Well, I slept in until almost 0800 this morning; I did not need to get up early as Stan was not coming back until Monday so that the tile will have a chance to set up. I also did not have any other place that I needed to go, so I had a very relaxing morning.
Kathleen came downstairs before I had a chance to make myself breakfast and asked if I felt like French toast, and I said sure. So we had some French toast with some heavy bread that Kathleen picked up at Harvest Mill Breadmakers and was called "Mountain Jazz". It had Wheat, rye, rice bran,flax seed, honey, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, so it was pretty healthy.
Then after breakfast I put the dishes into the dishwasher and then went outside and raked the front lawn. It was rather windy the other day and a lot more fir branches and cones had fallen again.
I was going to sweep off the driveway but I realized that I was getting tired and probably should quit before I got too tired. So I went into the house and read the mail and the paper, since I had not read it earlier.
By the time I got finished it was time for my lunch so I made myself a turkey sandwich on dark rye with some mozzarella cheese on top and then toasted it in the toaster oven. I also finished the rest of the lentil soup from last night.
Then after waiting a while I decided that I would try and take a walk, I had thought about doing that earlier, but wound up raking the lawn instead. I also decided that I was going to try walk slower than I normally did to see if that might help me walk further without the hip pain.
I managed to walk around our long block and felt relatively good by the time I got back. My hip was a little sore, but that could be from not walking much lately.
Well that is about it for today, a rather uneventful day, but I think that I needed it. With that I think I will go ahead and publish this and say good day!
Friday, January 09, 2009
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Doctor Visits Day Two
This morning I needed to get up and have my breakfast early as I had an 0820 dentist appointment to have my chipped tooth repaired. So I got up a little earlier than I might have liked and by the time I got everything done it was time to leave for the dentist office.
I went there expecting to have a temporary crown put on and a cast made for the final crown but when the dentist examined the tooth she said that the tooth was in such good shape that she did not know if she wanted to grind off so much good tooth to put a crown on and than she gave me two other options. One was a tooth inlay which was as expensive as a crown and the second was to just rebuild the tooth for a couple hundred dollars.
She said that the rebuild would probably last ten years or so and that since it was about five times cheaper than the other two options I could have it replace several times and still be cheaper than the others.
So I wound up having my tooth rebuilt today, and I did not get out of the dentist office until after 1100. After two and a half hours in the chair I was ready to go home and rest as my jaw was starting to ache. So when I got home I took several pain pills and waited for my jaw to start feeling better.
Kathleen had her dentist appointment shortly after I got back so she took off and when she left I made myself some lunch and read the mail. She was gone for quite a while and when she did come back she said that she also needed to have a crown and a couple fillings.
So it looks like it is going to be an expensive month or so for the dentist visits. That is the one thing that I did not receive in my retirement package from Boeing, and while everything else is really good there was no dental coverage available as a retiree. While I was working there I had really good coverage, and I miss that.
After a while I got really sleepy so I went upstairs and took a nap; I woke up when Kathleen came in and I guess was trying to wake me up. I was still pretty groggy, but awake just enough that I could not get back to sleep, so I got up and by now the pain was a lot worse than when I had first taken the pain pills, so I took a few more and while it is now sore again is is not as bad as it was earlier.
I think it is from having to have my mouth open so wide and so long while the dentist worked on my molar although some of it I am sure is from the actual work done on the tooth itself.
Anyway, when I got up and went downstairs Stan had finished the tile and left; he will not be back until Monday to do the grouting of the floor and walls. So here is a picture of all the tile in place to give you an idea of what it will look like, minus the grout.
For dinner tonight Kathleen heated up some pre-cooked lentils fro Trader Joe's and added some ham, onion and potato and then made a soup out of it. It was really good and soft enough that it did not bother my jaw or tooth.
Well, I think that I need to publish this as I am starting to get really tired again and that would just allow me to ramble on endlessly.
I went there expecting to have a temporary crown put on and a cast made for the final crown but when the dentist examined the tooth she said that the tooth was in such good shape that she did not know if she wanted to grind off so much good tooth to put a crown on and than she gave me two other options. One was a tooth inlay which was as expensive as a crown and the second was to just rebuild the tooth for a couple hundred dollars.
She said that the rebuild would probably last ten years or so and that since it was about five times cheaper than the other two options I could have it replace several times and still be cheaper than the others.
So I wound up having my tooth rebuilt today, and I did not get out of the dentist office until after 1100. After two and a half hours in the chair I was ready to go home and rest as my jaw was starting to ache. So when I got home I took several pain pills and waited for my jaw to start feeling better.
Kathleen had her dentist appointment shortly after I got back so she took off and when she left I made myself some lunch and read the mail. She was gone for quite a while and when she did come back she said that she also needed to have a crown and a couple fillings.
So it looks like it is going to be an expensive month or so for the dentist visits. That is the one thing that I did not receive in my retirement package from Boeing, and while everything else is really good there was no dental coverage available as a retiree. While I was working there I had really good coverage, and I miss that.
After a while I got really sleepy so I went upstairs and took a nap; I woke up when Kathleen came in and I guess was trying to wake me up. I was still pretty groggy, but awake just enough that I could not get back to sleep, so I got up and by now the pain was a lot worse than when I had first taken the pain pills, so I took a few more and while it is now sore again is is not as bad as it was earlier.
I think it is from having to have my mouth open so wide and so long while the dentist worked on my molar although some of it I am sure is from the actual work done on the tooth itself.
Anyway, when I got up and went downstairs Stan had finished the tile and left; he will not be back until Monday to do the grouting of the floor and walls. So here is a picture of all the tile in place to give you an idea of what it will look like, minus the grout.
For dinner tonight Kathleen heated up some pre-cooked lentils fro Trader Joe's and added some ham, onion and potato and then made a soup out of it. It was really good and soft enough that it did not bother my jaw or tooth.
Well, I think that I need to publish this as I am starting to get really tired again and that would just allow me to ramble on endlessly.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
The Start of Doctor Visits
I had a pretty good night sleep last night, of course taking Night Quill before going to bed last night helped I am sure. This morning I felt pretty good when I awoke; yesterday my eyes felt like I had just come out of a sand storm and my eyes collected most of the sand.
I had an eye appointment this morning at 0950 but I left early so that I would have time to look at the frames before my eyes were dilated so much that I would not be able to see very well. By the time I had picked out my frames it was time for my appointment, so that worked out pretty well.
They not only checked my eyes for vision, which was pretty much the same as it had been but also for cataract and glaucoma. He said that my eyes show no sign of glaucoma and only a slight sign of cataract, less than normal for someone my age, so all that is good.
He did prescribe a little stronger reading lens for my bifocals, but he said that was just to make reading a little easier. We spent a good deal of time talking about the medical system here and how it is good in many aspects but very large and cumbersome in other aspects. He is a young Japanese and I chose him a couple of years after my old doctor retired because I thought that he was fresh out of school and probably more familiar with some of the new advancements and techniques.
Shortly after I got home I helped Kathleen make the bed as she had stripped it and washed the sheets. Then I went downstairs and tried this weeks sample chicken noodle soup that I am testing for one of the major soup makers.
Then Kathleen left to meat with the lady from church around 1330 and after I finished eating I read the mail. Stan just about finished the tiling, he put the glass tile on today and tomorrow he will put on the topper, then he will wait a day or so before he starts grouting.
He is going to grout the floor and the walls at the same time, as it is easier and they both can be drying at the same time. After that we will need to seal the grout and after that we will be able to put the toilet in. That should just about finish the downstairs remodel project.
I think that all we will have to do after putting in the toilet is find a mirror for over the sink, install the light for over the mirror and then buy and install the knobs for the draws and doors of the vanity and cabinet.
Stan left around 1700 tonight as he wanted to stop off at Joe's and look at a new pair of binoculars that they had on sale. So after he left I took a couple photos of the tile, so here they are:
Tomorrow I will try to take one that is a little closer up that will show the white tile, the green glass tile and the topper better. The tile on the long wall is two tiles high and it follows all around the room until it gets to the vertical section that outlines where the mirror will go.
I had an eye appointment this morning at 0950 but I left early so that I would have time to look at the frames before my eyes were dilated so much that I would not be able to see very well. By the time I had picked out my frames it was time for my appointment, so that worked out pretty well.
They not only checked my eyes for vision, which was pretty much the same as it had been but also for cataract and glaucoma. He said that my eyes show no sign of glaucoma and only a slight sign of cataract, less than normal for someone my age, so all that is good.
He did prescribe a little stronger reading lens for my bifocals, but he said that was just to make reading a little easier. We spent a good deal of time talking about the medical system here and how it is good in many aspects but very large and cumbersome in other aspects. He is a young Japanese and I chose him a couple of years after my old doctor retired because I thought that he was fresh out of school and probably more familiar with some of the new advancements and techniques.
