last night and scrubbed the meatloaf pans that I had left soaking overnight.

I also scrapped some left over fat out of a couple bowls and mixed it with some dog food for Reggie; I am now his new best friend. The fat was left over turkey fat and meatloaf fat, but Reggie did not seem to care that I mixed the two. He has such dry skin that I have to feed him fat so that he does not scratch himself raw.

After cleaning the pans, I scrubbed the sink, cleaned out the drain stopper, and then scrubbed the sink mat. Once the kitchen was reasonably clean, I made myself some maple coffee, it smells so good this time of year and headed to the living room to read the paper.

While I was reading the paper, I noticed that my shins were pretty dried out, one of the problems with not eating much fat in my diet, so I put some lotion on them and they look much better. Reggie can afford to eat just fat, I cannot!

Before I finished the paper, the mail arrived and so I opened it, there were only a couple things worth keeping and most of it went into the recycling bag. When I was putting the paper in the recycling bag, I noticed that the cardboard recycling bag was getting to the point where I needed to take it out to the garage, so I did.

While I was out in the garage, I noticed that the plastic, metal and cardboard bins were getting full enough to set out at the curb for pick up tomorrow, so I readied them and will take them up front later this afternoon.

About 1300 something white started coming out of the sky, it was not snow flakes, it was not hail or sleet, but it was some kind of snow pellets. It lasted for fifteen or twenty minutes or so and then it was gone. While it was falling it stuck to the ground, but it did not last long at all.

While all that was going on, I spent a couple hours upstairs in my "fly tying" room digging out. It seems like it has become the dumping ground for my magazines, catalogs and whatever else does not have a home. I sorted out the magazines by name and put them in their own boxes. The catalogs, I sorted out by current or not, the not I put in the waste can and took downstairs to go through to see if there is anything that I really need, if not they will be recycled.

We had left over turkey soup tonight and I finished off the rolls that Kathleen made for Thursday Thanksgiving dinner and the bread she made last week as well. I like my soup thick like stew. We still have several meals left of soup and with this weather it is a good thing. It is starting to feel a lot like winter.

Well, I think that I will end this and finish looking at the magazines that I brought downstairs. If I can get a few more read, I will have enough to make it worth while taking out to the recycling bin for pick up tomorrow.

With that said, I will say good night!

Sunday Stuff

I got up this morning about 0700 so that I could shower and get ready for church this morning. I was all ready to go at 0800 and I was trying to get Kathleen up and going, but not having much luck. So I went downstairs and thought that I would read the paper while I waited. About 0830 she came down stairs still in her nightclothes, when I started to get up my hip hurt so bad that I had to sit back down again.

I think that it is from slipping on some moss in the driveway last year. It is the same spot where I removed the moss from the driveway yesterday. I cannot remember what I was doing, but I remember that Aaron was over and I think that we were getting something out of the garage. All I can remember is that I landed in a very unusual position and that it hurt a lot at the time, but I just tried to walk it off.

It had not bothered me very much until the cool damp weather set in once again, so I can only guess that it is more arthritis. My thumb joints, where the thumb connects to the hand has been really hurting for the last few weeks. It is bad enough that I have a really hard time gripping anything very tightly.

Getting old really is not as much fun as I once thought it was. When I was in my 20's and 30's I thought that it would be great to be retired and get to do all the things that I wanted to do. Now that I am here, I am usually so sore or achy that I do not get to do anything anyways.

Well, I never made it to church, so I finished the paper, put it with the rest of the paper recycling, and then vacuumed the downstairs carpeting. Reggie has been dropping fur at a record pace lately.

I also gathered up the trash from all over the house and took it out to the garbage can. I also picked up Reggie's dropping, put it in a bag and put that in the garbage can as well. When I got inside, I decided that I would make myself a turkey and cranberry sandwich for lunch. After lunch I went into the living room and watched a couple football games and dozed off a couple times.

Kathleen got dressed, came downstairs, and was headed to Fred Meyer to pick up a prescription that she had e-mailed in earlier this morning. I told her that I could not go because Andrea called and said that she would be coming over on her way to work and wanted to pick up the family cradle, so I went downstairs and brought it upstairs.

Kathleen went and came back before Andrea got here. Kathleen had also picked up a couple potatoes and some hamburger meat while at the store. She said that she felt like making meatloaf and baked potatoes for dinner.

Andrea finally got here about 1630, and when she got here, I helped put the cradle into her Jeep. She stayed for a few minutes and chatted with us and then headed off to work.

Kathleen went into the kitchen and made two pans of meatloaf, we had a couple slices from one of them and then she put the rest away for another four or five meal. After dinner I gathered up all the dishes, silverware and whatever else I could get into the dishwasher and then started it up. I also soaked the meatloaf pans in some hot soapy water to loosen up the grease and cooked on meat from the pans.

Then I went upstairs and gathered up the laundry and washed, dried, folded and put away two loads. Then I gathered up all the towels I could find and loaded them into the washer and started it up.

Well, I cannot imagine getting into any more trouble tonight, so I will say good night.

A Surprising Saturday

I did not get to sleep as long as I would have liked to this morning, I woke up about 0700 and I could not get back to sleep, so I finally got up at 0730. When I got up I noticed that it was not raining out and that was quite a surprise as I thought that we were suppose to have rain pretty much for the next week.

Anyway, I made myself a couple eggs, sausages and raisin nut toast for breakfast. I usually do that on Saturdays since I used to not have to work on Saturday mornings and I have just kind of carried that over even when I do not have to work most days.

After I finished eating and washing the dishes, I went into the living room and read the paper. I heard the mail carrier put the mail in the mailbox before I had finished the paper, so I went and got it. After opening it and sorting it out, I finished the paper and then looked at the mail that was definitely not junk mail.

There were also a couple more catalogs, but as usual most of it was something to fill the recycling bag with. It still was not raining so I thought that I would go outside and try to get some of the bulbs thinned out and replanted.

I managed to get the bulbs dug up and replanted and while I was a mess I did some weeding as well. I did not think that there was that much, but I filled up a five-gallon bucket.

I went back into the house and cleaned up and Kathleen asked me to clean up the turkey scraps, giving Reggie the skin and fat and put the bones in the garbage. Meanwhile Kathleen had put the rest of the leftover turkey in the stockpot and was making turkey soup. One of the best things about turkey is the soup that is made afterwards.

I talked to Chucky to find out what time he was coming over to help me put the hard top on. Since it was about a half hour away, I decided to start taking the soft top off. I got it off before Chucky and Toni got here so I swept out the garage and then scrapped the moss off the driveway in front of where I park the Wrangler.

Chucky and Toni got her shortly after I finished and it only took about ten minutes to put the hard top on and tighten the screws down to secure the top. I even parked the Wrangler in the garage. I still cannot get both vehicles in the garage, but it is a lot cleaner than it has been in years.

Last year I was able to park the Wrangler in the garage, but it was really tight getting in and out. This year there is plenty of room and I still have room to work in the garage.

After that I went inside and made myself a cranberry and turkey sandwich for lunch. It was about 1415 so I did not want to eat a whole lot as we have been trying to eat the evening meal about 0700 or 1730.

Well, that was just about my day, I think that I will just say good night now as I do not think I will get into any more trouble tonight.

Thanksgiving Day Two

I got up a little earlier than I probably should have this morning as Kathleen had said that she wanted to go to a couple stores this morning before we went to Aaron and Tami's for Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately she did not get to sleep well until about 0700, so we wound up not going shopping.

I also was suppose to meet the guys from the accountability group this morning for breakfast, but since I thought that Kathleen and I were going to go shopping, I did not make that either. So I wound up making myself some frosted mini-wheats and banana for breakfast.