Shortly after I got home I helped Kathleen make the bed as she had stripped it and washed the sheets. Then I went downstairs and tried this weeks sample chicken noodle soup that I am testing for one of the major soup makers.
Then Kathleen left to meat with the lady from church around 1330 and after I finished eating I read the mail. Stan just about finished the tiling, he put the glass tile on today and tomorrow he will put on the topper, then he will wait a day or so before he starts grouting.
He is going to grout the floor and the walls at the same time, as it is easier and they both can be drying at the same time. After that we will need to seal the grout and after that we will be able to put the toilet in. That should just about finish the downstairs remodel project.
I think that all we will have to do after putting in the toilet is find a mirror for over the sink, install the light for over the mirror and then buy and install the knobs for the draws and doors of the vanity and cabinet.
Stan left around 1700 tonight as he wanted to stop off at Joe's and look at a new pair of binoculars that they had on sale. So after he left I took a couple photos of the tile, so here they are:
Tomorrow I will try to take one that is a little closer up that will show the white tile, the green glass tile and the topper better. The tile on the long wall is two tiles high and it follows all around the room until it gets to the vertical section that outlines where the mirror will go.
Monday, January 05, 2009
More Work on the Tile
This morning I woke up pretty refreshed, something that I have not felt lately. Kathleen got up before I had a chance to make myself breakfast and so she made egg yokes for herself and one egg yoke and her egg whites for me. She also made some hash brown potatoes.
After breakfast, I loaded up the dishwasher and Kathleen turned it on when she finished putting things in it.
Our plumber arrived about this time and hooked up the show/bath fixtures and also the sink fixtures. When Stan arrived he cemented the sink to the vanity top and then cemented the slab to the top and the sink. So now we have water to the bathtub and sink but we really should not use it until the tile is grouted and sealed.
Pat, our plumber finished around noon and after he left Stan started working on the tile again. Here are a couple pictures of the tile, the shower/bath fixtures and the sink fixture.
Well, tonight is our small group and so I need to eat and then head out so I am just going to publish this and call it good for tonight.
After breakfast, I loaded up the dishwasher and Kathleen turned it on when she finished putting things in it.
Our plumber arrived about this time and hooked up the show/bath fixtures and also the sink fixtures. When Stan arrived he cemented the sink to the vanity top and then cemented the slab to the top and the sink. So now we have water to the bathtub and sink but we really should not use it until the tile is grouted and sealed.
Pat, our plumber finished around noon and after he left Stan started working on the tile again. Here are a couple pictures of the tile, the shower/bath fixtures and the sink fixture.
Well, tonight is our small group and so I need to eat and then head out so I am just going to publish this and call it good for tonight.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
More Snow
Well, before all the snow had a chance to disappear it started snowing again tonight. I think we got about an inch already and it is suppose to continue until early this morning.
This morning I woke up as to Kathleen's alarm going off and I was still pretty groggy but I got up as I had slept for nine hours already. I felt like my brain was still in a fog so I decided that I would not try and make it to church this morning. It was also cold and my thumb joints were really bothering me.
I did gather up the towels and washed, dried, folded and then put them away. So after reheating yesterday's buckwheat pancakes I unloaded the dishwasher and then went into the living room and read the paper.
After that I gathered up the kitchen rugs and shook them out, swept the kitchen floor and then mopped it. While it was drying the rugs were being washed and I also vacuumed the rest of the downstairs.
This afternoon Kathleen took a white Cyclamen over to our neighbor. She bought a couple the other day and we have one on our kitchen table. Our old one is outside in the flower pot just off the front porch.
It had been blooming until the first snow storm three weeks ago and the snow is off it now and the blooms of gone but it is still green.
While she was there I changed out the upstairs bathroom door knob and put the one that was on the bathroom on our bedroom door. We still need to buy a few more doorknobs for the upstairs and another one for the downstairs bathroom.
The one I put on the upstairs bathroom was the lever kind as apposed to the knob kind and we are planning on putting the same kind on the downstairs bathroom when it is finished. That way we can tell people that the bathroom is the one with the lever as it will be different from all the rest.
Well that is about it for today, I am feeling better or at least somewhat awake. I have gotten over nine hours sleep the last two nights so I guess that is making up somewhat for the three or four hours sleep I was getting the previous five days.
This morning I woke up as to Kathleen's alarm going off and I was still pretty groggy but I got up as I had slept for nine hours already. I felt like my brain was still in a fog so I decided that I would not try and make it to church this morning. It was also cold and my thumb joints were really bothering me.
I did gather up the towels and washed, dried, folded and then put them away. So after reheating yesterday's buckwheat pancakes I unloaded the dishwasher and then went into the living room and read the paper.
After that I gathered up the kitchen rugs and shook them out, swept the kitchen floor and then mopped it. While it was drying the rugs were being washed and I also vacuumed the rest of the downstairs.
This afternoon Kathleen took a white Cyclamen over to our neighbor. She bought a couple the other day and we have one on our kitchen table. Our old one is outside in the flower pot just off the front porch.
It had been blooming until the first snow storm three weeks ago and the snow is off it now and the blooms of gone but it is still green.
While she was there I changed out the upstairs bathroom door knob and put the one that was on the bathroom on our bedroom door. We still need to buy a few more doorknobs for the upstairs and another one for the downstairs bathroom.
The one I put on the upstairs bathroom was the lever kind as apposed to the knob kind and we are planning on putting the same kind on the downstairs bathroom when it is finished. That way we can tell people that the bathroom is the one with the lever as it will be different from all the rest.
Well that is about it for today, I am feeling better or at least somewhat awake. I have gotten over nine hours sleep the last two nights so I guess that is making up somewhat for the three or four hours sleep I was getting the previous five days.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Welcome Another New Year.
Well, I still have not figured out how to get more than three or four hours sleep a night. I think for the last four nights I have only gotten fifteen or sixteen hours sleep total.
Yesterday morning I woke up and felt like I had brain fog, kind of a dull headache and no matter what I took for it I could not shake it. Needless to say I did not get much done yesterday.
Then I woke up around 0230 this morning and could not get back to sleep until around 0400 and then only for another hour; so I wound up getting up at 0530.
Then this morning as I was eating my oatmeal and I felt something hard in it so when I fished it out of my mouth I discovered what looked to be part of a tooth. I did not feel any pain and did not think anything of it, but I went into the bathroom and checked it out.
I did not see anything in my bottom teeth so I went downstairs and asked Kathleen to see if she could see anything and she said that she did. After a while I could feel it with my tongue, so I called my dentist, but they were not open today. They had an emergency number but since it was not hurting I decided to leave a message to try and get an appointment for Monday.
After a while it developed a very dull tooth ache feeling, nothing too bad just really annoying. So I kept taking Tylenol every few hours.
Early this morning Aaron and the girls came over after their dentist visits for cleanings and waited for Tami to finish with her cleaning appointment. Kathleen gave each of the girls a start from one of the house plants that she had up in her sewing room and the girls planted them in a couple little pots that I brought in from the potting bench in the garage.
Stan came while Aaron and the girls were here and started ding the tiling; he got here just before noon as he had a power outage and was trying to get his generator started.
Well, it is after 2100 and I am going to try and get some sleep tonight.
Yesterday morning I woke up and felt like I had brain fog, kind of a dull headache and no matter what I took for it I could not shake it. Needless to say I did not get much done yesterday.
Then I woke up around 0230 this morning and could not get back to sleep until around 0400 and then only for another hour; so I wound up getting up at 0530.
Then this morning as I was eating my oatmeal and I felt something hard in it so when I fished it out of my mouth I discovered what looked to be part of a tooth. I did not feel any pain and did not think anything of it, but I went into the bathroom and checked it out.
I did not see anything in my bottom teeth so I went downstairs and asked Kathleen to see if she could see anything and she said that she did. After a while I could feel it with my tongue, so I called my dentist, but they were not open today. They had an emergency number but since it was not hurting I decided to leave a message to try and get an appointment for Monday.
After a while it developed a very dull tooth ache feeling, nothing too bad just really annoying. So I kept taking Tylenol every few hours.
Early this morning Aaron and the girls came over after their dentist visits for cleanings and waited for Tami to finish with her cleaning appointment. Kathleen gave each of the girls a start from one of the house plants that she had up in her sewing room and the girls planted them in a couple little pots that I brought in from the potting bench in the garage.
Stan came while Aaron and the girls were here and started ding the tiling; he got here just before noon as he had a power outage and was trying to get his generator started.
Well, it is after 2100 and I am going to try and get some sleep tonight.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Getting Back on Track
I woke up felling better than I have in the last several days, the day after Christmas to be more precise. I really wore myself out Christmas day shoveling snow and digging out the previous three or four days. It probably was not as much as what I did on Christmas day as it was a combination of what I had done the days preceding Christmas.
In my efforts to get the driveway shoveled out I think that I probably did too much each day and it just caught up with me on Christmas. As a consequence I pretty much vegetated since then.
Stan had called this morning and said that our marble vanity top for the downstairs bathroom was ready to pick up. So I went down and finished paying for it this morning and then stopped off at Fred Meyer to pick up more of my pain medication as I had run out.
Stan arrived here around 1400 with the top and sink; we had to leave the sink with the stone company so that they would be able to cut the hole the right size. So I took the sink in the house and then helped Stan bring the top in and put it on the vanity.
He is coming back tomorrow to do some work, he has not been here in about three weeks or so so it will be good to get started on that project again. He had a few small jobs that he needed to finish and we thought that would give Kathleen an opportunity to pick out the tile that she wanted for the walls, but due to Christmas and the snow it did not get done.
So maybe this week she will get out this week and next week we can really start getting back on track with the remodel project; I miss not having a bathroom downstairs.
Here is a picture of what the top looks like on the vanity.
We will still need to mount the sink to the plywood base and then add the faucet to the top but once the top is mounted we will be able to start the wall tiling.
In my efforts to get the driveway shoveled out I think that I probably did too much each day and it just caught up with me on Christmas. As a consequence I pretty much vegetated since then.
Stan had called this morning and said that our marble vanity top for the downstairs bathroom was ready to pick up. So I went down and finished paying for it this morning and then stopped off at Fred Meyer to pick up more of my pain medication as I had run out.
Stan arrived here around 1400 with the top and sink; we had to leave the sink with the stone company so that they would be able to cut the hole the right size. So I took the sink in the house and then helped Stan bring the top in and put it on the vanity.
He is coming back tomorrow to do some work, he has not been here in about three weeks or so so it will be good to get started on that project again. He had a few small jobs that he needed to finish and we thought that would give Kathleen an opportunity to pick out the tile that she wanted for the walls, but due to Christmas and the snow it did not get done.
So maybe this week she will get out this week and next week we can really start getting back on track with the remodel project; I miss not having a bathroom downstairs.
Here is a picture of what the top looks like on the vanity.
We will still need to mount the sink to the plywood base and then add the faucet to the top but once the top is mounted we will be able to start the wall tiling.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Bob's Thoughts on Christmas Eve 2008
“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”
Well, this year our house is really quiet and I do not even hear the mouse stirring. It is kind of a different Christmas for us this year; between my health not being what it once was and the weather for the last week and a half we have not gotten ready for Christmas in our “traditional” sense.
This is the first Christmas Eve that I can remember in a very long time where we were not rushing around wrapping presents and then rushing to one of the children’s houses for our "traditional" Christmas Eve "Christmas" dinner and present opening celebration.
It has for many years seemed like everyone was just glad to get it all over with and no one really enjoyed being together and celebrating the "reason for the season". This year for various reasons it did not work out to do it and I am hoping that perhaps we can start a new "tradition”; one that is a lot less chaotic; one where everyone is not rushing to of from several places to one where we can just sit around and enjoy each other and contemplate what a gift we have received and how we are using it.
Hopefully it will be a time that the grandchildren will be able to look back on and remember good times and not being rushed from one place to another just so their parents will have been "good children" and spent time with their parents or other relatives.
The older I get the more I value quality over quantity; I would much rather spend less time as long as it was quality time than spend a lot of time, with no quality. I would rather see my children and grandchildren enjoying themselves because they are having a good time rather than being too exhausted from all the seasonal running around that it is a struggle just to stay awake!
With four children and at least that many in-laws and their families our children have been having to split their time with everyone just so that no one get their feeling hurt or because it has been the family "tradition" to do such and such on such and such a day. There is nothing wrong with "tradition", but sometimes we need to break with "tradition" and start a new "tradition" one that has meaning for us today.
I know as a child we would always go to Christmas Eve service and then come home and open presents. Christmas day we would open our presents from "Santa" and then we would always go to my Mother's parent’s house or her brother's house for Christmas day. That worked well for us and since Kathleen's family did something similar so that is what we did with our family.
I still look back on my Christmases growing up with fond memories and I would like to give that gift to my children and grandchildren. I can still see my parents faces as they watched each of us open our presents from them Christmas Eve and then watch the twinkle in their eyes as they again watched us Christmas morning as we got our "special" presents.
I cannot remember my folks opening any presents, and maybe they did not have any as they always gave us much more than we deserved or than they could afford, but that is what being a parent is all about…making those sacrifices for ones children.
We did not live close enough to my parents or any of my relatives to celebrate Christmas with them and so our children were not pulled by having to visit several relatives and we could enjoy Christmas as a family.
Now with four married children and all but Chucky having their families in the area Christmas has become much more complicated, at least for our children as their spouses and their families all had their own "traditions" that they wished to continue; not that any of that is good or bad it is just facts.
Over the last few years as I have watched the grandchildren open, their presents, it has become somewhat of a, "okay let's get this over with" kind of feeling. They would open presents and not know who gave it to them, then want their next present and the adults would kind of open their presents and with one eye try and keep track of who had given what to their children.
Then came the clean up time and half the time some of the small pieces would get mixed in with the wrapping paper and we would have to go through it to find everything.
Then there was the home where we celebrated, with all the grandchildren opening up presents and everyone eating, whose ever home it was seemed to get trashed and everyone was always too tired or had to rush off to the next celebration to help clean up and get everything back in order.
I would like to suggest putting some sanity back into Christmas and make it less complicated on everyone. I do not have a plan that I think we need to adhere to but I think we as a family can come up with something much better than what we have been doing. I would like to make Christmas memorable not only for us, but our children and grandchildren as well.
This year looks like a good time to start as the weather and several other things have made it impossible to have our "traditional" Christmas Eve celebration.
With all the birthdays and Thanksgiving, November and December are really hectic months and it is easy to make Christmas, just another "birthday" kind of celebration, but it is really much more and I for one would like to give it a little more special place in our lives and in our hearts.
Let's see what we can come up with that will allow us to celebrate the "reason for the season" and do it at a time when we are not exhausted from a dozen other birthday/Christmas parties, Christmas programs and running around doing the "traditional" Christmas things.
I do not want to be a Scrooge and ruin everyone’s Christmas, I just want to help you enjoy your future Christmases more. With that said, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”
Well, this year our house is really quiet and I do not even hear the mouse stirring. It is kind of a different Christmas for us this year; between my health not being what it once was and the weather for the last week and a half we have not gotten ready for Christmas in our “traditional” sense.
This is the first Christmas Eve that I can remember in a very long time where we were not rushing around wrapping presents and then rushing to one of the children’s houses for our "traditional" Christmas Eve "Christmas" dinner and present opening celebration.
It has for many years seemed like everyone was just glad to get it all over with and no one really enjoyed being together and celebrating the "reason for the season". This year for various reasons it did not work out to do it and I am hoping that perhaps we can start a new "tradition”; one that is a lot less chaotic; one where everyone is not rushing to of from several places to one where we can just sit around and enjoy each other and contemplate what a gift we have received and how we are using it.
Hopefully it will be a time that the grandchildren will be able to look back on and remember good times and not being rushed from one place to another just so their parents will have been "good children" and spent time with their parents or other relatives.
The older I get the more I value quality over quantity; I would much rather spend less time as long as it was quality time than spend a lot of time, with no quality. I would rather see my children and grandchildren enjoying themselves because they are having a good time rather than being too exhausted from all the seasonal running around that it is a struggle just to stay awake!
With four children and at least that many in-laws and their families our children have been having to split their time with everyone just so that no one get their feeling hurt or because it has been the family "tradition" to do such and such on such and such a day. There is nothing wrong with "tradition", but sometimes we need to break with "tradition" and start a new "tradition" one that has meaning for us today.
I know as a child we would always go to Christmas Eve service and then come home and open presents. Christmas day we would open our presents from "Santa" and then we would always go to my Mother's parent’s house or her brother's house for Christmas day. That worked well for us and since Kathleen's family did something similar so that is what we did with our family.
I still look back on my Christmases growing up with fond memories and I would like to give that gift to my children and grandchildren. I can still see my parents faces as they watched each of us open our presents from them Christmas Eve and then watch the twinkle in their eyes as they again watched us Christmas morning as we got our "special" presents.
I cannot remember my folks opening any presents, and maybe they did not have any as they always gave us much more than we deserved or than they could afford, but that is what being a parent is all about…making those sacrifices for ones children.
We did not live close enough to my parents or any of my relatives to celebrate Christmas with them and so our children were not pulled by having to visit several relatives and we could enjoy Christmas as a family.
Now with four married children and all but Chucky having their families in the area Christmas has become much more complicated, at least for our children as their spouses and their families all had their own "traditions" that they wished to continue; not that any of that is good or bad it is just facts.