After I ate I emptied the dishwasher and then did the roasting pans and other large dishes that did not fit into the dishwasher last night. Then it was time to hit the paper, it was not as thick as yesterdays, but it still was pretty good size.

The mail came about the time I finished the paper, so I opened it, mostly junk mail, but a couple bill and a few catalogs. I recycled the paper junk mail and then took the glass jars, cans and plastic bottles out to the garage to put them into the respective recycling bins.

When I got back into the house I went to my office and logged on to the credit union site so that I could pay the bills that arrived today. Then while I was thinking about it I opened up Quicken, subtracted them from the checking account, and then backed up the account.

Shortly after I finished with that it was getting close to the time to leave for Aaron and Tami's house. So I loaded up the ingredients in a large bag and loaded it into the Acura.

We had a really good time, Toni and Chucky got there late, as Chucky had to work. Then we had a really good meal, thanks everyone, and then shortly after that Andrea had to leave for work. Some of the adults played some games and I helped Tami clean up the kitchen and loaded up the dishwasher. Then I sat down and joined in on the conversations that were going on in the living room.

Before I knew it the dishes were done, so I put them away and then loaded up the dishwasher again. I did not quite fill it up, but when I finished loading all dishes into the dishwasher that I could, I did some of the pots, pans and larger items that would not fit into the dishwasher.

Then I sat back down in the living room and waited for the current game to get over so that Kathleen and I could go home. I think that most of the grandchildren were getting a little tired and I knew that Aaron and Tami would be going to Tami's parents for dinner tomorrow and that they probably needed to finish cleaning up and putting their girls to bed.

So here I am after two Thanksgiving dinners. I think that is all for this year. Next comes the Christmas meals. I think I will have to start wearing suspenders with my shorts.

I think that is it for tonight, so good night for today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, it is not original, but it is true. This year as always, there is so much to be thankful for, what comes to my mind first is my cancer and then successful surgery. Then Kathleen breaking her arm and her good recovery.

After that comes to mind the children, their families, and the many blessing that they bring to us. It is really nice that they all live relatively close by and we get to see them all on a regular basis. Just the fact that they all seem to get along so well most of the time is really a blessing. It makes family get togethers some much nicer.

Well, I did sleep in this morning, it was raining out and there really was no good reason to get up and going earlier. I made some raisin toast for breakfast and picked up the ten-pound paper, probably eight pounds of it were ads for tomorrow. For some reason I really did not see much of anything that would tempt me into going to one of the malls and fighting the crowds and traffic.

Kathleen made some chex mix snacks, so I munched on them for a while. We did not really have lunch today, but it was more of a snack, nuts and chex mix. Toni and Chucky came over a little after 1400 and we ate about 1530.

Kathleen wanted to have some turkey left overs, so we decided that we would have our own small Thanksgiving dinner today. Of course, tomorrow we will have the family Thanksgiving dinner at Aaron and Tami's.

Chucky works until 1530 and Andrea is suppose to go to work about 1700, so we will all be together, but just for a short time. I will just be nice to have everyone together for a short period of time, although I guess we all were together for a short period of time last Saturday for Becca's birthday party.

Well, Chucky helped Kathleen load up the dishwasher and I will get the hand wash pots and pans either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Toni and Chucky just left for home about 1700 and so now the house is quiet once again.

Chucky gave Reggie a bath, so now he smells and looks much better. Chucky misses Reggie and I think they would love to take them home with them if they did not live in a duplex. They keep talking about taking him for a day or so, we will see!

Well, I think that is about it for today, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Good night!

Wednesday's wasteland

I did not get a lot accomplished today. After I got up and made myself breakfast, I washed dishes, posts and pans and then read the paper.

I did take out the vegetable compost waste and put it in the composter and sorted out some of the other recycling. By the time I got that done the mail had gotten here, so I sorted it out, not much of anything worthwhile. There were three catalogs that I looked at quickly, but the rest went into the recycling bag.