Over the last few years as I have watched the grandchildren open, their presents, it has become somewhat of a, "okay let's get this over with" kind of feeling. They would open presents and not know who gave it to them, then want their next present and the adults would kind of open their presents and with one eye try and keep track of who had given what to their children.
Then came the clean up time and half the time some of the small pieces would get mixed in with the wrapping paper and we would have to go through it to find everything.
Then there was the home where we celebrated, with all the grandchildren opening up presents and everyone eating, whose ever home it was seemed to get trashed and everyone was always too tired or had to rush off to the next celebration to help clean up and get everything back in order.
I would like to suggest putting some sanity back into Christmas and make it less complicated on everyone. I do not have a plan that I think we need to adhere to but I think we as a family can come up with something much better than what we have been doing. I would like to make Christmas memorable not only for us, but our children and grandchildren as well.
This year looks like a good time to start as the weather and several other things have made it impossible to have our "traditional" Christmas Eve celebration.
With all the birthdays and Thanksgiving, November and December are really hectic months and it is easy to make Christmas, just another "birthday" kind of celebration, but it is really much more and I for one would like to give it a little more special place in our lives and in our hearts.
Let's see what we can come up with that will allow us to celebrate the "reason for the season" and do it at a time when we are not exhausted from a dozen other birthday/Christmas parties, Christmas programs and running around doing the "traditional" Christmas things.
I do not want to be a Scrooge and ruin everyone’s Christmas, I just want to help you enjoy your future Christmases more. With that said, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Artic Express Day Nine
I was not as sore as I thought that I would be this morning when I got up; that is until I started moving around and that is when I realized that my arms were really sore. I had expected my back to be the problem as it was starting to get sore yesterday and I had put some ointment on my back yesterday afternoon.
So this morning as soon as I got downstairs I put some ointment on my arms, it also helps me breath; so I guess that is a secondary benefit. When I went out to check on the paper, third day with no paper, I noticed that the icicles were starting to drip and then freezing on the steps up to the front porch so I knocked down the ones that were directly over the steps to hinder the dripping.
Then after breakfast I put on my boots and went outside to take out the kitchen compost. Today when I tried turning the barrel I went slowly and when it started to slip I stopped. I figured that the outside of the barrel was coated in ice so I might be best to just wait until everything thawed out and then turn it a few extra times.
After I took care of the kitchen compost I decided to do some more shoveling. I shoveled off the back steps to the basement, and from the front sidewalk to the middle of the road and then scrapped the ice off the steps so that they would not be so dangerous.
Since I was too lazy to put on my long pants I was getting several strange looks from the folks passing by and even the mail lady made a commented. I am not sure if it was the snow or my legs that were the whitest, but it was a close call. I am not sure where my tan went but it sure went, my legs were relatively tan from being outside all summer.
It has taken me two days to do half of the driveway and it use to only take a few hours for me to do the whole driveway, but I just do not have the energy to do that much any more.
Right now both my arms are really sore; not just in one spot but the whole arm. I am glad that I am already on pain medication, as I am not sure what it would be like without it.
After eating lunch I took a little nap in my chair in the living room and did not feel any better when I got back up; well I could keep my eyes open but that is about the only improvement.
I did take a photograph of some of the icicles on the front porch, the largest one is two and a half feet long, I just finished measuring it.
Well it has snowed off and on a little today but it really has not added to the snow accumulation. The weather folks are saying that more snow is on its way, anywhere from a dusting to several inches, so it looks like it will be a while before we loose the snow.
The only really nice thing about all the snow right now is that we have not lost our power...so far!
I cannot think of anything else that might happen today so I think that I will go ahead and publish this.
So this morning as soon as I got downstairs I put some ointment on my arms, it also helps me breath; so I guess that is a secondary benefit. When I went out to check on the paper, third day with no paper, I noticed that the icicles were starting to drip and then freezing on the steps up to the front porch so I knocked down the ones that were directly over the steps to hinder the dripping.
Then after breakfast I put on my boots and went outside to take out the kitchen compost. Today when I tried turning the barrel I went slowly and when it started to slip I stopped. I figured that the outside of the barrel was coated in ice so I might be best to just wait until everything thawed out and then turn it a few extra times.
After I took care of the kitchen compost I decided to do some more shoveling. I shoveled off the back steps to the basement, and from the front sidewalk to the middle of the road and then scrapped the ice off the steps so that they would not be so dangerous.
Since I was too lazy to put on my long pants I was getting several strange looks from the folks passing by and even the mail lady made a commented. I am not sure if it was the snow or my legs that were the whitest, but it was a close call. I am not sure where my tan went but it sure went, my legs were relatively tan from being outside all summer.
It has taken me two days to do half of the driveway and it use to only take a few hours for me to do the whole driveway, but I just do not have the energy to do that much any more.
Right now both my arms are really sore; not just in one spot but the whole arm. I am glad that I am already on pain medication, as I am not sure what it would be like without it.
After eating lunch I took a little nap in my chair in the living room and did not feel any better when I got back up; well I could keep my eyes open but that is about the only improvement.
I did take a photograph of some of the icicles on the front porch, the largest one is two and a half feet long, I just finished measuring it.
Well it has snowed off and on a little today but it really has not added to the snow accumulation. The weather folks are saying that more snow is on its way, anywhere from a dusting to several inches, so it looks like it will be a while before we loose the snow.
The only really nice thing about all the snow right now is that we have not lost our power...so far!
I cannot think of anything else that might happen today so I think that I will go ahead and publish this.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Artic Express Day Eight
Everything was super quiet this morning as I drug myself out of bed and when I looked up to the sky light I could see snow instead of sky so I pretty much knew why it was so quiet.
No paper again today and when I called they said that perhaps this afternoon, well that did not happen either. I remember when I had my paper route I would deliver papers in snow deeper that this and in worse conditions. I guess that I figured that if the conditions were this bad people probably did not have much to do and would appreciate having a paper to read.
Kathleen came downstairs and after a while made some blueberry/red raspberry pancakes with Trader Joe's maple syrup. There was enough left over for perhaps another meal for one person.
After eating I put on my outdoor clothes I went outside and swept off the front porch and then shoveled the steps and sidewalk. The snow looks to be about eighteen inches deep except the driveway which has less snow in most places; other places there were drifts that were about three feet deep.
After I shoveled the walkway through the driveway to the ground on the west side of the driveway I started shoveling a path down the driveway out to the street. Once I got to the street I stopped as my trench in the snow was deeper that the street and I did not feel like shoveling the street.
Then I went back and shoveled the snow from the driveway back to the back yard, through the back gate and to the side garage door. Once I got the doorway cleared I opened the door and got an old pair of boot as I had been wearing my snowshoe boots as they were the only ones that I had in the house other than my wading boots and while those are made to be under water I did not think that this would be a good application for them.
I was pretty tired by the time I got done so I put on my snowshoes and took my poles and went for a little walk...not very far as I was really tired and I knew that I was going to be sore either tonight or tomorrow. So I went back inside and took off my gear.
Kathleen asked me if I had shoveled the back sidewalk and I said that I had not, so since she sounded disappointed that I had not I decided to go back outside and do that. I was tired enough that I did not feel like getting all dressed up again I just went out in my shorts and I put on the old boots that I had brought in from the garage earlier and went out and shoveled the back sidewalk.
Then when I got back inside I made myself some tomato soup and melted cheese rolls for lunch. After emptying the dishwasher and putting things away I went and took a nap in my chair.
When I woke up I decided to start my blog as I knew that I would be tired later on in the evening. While I was doing that Aaron, Tami and the girls came over to visit.
They just left and were on their way to getting something for dinner. While I was out on the front porch waving good bye to them I noticed that the ice icicles on the front porch were dripping so that must mean the the temperature is above freezing now.
Well I think that this is all for today, I am sure that not much of anything exciting is going to happen the rest of the evening.
No paper again today and when I called they said that perhaps this afternoon, well that did not happen either. I remember when I had my paper route I would deliver papers in snow deeper that this and in worse conditions. I guess that I figured that if the conditions were this bad people probably did not have much to do and would appreciate having a paper to read.
Kathleen came downstairs and after a while made some blueberry/red raspberry pancakes with Trader Joe's maple syrup. There was enough left over for perhaps another meal for one person.
After eating I put on my outdoor clothes I went outside and swept off the front porch and then shoveled the steps and sidewalk. The snow looks to be about eighteen inches deep except the driveway which has less snow in most places; other places there were drifts that were about three feet deep.
After I shoveled the walkway through the driveway to the ground on the west side of the driveway I started shoveling a path down the driveway out to the street. Once I got to the street I stopped as my trench in the snow was deeper that the street and I did not feel like shoveling the street.
Then I went back and shoveled the snow from the driveway back to the back yard, through the back gate and to the side garage door. Once I got the doorway cleared I opened the door and got an old pair of boot as I had been wearing my snowshoe boots as they were the only ones that I had in the house other than my wading boots and while those are made to be under water I did not think that this would be a good application for them.
I was pretty tired by the time I got done so I put on my snowshoes and took my poles and went for a little walk...not very far as I was really tired and I knew that I was going to be sore either tonight or tomorrow. So I went back inside and took off my gear.
Kathleen asked me if I had shoveled the back sidewalk and I said that I had not, so since she sounded disappointed that I had not I decided to go back outside and do that. I was tired enough that I did not feel like getting all dressed up again I just went out in my shorts and I put on the old boots that I had brought in from the garage earlier and went out and shoveled the back sidewalk.
Then when I got back inside I made myself some tomato soup and melted cheese rolls for lunch. After emptying the dishwasher and putting things away I went and took a nap in my chair.
When I woke up I decided to start my blog as I knew that I would be tired later on in the evening. While I was doing that Aaron, Tami and the girls came over to visit.
They just left and were on their way to getting something for dinner. While I was out on the front porch waving good bye to them I noticed that the ice icicles on the front porch were dripping so that must mean the the temperature is above freezing now.
Well I think that this is all for today, I am sure that not much of anything exciting is going to happen the rest of the evening.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Seventh Day of the Arctic Express
Everything was really quiet outside again this morning when I awoke which was a little surprising as we had a freezing rain last night. I slept in until after 0800 again this morning and felt pretty good when I finally did get up.
There was not paper this morning and so I called and no one answered but there was a message saying that there would be no paper today and that they would deliver it when the weather permitted. I am wondering if we will even get one tomorrow as the weather is suppose to get worse before it gets better.
I looked outside around 1530 and wondered why it was so dark out and then when I got to the window I saw that it was almost like a blizzard outside. They just anounced on the TV news that many of the roads are closed and chains are required on all road, they also said that traction tires were not enough even for four wheeled vehicles; not that I was planning on going anywhere anyways.
I have not done much today, there was not paper and comics to read and even though I did go outside on a couple occasions it was too nasty a day with the freezing rain and wind.
Although I might have been been better dressed when I went out, as it was I had on my shorts and a tee shirt and slides in my bare feet. Once my feet got soaked I decided that maybe boots and my ski clothes might have been a better choice.
I had thought about going snow shoeing but the snow was coated with ice and not really the kind of snow that I like to play in. Before the freezing rain it was a great powder snow and would have been fun to play in.
I am rather surprised that I have not seen any tree branches that fell, other than hundreds of tips of branches and lots of fir cones nothing big has fallen so far.
Well as I said earlier I have not done much today, so I think that I will just post some of the pictures I took today and then publish this.
There is about a foot of right here!
There was not paper this morning and so I called and no one answered but there was a message saying that there would be no paper today and that they would deliver it when the weather permitted. I am wondering if we will even get one tomorrow as the weather is suppose to get worse before it gets better.
I looked outside around 1530 and wondered why it was so dark out and then when I got to the window I saw that it was almost like a blizzard outside. They just anounced on the TV news that many of the roads are closed and chains are required on all road, they also said that traction tires were not enough even for four wheeled vehicles; not that I was planning on going anywhere anyways.
I have not done much today, there was not paper and comics to read and even though I did go outside on a couple occasions it was too nasty a day with the freezing rain and wind.
Although I might have been been better dressed when I went out, as it was I had on my shorts and a tee shirt and slides in my bare feet. Once my feet got soaked I decided that maybe boots and my ski clothes might have been a better choice.
I had thought about going snow shoeing but the snow was coated with ice and not really the kind of snow that I like to play in. Before the freezing rain it was a great powder snow and would have been fun to play in.
I am rather surprised that I have not seen any tree branches that fell, other than hundreds of tips of branches and lots of fir cones nothing big has fallen so far.
Well as I said earlier I have not done much today, so I think that I will just post some of the pictures I took today and then publish this.
There is about a foot of right here!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Sixth Day of the Arctic Express
It was really quiet out this morning when I awoke and it was after 0800 so I would have expected some vehicle traffic but it was relatively quiet even for a Saturday morning. Well, it has been about a week with this weather system and in most places it would have just been a typical winter week with the temperatures in the teens, twenties and thirties but Portland does not usually have this kind of weather for this long.
I think that a few of the TV stations have been broadcasting all day about the weather and I know of no other place where the TV stations would show nothing but snowy weather and the conditions outside.
It was a really lazy morning; in fact I did not even make myself lunch until after 1000. I fried myself a couple brown eggs, something I have not done in I cannot remember when, and I shredded up a potato and made hash browns. The mail was here before I managed to eat so I looked through it after I finished eating.
After I finished with the mail I emptied the dishwasher and then read the paper. Then I went upstairs and sorted the laundry and asked Kathleen to put into the laundry bags whatever else she wanted washed. Finally after lunch I went back upstairs and asked her if she had put in everything that she wanted washed and she still had some things to add.
Once she got everything into the bags I took them downstairs and loaded up the washer. I figured that just in case we lost power at least we would have clean clothes. Finally by 1715 I had washed, dried, folded and put away two loads of clothes.
Kathleen made a batch of spare ribs and rice for dinner and there was enough left over for two or three more meals. So hopefully if we do loose power we could heat this up on one of our gas stoves.
I must be getting really old as I have not even felt like going outside and playing in the snow, of course I might have felt more like it if the wind were not blowing the snow sideways. Kathleen was making fun of me in my shorts and tee shirt and she had three or four layers on.
Well, I think that is about all that I can think to write about so I think I will post this, take a nice warm shower and call it a day.
I think that a few of the TV stations have been broadcasting all day about the weather and I know of no other place where the TV stations would show nothing but snowy weather and the conditions outside.
It was a really lazy morning; in fact I did not even make myself lunch until after 1000. I fried myself a couple brown eggs, something I have not done in I cannot remember when, and I shredded up a potato and made hash browns. The mail was here before I managed to eat so I looked through it after I finished eating.
After I finished with the mail I emptied the dishwasher and then read the paper. Then I went upstairs and sorted the laundry and asked Kathleen to put into the laundry bags whatever else she wanted washed. Finally after lunch I went back upstairs and asked her if she had put in everything that she wanted washed and she still had some things to add.
Once she got everything into the bags I took them downstairs and loaded up the washer. I figured that just in case we lost power at least we would have clean clothes. Finally by 1715 I had washed, dried, folded and put away two loads of clothes.
Kathleen made a batch of spare ribs and rice for dinner and there was enough left over for two or three more meals. So hopefully if we do loose power we could heat this up on one of our gas stoves.
I must be getting really old as I have not even felt like going outside and playing in the snow, of course I might have felt more like it if the wind were not blowing the snow sideways. Kathleen was making fun of me in my shorts and tee shirt and she had three or four layers on.
Well, I think that is about all that I can think to write about so I think I will post this, take a nice warm shower and call it a day.
Vegetable Lasagna
Here is a relatively quick and easy lasagna meal for those of you who might prefer a non meat meal. Vegetables may be substituted per your taste ie. spinach, chard, etc.
Ingredients:
1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
4 medium carrots, shredded
1 pkg. (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained
9 cooked lasagna noodles
1 jar pasta sauce of your choice
Grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
MIX ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, eggs, carrots and broccoli. Set aside.
PLACE 3 lasagna noodles in greased 3-qt. shallow baking dish. Top with half the vegetable mixture and 1 cup pasta sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining lasagna noodles and remaining pasta sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
BAKE at 400°F. for 30 min. or until hot. Let stand 10 min. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Serves: ~8
Ingredients:
1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
4 medium carrots, shredded
1 pkg. (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained
9 cooked lasagna noodles
1 jar pasta sauce of your choice
Grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
MIX ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, eggs, carrots and broccoli. Set aside.
PLACE 3 lasagna noodles in greased 3-qt. shallow baking dish. Top with half the vegetable mixture and 1 cup pasta sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining lasagna noodles and remaining pasta sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
BAKE at 400°F. for 30 min. or until hot. Let stand 10 min. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Serves: ~8
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Fifth Day of the Arctic Express
I had heard the rain on the skylight during the night and when I awoke it had stopped and was relatively quiet out. I was watching the local news and weather and they said that a storm was making its way down and around 0800 it started snowing here.
I was somewhat surprised with the snow as when I looked at the outside thermometer it read a little under forty degrees and so I was not expecting snow but rather freezing rain.
Around 0900 it really started snowing and within the next hour we had about an inch of snow on the ground. I thought that I would take a few pictures as we really have not had much snow in December in the last decade or so; so here are a few. The first one is of our fuchsia and rhododendron in the background.