Andrea came over and she and Kathleen went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and a couple other places, I think that they got home a little after 1600, and all I got done was clean up where Reggie had gotten sick and vacuumed the floor.

I guess I did make myself some lunch, a burger patty on some toast and melted cheese and the last of the sweet onion. It is a good thing that I bought another one yesterday.

Kathleen made some tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner tonight, and put the turkey in the oven for tomorrow. Our family is celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday at Aaron and Tami's house; I think all the children and grandchildren will be there then.

It gets really interesting with four married children around holiday time, so we try to pick out a time when we all can get together even if it is not on the holiday. This year Alyssa and Dan are having Thanksgiving at Dan's mother's house and Andrea and John are having it at John's parent’s house. Tami's parents are having their family Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. So that left Friday open for us.

Toni and Chucky are coming over tomorrow for Thanksgiving Day dinner, so we will have turkey dinner two days in a row. We decided to do a turkey this year so that we would have some turkey for leftovers.

This evening after dinner I loaded up the dishwasher, so that we will have plenty of dishes and flatware for tomorrow's dinner. Well, I think that is all the "exciting" things that happened around here today. I had thought about not writing a blog today, but once I got started, my fingers keep hitting keys and this is what came out of it.

With that said, I think I will say good night!

Tuesday Activities

This morning I was awakened about 0500 to the wind blowing, I tossed and turned for the next hour or so and finally got back to sleep for about another hour. Shortly after I was awaken it started to rain, what a surprise, and at times it was a pretty heavy rain.

I finally got up about 0730, went downstairs, and made myself some toast and coffee for breakfast. After I finished eating I cleaned up the kitchen, did some of the hand washing, and then cleaned up the sink.

Then I took some more coffee into the living room and read the paper. When I finished the paper I took it out to the curb and put it with the rest of the recycling. The mail came shortly afterwards, so I opened it and took the junk mail out to the recycling as well. There were a couple bills and a medical insurance check for over a hundred dollars for a refund on one of Kathleen’s diabetes medications. I put that in my wallet as I planned to stop by the credit union on our way back from the doctor's office.

Kathleen and I had an appointment to get our flu shots this morning at 1115 so we left the house a little after 1100. It took longer to fill out the paperwork for the shots than it did to get the shots. As we were pulling out of the doctor's office parking lot, Kathleen said that she wanted to stop at Office Max, and I proceeded to forget about stopping at the credit union.

She did not find what she wanted there so she had me stop at Staples next. She found the paper that she wanted there, so after purchasing it we took off for church so that she could make copies for a bulletin insert.

We had purchased some napkins, while we were at Costco the other day for church, and I had left them in the SUV to take to church, but when we got to church, I completely forgot about them and so did Kathleen.

After leaving church we stopped at Winco to do some grocery shopping, it was then that I remembered the napkins. So after we were done shopping we headed back to church, luckily it was only about a half mile away, and then dropped off the napkins.

Then home, where I unloaded the SUV and helped put things away. Kathleen and I were both tired and when I asked what she had planned for dinner she said that she did not know. So I suggested some corn-beef hash and eggs. We just bought some corn-beef hash and we had a few eggs left from our last dozen eggs. So that is what we had for dinner. Kathleen separated out the yokes and cooked them up and then I took the whites and added some low fat cheese, onions, a little garlic and some cayenne pepper.

Well, since we are both tired tonight, I do not think either one of us will be getting into too much trouble tonight, so I will just say good night now.

MIlder Monday

Today was a really nice day, when I got up about 0745 the sun was shining and it was nothing like the forecast for the day. I made myself some frosted mini-wheats for breakfast and afterwards I cleaned up the kitchen and did some of the hand washing.

Kathleen went to her art class at 1000 and I decided to go outside and put some lime on the lawn. I put down three bags and did the whole yard. I started in the back, because I thought that it might start raining before I had a chance to finish that whole yard.

I finished the back yard and then since it still did not look like it would rain for a while. I finished the front lawn and the sun was out brighter than it had been for a while. I decided to put some fertilizer on the berries as well.