The next one is of some of the ferns off the front porch.
This next photo is of the hedge on the east side of the house.
Here is a picture of one of our cherry trees taken from one of the upstairs windows.
This next one is of my Bonsi Japanese Maple that I started over thirty years ago and it is between four to five feet tall.
Finally these last two are just of the bird bath the first on it is still frozen and the second on after I broke up the ice.
After I got done taking pictures I made myself some breakfast and then emptied the dishwasher that I had started up last night. Kathleen came downstairs and made a comment about wanting the windows cleaned so I got the step ladder and went outside and washed the windows in the breakfast nook.
The bird feeder that we have in front of the north facing windows were really hard to see out of due to the birds making a mess spitting out the sunflower shells. I had to do the one right in front of the feeder three times before I was able to get it clean enough for her.
I am doing a taste test for Campbell soups and so I fixed myself a can for lunch. I received six cans and I need to try about one can a week and finish them up by the end of January.
Last week I did a test for Quaker Oats on a new cereal that they are coming out with. I think these companies have been reading my blog and thought that I had a delicate palate and wanted to use it to test out their new products.
It is funny but as hard as it was snowing this morning as soon as it stopped it started to melt, in fact it probably started to melt before it stopped it was just snowing so hard that we could not tell.
It feels like it is starting to cool down now, 1530, and from what I remember it is suppose to get cold again with the possibility of freezing rain tonight. They have been predicting a worse storm coming Sunday so I guess that we are not out of our Arctic Express just yet.
Well I think this is probably long enough so I think I will just post this even tho it is still early in the day.
I was somewhat surprised with the snow as when I looked at the outside thermometer it read a little under forty degrees and so I was not expecting snow but rather freezing rain.
Around 0900 it really started snowing and within the next hour we had about an inch of snow on the ground. I thought that I would take a few pictures as we really have not had much snow in December in the last decade or so; so here are a few. The first one is of our fuchsia and rhododendron in the background.
The next one is of some of the ferns off the front porch.
This next photo is of the hedge on the east side of the house.
Here is a picture of one of our cherry trees taken from one of the upstairs windows.
This next one is of my Bonsi Japanese Maple that I started over thirty years ago and it is between four to five feet tall.
Finally these last two are just of the bird bath the first on it is still frozen and the second on after I broke up the ice.
After I got done taking pictures I made myself some breakfast and then emptied the dishwasher that I had started up last night. Kathleen came downstairs and made a comment about wanting the windows cleaned so I got the step ladder and went outside and washed the windows in the breakfast nook.
The bird feeder that we have in front of the north facing windows were really hard to see out of due to the birds making a mess spitting out the sunflower shells. I had to do the one right in front of the feeder three times before I was able to get it clean enough for her.
I am doing a taste test for Campbell soups and so I fixed myself a can for lunch. I received six cans and I need to try about one can a week and finish them up by the end of January.
Last week I did a test for Quaker Oats on a new cereal that they are coming out with. I think these companies have been reading my blog and thought that I had a delicate palate and wanted to use it to test out their new products.
It is funny but as hard as it was snowing this morning as soon as it stopped it started to melt, in fact it probably started to melt before it stopped it was just snowing so hard that we could not tell.
It feels like it is starting to cool down now, 1530, and from what I remember it is suppose to get cold again with the possibility of freezing rain tonight. They have been predicting a worse storm coming Sunday so I guess that we are not out of our Arctic Express just yet.
Well I think this is probably long enough so I think I will just post this even tho it is still early in the day.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Forth Day of the Artic Express
This morning when I got up it felt a little warmer than it has in several days and when I got downstairs and checked the thermometer it was hovering around freezing so it indeed was warmer. The last couple days it got up to the high twenties at the highest part of the day.
After eating my oatmeal I drank my coffee while I read the paper; before I had a chance to finish the paper the mail came, but there really was nothing important today. So I put it into the recycling box and then took the box outside and dumped it into the recycling container.
Since the kitchen scrap container was getting pretty full I decided to take it out to my composter and dump it as well as it was starting to snow and the weather folks were saying that maybe four to six inches.
When I went to turn the composter over the contents of the composter must have been frozen because as I reached a certain point the handle pulled out of my grasp and spun around four or five times hitting me in the elbow and triceps (or at least the area where a triceps should be) each time it went around and almost knocked me down.
Once I realized what the problem was I was a little more cautious and gripped the handle tighter the next time I turned it; while it pulled again at least I was ready for it and was able to brace myself so that the handle did not pull out of my grip.
Then I went back inside and went down into the basement and started sweeping and throwing things away. Kathleen told me to put a mask on as it was getting really dusty, so I had her throw one down for me. I got most of the area of the basement that had gotten littered from the bathroom remodel cleaned and swept up.
I also filled the garbage can three quarters filled up with just things laying on the floor like pieces of wood, nails, dry wall and general dirt. I also swept off the stairs leading to the basement from the kitchen as they had remodeling debris on them as well.
I thought about sweeping the stairwell off that leads to the back yard but I needed to get the mask off and clean myself off. The mask is good but I have a hard time breathing with it on. I also brought up a box of things to give to Goodwill.
By the time I finished cleaning up it was getting close to lunch time so I took the left-over rice from earlier in the week and added it to some tomato soup and then I also added a can of sardines and some hot salsa. I thought about saving this dish for Fabulous Food Friday, but it was just so yummy that I had to share it today.
Well, Kathleen just took off to meet with the lady from church and I think that this might be a pretty quiet afternoon and evening so I thought that I would start my blog now and maybe publish it so that I did not have to think about it tonight.
We are supposed to get more precipitation today and into tomorrow but right now they do not know whether it will be snow or freezing rain. Right now it is snowing very lightly but earlier it was really coming down but if it gets much warmer we are likely to get freezing rain. The temperature got up to almost forty degrees today but it is supposed to cool down again tonight.
After eating my oatmeal I drank my coffee while I read the paper; before I had a chance to finish the paper the mail came, but there really was nothing important today. So I put it into the recycling box and then took the box outside and dumped it into the recycling container.
Since the kitchen scrap container was getting pretty full I decided to take it out to my composter and dump it as well as it was starting to snow and the weather folks were saying that maybe four to six inches.
When I went to turn the composter over the contents of the composter must have been frozen because as I reached a certain point the handle pulled out of my grasp and spun around four or five times hitting me in the elbow and triceps (or at least the area where a triceps should be) each time it went around and almost knocked me down.
Once I realized what the problem was I was a little more cautious and gripped the handle tighter the next time I turned it; while it pulled again at least I was ready for it and was able to brace myself so that the handle did not pull out of my grip.
Then I went back inside and went down into the basement and started sweeping and throwing things away. Kathleen told me to put a mask on as it was getting really dusty, so I had her throw one down for me. I got most of the area of the basement that had gotten littered from the bathroom remodel cleaned and swept up.
I also filled the garbage can three quarters filled up with just things laying on the floor like pieces of wood, nails, dry wall and general dirt. I also swept off the stairs leading to the basement from the kitchen as they had remodeling debris on them as well.
I thought about sweeping the stairwell off that leads to the back yard but I needed to get the mask off and clean myself off. The mask is good but I have a hard time breathing with it on. I also brought up a box of things to give to Goodwill.
By the time I finished cleaning up it was getting close to lunch time so I took the left-over rice from earlier in the week and added it to some tomato soup and then I also added a can of sardines and some hot salsa. I thought about saving this dish for Fabulous Food Friday, but it was just so yummy that I had to share it today.
Well, Kathleen just took off to meet with the lady from church and I think that this might be a pretty quiet afternoon and evening so I thought that I would start my blog now and maybe publish it so that I did not have to think about it tonight.
We are supposed to get more precipitation today and into tomorrow but right now they do not know whether it will be snow or freezing rain. Right now it is snowing very lightly but earlier it was really coming down but if it gets much warmer we are likely to get freezing rain. The temperature got up to almost forty degrees today but it is supposed to cool down again tonight.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Third Day of the Artic Express
Another cold night, when I got up this morning the temperature on the outside thermometer was around twenty degrees and only got up to the low thirties this afternoon. I did go outside a couple times in my tee shirt and short and it felt a little warmer than yesterday mostly because the wind was not blowing as strongly.
For lunch I made some spicy tomato and pork soup and a couple pizza buns made from a potato bum and ketchup Italian seasoning and cheddar that I melted in the toaster oven. The tomato soup I just added a piece of pork left over from the other night and some Tabasco sauce.
This afternoon I did a little more wood working but again only for a half hour or so. The only good thing is that the basement is warmer than the rest of the house so working down there is not unpleasant temperature wise.
Tomorrow if the snow and colder weather holds off a while I think I might try going downstairs and get the rest of the pile that Kathleen left down there and either recycle it or throw it away. I would have done it today but the garbage and recycling came really late today and I had already started the wood working project.
Tami called this afternoon to let us know that Becca's program tonight had been canceled due to the weather and that probably Alexis's on Thursday as well. I had been on the phone with the Social Security office when she called so I called her back when I finished.
I had been waiting for fifteen minutes and had just answered the phone a few minutes before because Kathleen had a call coming in and I did not want to start all over again.
When Kathleen came downstairs this morning she had about three layers on and I was sitting here in my shorts and tee shirt and she was still cold just looking at me. I was a little cool but not uncomfortable.
Well, I think I have run out of things to say today so I will just go ahead and post this.
For lunch I made some spicy tomato and pork soup and a couple pizza buns made from a potato bum and ketchup Italian seasoning and cheddar that I melted in the toaster oven. The tomato soup I just added a piece of pork left over from the other night and some Tabasco sauce.
This afternoon I did a little more wood working but again only for a half hour or so. The only good thing is that the basement is warmer than the rest of the house so working down there is not unpleasant temperature wise.
Tomorrow if the snow and colder weather holds off a while I think I might try going downstairs and get the rest of the pile that Kathleen left down there and either recycle it or throw it away. I would have done it today but the garbage and recycling came really late today and I had already started the wood working project.
Tami called this afternoon to let us know that Becca's program tonight had been canceled due to the weather and that probably Alexis's on Thursday as well. I had been on the phone with the Social Security office when she called so I called her back when I finished.
I had been waiting for fifteen minutes and had just answered the phone a few minutes before because Kathleen had a call coming in and I did not want to start all over again.
When Kathleen came downstairs this morning she had about three layers on and I was sitting here in my shorts and tee shirt and she was still cold just looking at me. I was a little cool but not uncomfortable.
Well, I think I have run out of things to say today so I will just go ahead and post this.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Second Day of the Artic Express
It has turned extremely cold today and I think that the highest that it got here was in the upper twenties; at least I never saw it break the thirty degree mark whenever I looked.
I started to make myself some cold cereal this morning but before I did anything I thought that if today was not a good candidate for hot oatmeal I did not know when would be. So I fixed myself some oatmeal with a banana and some raisins and just a touch of brown sugar for the comfort effect!
After eating I gathered up all the dishes that I could find and loaded the dishwasher and started it up. Then I gathered up the rugs, shook them out, swept and moped the kitchen floor and then when the floor dried I put the rugs back down and then vacuumed the downstairs carpet.
Kathleen had said that she had a pile of things that needed to be thrown out or recycled so I sorted the pile out and filed the recycling container and garbage can and took them up front for pick-up tomorrow. I think the folks driving by must have thought that I was nuts in my tee shirt and shorts but I was only our for a few minutes.
Kathleen was getting ready to make herself some breakfast and asked me if I wanted some raisin nut bread, since it was close to my lunch time I said go ahead and make me a couple as well. I also fixed myself a sardine sandwich on rye bread. Kathleen must have thought that it was funny as she took several pictures of my sandwich and me eating it.
I got a package of things that I had ordered today with some woodworking things in it. I want to try and get back to doing some woodworking since I cannot do things like fly tying as my fingers do not allow me to manipulate very well.
After lunch I unloaded the dishwasher and put things away and then loaded up the washer with towels; Kathleen wanted to take a shower so I waited until she finished and then put those towels into the washer and started it up.
While they were washing I went downstairs to work on a wood project. I was able to work about a half hour before my hands started aching so I stopped and came upstairs and cleaned up.
The towels were finished washing so I put everything in the dryer. While they are drying I decided that I would do my blogging until they finished and the dryer just went off so I think I will post this and call it a day.
I started to make myself some cold cereal this morning but before I did anything I thought that if today was not a good candidate for hot oatmeal I did not know when would be. So I fixed myself some oatmeal with a banana and some raisins and just a touch of brown sugar for the comfort effect!
After eating I gathered up all the dishes that I could find and loaded the dishwasher and started it up. Then I gathered up the rugs, shook them out, swept and moped the kitchen floor and then when the floor dried I put the rugs back down and then vacuumed the downstairs carpet.
Kathleen had said that she had a pile of things that needed to be thrown out or recycled so I sorted the pile out and filed the recycling container and garbage can and took them up front for pick-up tomorrow. I think the folks driving by must have thought that I was nuts in my tee shirt and shorts but I was only our for a few minutes.
Kathleen was getting ready to make herself some breakfast and asked me if I wanted some raisin nut bread, since it was close to my lunch time I said go ahead and make me a couple as well. I also fixed myself a sardine sandwich on rye bread. Kathleen must have thought that it was funny as she took several pictures of my sandwich and me eating it.
I got a package of things that I had ordered today with some woodworking things in it. I want to try and get back to doing some woodworking since I cannot do things like fly tying as my fingers do not allow me to manipulate very well.
After lunch I unloaded the dishwasher and put things away and then loaded up the washer with towels; Kathleen wanted to take a shower so I waited until she finished and then put those towels into the washer and started it up.
While they were washing I went downstairs to work on a wood project. I was able to work about a half hour before my hands started aching so I stopped and came upstairs and cleaned up.
The towels were finished washing so I put everything in the dryer. While they are drying I decided that I would do my blogging until they finished and the dryer just went off so I think I will post this and call it a day.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Our First Winter Weekend
Well this has been quite a weekend, yesterday it started snowing down here by the river and so I left late in the morning to go feed Aaron and Tami's animals. By the time I got up to where they live it was snowing rather hard, but it was still warm enough that nothing was really sticking.
I played with Archie for awhile until one of us got tired...it was not the four legged one either. By the time I stopped and locked up their house it was snowing pretty good and started sticking to my windshield enough that I needed to run my wipers.
As I got closer to our house it was more of a fine dry snow, I did not get to put the Jeep in the garage as Kathleen had finished a "flat Stan" for my niece’s son, Elijah and wanted me to run it to the post office. Since I was having to go out I asked her if she had picked up her prescription yet and she said that she had not.
So since I was going to be out anyway I thought that I might as well pick up her prescription and while I was at Fred Meyer I might as well pick up some items in case we got stuck here because of the weather.
We were out of several things like peanut butter, bread, fruit, coffee and about six bags of other things. When I left the store there was a layer of snow on the ground so it had snowed pretty good while I was shopping. When I got home it had stopped snowing and I unloaded the Jeep, put it into the garage and then put the groceries away. Once I had everything put away I went upstairs and put my shorts back on so that I would be more comfortable.
Kathleen was freezing and had on her sweats and a vest and I was running around in my shorts and a tee shirt. I made myself a brat for lunch, as I had not had any in a couple months and was kind of hungry for them. The snow had pretty much subsided by this time
I took a nap for a while during the afternoon and felt more wide awake when I got up. For dinner Kathleen reheated the left-over pork, potatoes and peas from the night before and then made a banana, orange juice, walnut and sugar sauce for desert.
After a while I went upstairs and took my shower and went to bed hoping to get good nights sleep. I have not been sleeping very well lately as my hip has been really bothering me when I roll over on it. Well last night was no exception and while I did not get up at 0400 I did not sleep in as long as I wanted because I needed to get ready for church and Sunday School.
Just as I was sitting down to eat breakfast one of the elders called and said that they were canceling services today because of the weather. It was not snowing all that hard but there was a layer of snow on the ground and it was snowing harder as the morning went on.
Since I was not going to church I did the dishes and then decided to go feed Aaron and Tami's animals before the weather got really bad. The news says that this is the worst storm since 1990 so that is saying something. By the time I got to Aaron and Tami's the snow was really coming down but the wind was blowing hard enough that the roads were relatively clear.
After feeding the animals and playing with Archie for a while I decided that the snow was sticking enough that I probably ought to stop and head for home. There was a good layer of snow on my windshield and the roads were now covered with snow. I kept the Jeep in two wheel drive as I though that I would be okay, I did slide a little a few times as I stopped and then took off again but for the most part I could tell that the roads were slipper but if one dove carefully they should not have any problem.
I called Aaron and Tami to give them a heads up as to what our weather was like here as they had gone to Eagle Crest with Tami's family for the weekend. They did not have much snow there and so it was a good thing that I called as we talked about an alternate route for their coming home.
Kathleen made some toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch today and all we would have needed would have been some tomato soup to make a good winter lunch. Our cable, internet and phones went out so I dug out my little B&W Sony Watchman with a three inch screen and watch that. Kathleen wanted to see the news or rather the all day weather report to see what to expect for the rest of the week.
Well, it is about time for dinner so I think I will post this, the way the weather look for the next week it is only going to get worse as the week goes on. Tomorrow and the next day it is only suppose to get into the low twenties during the day time. Then Wednesday it is suppose to have more precipitation of some kind and then get cold for the next couple of days with another storm coming in next week end.