Once I finished the yard work, I decided to go in the house and make myself some lunch. There was one croissant left, so I sliced it in two and toasted it. The I cooked a burger patty and when the croissant was done I put limburger cheese on one side and a slice of provolone cheese on the other and a slice of onion on the side with the limburger and than put the burger in-between.

Pretty good, and it was almost healthy. Just about the time I finished eating and cleaned up after myself Kathleen came home, it was a little after 1400. We decided to go to Costco after a little while since we did not get to go last week.

We got back from Costco about 1630 and I put the stuff that we bought away. Kathleen was not sure what to do for dinner so I suggested that we heat up the left over scalloped potatoes from last night, so she did. That freed up some refrigerator space and we did not have think about what to have for dinner.

Kathleen is crashing and she has gone upstairs to play on her computer, so I think that I will stay down here for a while and watch Monday night football. I hope everyone had as good a day as I did and that they get the rest they need tonight. So good night for today and we will see you tomorrow.

Soaker of a Sunday

I did not get up until 0830 this morning; I had gone to bed about 1900 because I felt terrible. I did not get to sleep until about 0115 in the morning; I mostly tossed and turned for five or six hours.

It was really blowing last night and then later in the evening it started to rain again. I had though that it was not suppose to start raining until this afternoon, but what does the weatherman know.

Chucky was going to come over after church and help me put the hard top on the Wrangler, but since it was raining all day, I did not get it done. The hard top just is a lot quieter than the soft top and probably a little more waterproof as well.

Since I got up too late for early church service, and when I looked in the mirror my eyeballs looked like an olive that had been turned inside out. Kathleen talked me into putting some eye jelly in my eyes and that made my vision slightly blurry, but they did not itch as much.

Once I got downstairs, I made myself a couple waffles and sausages and some vanilla biscotti coffee. When I finished breakfast, I cleaned up the counters, did a little hand washing, and then put the dishes away from the dishwasher.

Then I went into the living room, read the paper, and watched a couple football games. I also went upstairs and gathered up the clothes that needed washing and started doing the laundry. When they were done, I dried, folded and put away the clothes.

Then I took a shower since I did not get to take one this morning. Since I noticed that there were a lot of towels that needed washing I decided to do a load of towels as well.

I think that I will send this off early today as I did not really get much rest last night and I probably will be going to bed early tonight. So I will just say good night now.

Happy Birthday Sue!

This is my sister's birthday; she is a little younger than I am, but not by much! Anyway, I hope that you had a great day and were able to do something special for yourself.

I got up about 0730, I had been awake for a half, and I probably could have stayed in bed longer, but I did not. This morning the paper was here when I let Reggie out, so I got it and put it on my chair so that it would be there when I was ready to read it.

I had some frosted mini-wheat with a banana and coffee for breakfast this morning. I have been trying to use up a lot of the dry cereal so that it will not get stale when I start eating oatmeal on a regular basis.

About 1000 I asked Kathleen if she was ready to go to a coupe stores so we could pick up a few items that we needed. She said something like "just about", and headed upstairs. I thought that she needed to get something, so I sat down and read the paper. The mail came so I opened and read that, although again, most of it was junk mail.

I did get my monthly investment statement from my broker; it was a pretty good month, even with the monthly withdrawals for living expenses I made a pretty fair share. Of course, that will just go back into the portfolio and be re-invested.

An hour had passed and she still was not down, so I changed my clothes and went outside to rake up the leaves and mow the lawn. By this time, I had worked up a pretty good sweat, so I went inside and post the portfolio statement to the spreadsheet that I created to track it.

It has done very well over the long haul, and with the exceptions of a couple dips it has been on the rise since I invested it. My real estate holdings have really done well, and I have had several offers to sell it. Of course, they do not want to give me what it is worth, they just want to make it tempting for those who need quick cash.