I played with Archie for awhile until one of us got tired...it was not the four legged one either. By the time I stopped and locked up their house it was snowing pretty good and started sticking to my windshield enough that I needed to run my wipers.
As I got closer to our house it was more of a fine dry snow, I did not get to put the Jeep in the garage as Kathleen had finished a "flat Stan" for my niece’s son, Elijah and wanted me to run it to the post office. Since I was having to go out I asked her if she had picked up her prescription yet and she said that she had not.
So since I was going to be out anyway I thought that I might as well pick up her prescription and while I was at Fred Meyer I might as well pick up some items in case we got stuck here because of the weather.
We were out of several things like peanut butter, bread, fruit, coffee and about six bags of other things. When I left the store there was a layer of snow on the ground so it had snowed pretty good while I was shopping. When I got home it had stopped snowing and I unloaded the Jeep, put it into the garage and then put the groceries away. Once I had everything put away I went upstairs and put my shorts back on so that I would be more comfortable.
Kathleen was freezing and had on her sweats and a vest and I was running around in my shorts and a tee shirt. I made myself a brat for lunch, as I had not had any in a couple months and was kind of hungry for them. The snow had pretty much subsided by this time
I took a nap for a while during the afternoon and felt more wide awake when I got up. For dinner Kathleen reheated the left-over pork, potatoes and peas from the night before and then made a banana, orange juice, walnut and sugar sauce for desert.
After a while I went upstairs and took my shower and went to bed hoping to get good nights sleep. I have not been sleeping very well lately as my hip has been really bothering me when I roll over on it. Well last night was no exception and while I did not get up at 0400 I did not sleep in as long as I wanted because I needed to get ready for church and Sunday School.
Just as I was sitting down to eat breakfast one of the elders called and said that they were canceling services today because of the weather. It was not snowing all that hard but there was a layer of snow on the ground and it was snowing harder as the morning went on.
Since I was not going to church I did the dishes and then decided to go feed Aaron and Tami's animals before the weather got really bad. The news says that this is the worst storm since 1990 so that is saying something. By the time I got to Aaron and Tami's the snow was really coming down but the wind was blowing hard enough that the roads were relatively clear.
After feeding the animals and playing with Archie for a while I decided that the snow was sticking enough that I probably ought to stop and head for home. There was a good layer of snow on my windshield and the roads were now covered with snow. I kept the Jeep in two wheel drive as I though that I would be okay, I did slide a little a few times as I stopped and then took off again but for the most part I could tell that the roads were slipper but if one dove carefully they should not have any problem.
I called Aaron and Tami to give them a heads up as to what our weather was like here as they had gone to Eagle Crest with Tami's family for the weekend. They did not have much snow there and so it was a good thing that I called as we talked about an alternate route for their coming home.
Kathleen made some toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch today and all we would have needed would have been some tomato soup to make a good winter lunch. Our cable, internet and phones went out so I dug out my little B&W Sony Watchman with a three inch screen and watch that. Kathleen wanted to see the news or rather the all day weather report to see what to expect for the rest of the week.
Well, it is about time for dinner so I think I will post this, the way the weather look for the next week it is only going to get worse as the week goes on. Tomorrow and the next day it is only suppose to get into the low twenties during the day time. Then Wednesday it is suppose to have more precipitation of some kind and then get cold for the next couple of days with another storm coming in next week end.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
My Attempt to Create a Bird Friendly Backyard Environment
As many of you know by now I enjoy gardening. Having songbirds visit is one of the many benefits of having a garden in the first place. It is always a delight to see the variety of birds drop by for a nibble or a rest. So when I want to create a bird-friendly garden, here are a few easy steps I have taken to enjoy seeing birds all year long and you might want to do as well.
Birds have a few really simple needs: food, water, shelter, and protection from predators. Naturally, native birds thrive on native plants, so choose a selection of regional beauties that produce seeds, berries, or nectar. You can even work your dead trees or old stumps into your landscape to attract insect-eaters and provide shelter.
The more diverse your food supply is, the more variety of birds you will see in your garden. Also you can help birds out by placing bird feeders in your yard filled with a good quality wild bird food (as can be found at places like Wild Birds Unlimited or Backyard Bird Shops. Both of these have online stores as well if you are not fortunately enough to have one of these fine shops nearby. Here are the web addresses http://www.wbu.com/ and http://www.backyardbirdshop.com/).
Different birds seek shelter at different heights. You can make your garden more hospitable to them by growing vines, shrubs and trees. Evergreens provide excellent winter shelter, as well as protection from cats and other predators. If you have a dying tree, let it stand, since its cavities make great nesting spots.
Putting out a birdbath, especially one with a trickle or fountain will make your garden a very popular spot. If you have a pond or stream, place flat rocks in them for bird perches.
For those of you that have seen my yard these are a few of the things that I have tried to incorporate in my landscaping; it really does not take that much work and in some cases it is easier in the long run. Next time you are in the area and have a question stop by and look around; smell the roses and watch the birds.
I can lose myself for hours watching birds fly in to eat or bathe and you can as well. If you have binoculars or a zoom lens on you camera, you can see incredible details as they visit. You will learn a lot, and have a great time while you are doing it.
Birds have a few really simple needs: food, water, shelter, and protection from predators. Naturally, native birds thrive on native plants, so choose a selection of regional beauties that produce seeds, berries, or nectar. You can even work your dead trees or old stumps into your landscape to attract insect-eaters and provide shelter.
The more diverse your food supply is, the more variety of birds you will see in your garden. Also you can help birds out by placing bird feeders in your yard filled with a good quality wild bird food (as can be found at places like Wild Birds Unlimited or Backyard Bird Shops. Both of these have online stores as well if you are not fortunately enough to have one of these fine shops nearby. Here are the web addresses http://www.wbu.com/ and http://www.backyardbirdshop.com/).
Different birds seek shelter at different heights. You can make your garden more hospitable to them by growing vines, shrubs and trees. Evergreens provide excellent winter shelter, as well as protection from cats and other predators. If you have a dying tree, let it stand, since its cavities make great nesting spots.
Putting out a birdbath, especially one with a trickle or fountain will make your garden a very popular spot. If you have a pond or stream, place flat rocks in them for bird perches.
For those of you that have seen my yard these are a few of the things that I have tried to incorporate in my landscaping; it really does not take that much work and in some cases it is easier in the long run. Next time you are in the area and have a question stop by and look around; smell the roses and watch the birds.
I can lose myself for hours watching birds fly in to eat or bathe and you can as well. If you have binoculars or a zoom lens on you camera, you can see incredible details as they visit. You will learn a lot, and have a great time while you are doing it.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Fabulous Food Friday - Single Serving Meat Loaves
I almost forgot to do a Fabulous Food Friday as I know that Alyssa is probably busy with getting ready for Zander's birthday party tomorrow.
Here is a pretty quick and easy meatloaf; for just the two of us it last a couple meals. By cooking meat loaf in single-serving portions you cut the cooking time in half and helps keep the meat juicy. Adding a tangy ketchup and mustard glaze helps these loaves brown nicely as well.
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine ketchup and mustard, stirring well with a whisk. Reserve 2 1/2 tablespoons ketchup mixture. Combine remaining ketchup mixture, beef, and next 6 ingredients (beef through egg) in a large bowl, stirring to combine.
Divide beef mixture into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 4 x 2 1/2-inch loaf; place loaves on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray if necessary.
Spread about 2 teaspoons reserved ketchup mixture evenly over each loaf. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until done.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 255 (28% from fat)
Fat: 7.9g (sat 2.8g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.4g)
Protein: 27.4g
Carbohydrate: 15.7g
Fiber: 0.9g
Cholesterol: 120mg
Iron: 2.7mg
Sodium: 944mg
Calcium: 31mg
Here is a pretty quick and easy meatloaf; for just the two of us it last a couple meals. By cooking meat loaf in single-serving portions you cut the cooking time in half and helps keep the meat juicy. Adding a tangy ketchup and mustard glaze helps these loaves brown nicely as well.
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine ketchup and mustard, stirring well with a whisk. Reserve 2 1/2 tablespoons ketchup mixture. Combine remaining ketchup mixture, beef, and next 6 ingredients (beef through egg) in a large bowl, stirring to combine.
Divide beef mixture into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 4 x 2 1/2-inch loaf; place loaves on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray if necessary.
Spread about 2 teaspoons reserved ketchup mixture evenly over each loaf. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until done.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 255 (28% from fat)
Fat: 7.9g (sat 2.8g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.4g)
Protein: 27.4g
Carbohydrate: 15.7g
Fiber: 0.9g
Cholesterol: 120mg
Iron: 2.7mg
Sodium: 944mg
Calcium: 31mg
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)