After I finished tracking my investments, I decided that I probably ought to eat something as it was about 1330. So I went into the kitchen, heated up the noodles and Kielbasa from last night, sliced a croissant in half, and spread some Smart Balance on one side and limburger cheese on the other. Then I put slices of onion, tomato and avocado on it. I really thought that it was yummy!

Kathleen still had not come downstairs, so I loaded up the dishwasher, cleaned all the hand wash pots and pans and started the dishwasher up. Since I had spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen, I had noticed that the floors were getting pretty dirty, so I picked up the rugs and shook them out. Then I swept the floor and mopped it.

While I had the broom out I though that I would clean the utility room, it is where Reggie sleeps and it was getting pretty dirty as well. I took his bed out and shook it out and then took the cover off and put it in the washer and turned it on. Then I picked up most of the things on the floor and swept it. It was amazing just how much of Reggie there was on the floor.

Once I had that cleaned, I decided that I would vacuum the downstairs, since I had not done that in a couple days. So I picked up the stuff that was on the floor, so that I could vacuum and then proceeded to vacuum. Again, it was amazing how much fur there was on the carpet. It is not as noticeable until one starts to vacuum, and then it really becomes obvious.

Kathleen came downstairs about 1415 and was ready to go shopping, but by this time I was pretty tired and I think we will have to postpone it for a couple days. Tomorrow I have to cook for the men's breakfast and then right after that is Becca's 5th birthday party, so I do not think that we will be able to get it done Saturday either. Then Sunday is next and that is not a good day to do it. There are just too many other people out shopping.

Kathleen cooked up a couple hamburger patties and tater tots for dinner tonight. The burgers were a little dry, probably from being in the freezer too long. Other than being a little dry and chewy, they were not all that bad.

Well, I think I will just say good night now, I will probably go to bed early as I have to be at church by 0700 in the morning to get breakfast started. It takes a couple hours to get set up and get the food all cooked.

I am hoping to leave a little early from the breakfast so that I will be able to make Becca's party. So good night for now, and Sue, I hope that you had a good day. I tried calling about 1600 our time 1900 your time, but there was no answer. I hope that you were out celebrating your birthday.

Thursday's Tribune

I did not get up until 0730 this morning, for some reason I have been sleeping in a lot later than I ever have. I could not find the paper when I went out to look for in after I got down stairs, so after a while I called and let them know.

It was only about ten minutes and the district manager stopped by with the paper. I do not think I have ever had that quick a response. I think I called a little after 1000 and the paper was here by 1015.

I made myself a couple eggs, some hash brown potatoes and a couple sausages for breakfast. I had breakfast late again today, about 0930. I spent a lot of time before that cleaning up the kitchen. I had to clean out the popcorn maker, it had some crusted on grease and Kathleen said that it did not look like it had been cleaned the last time it was used.

I cannot remember the last time we used it; we have been making microwave popcorn for a long time. I think that it has been at least a year, and I am not sure that I have ever used it. Besides the pop corn maker, I also had to clean up the frying pan that I used last night to make the Kielbasa last night. There were also several other things that were needing cleaning.

Anyway, the mail finally arrived, only three pieces, only one, my monthly insurance charges was worth keeping. The mail carrier must have been shocked, for the last couple of weeks I think that we have been getting a couple of pounds of mail and magazines.

I also sorted out a lot of the insurance paperwork that I had just been stuffing into the file folder. I did not realize it that had been as long as it had since I did that last time. I found things from 2002. I am going to just take the time when I get them and through out the old one and replace it with the current one.

This afternoon I went out and got some raspberries for Tami, and pulled a few weeds. The ground is really nice to work in, a little wet, but weed pulling is a lot easier than it has been. I also spent a little time picking up some of the small branches and fir cones that came down last night.

Kathleen made some noodles and put in the Kielbasa that I made last night she also added some peas and buttermilk. It was pretty good! I am writing this early tonight as I have a Missions meeting tonight; so I will say good night for now.