Sunday…

and the storms are coming!  Nothing major predicted right now but after the tornado last year the word storm puts the fear of God in me.  I used to hear a tornado watch  for my area on the weather radio and I didn’t pay any attention.  I do pay attention now. 

I had a very nice visit with my family yesterday.  I ate too much and celebrated by going out to Wal*Mart and buying half a dozen books.  At least now I have something to read.  I have  read almost everything on my Nook and almost cleaned out the bookcase.  I sent a box of books to my sis in WV and have a box ready for Goodwill.  I am trying to find another charity to give stuff too after learning how much the CEO of Goodwill makes each year.  http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/print-edition/2013/11/15/goodwill-ceos-salary-rises-again.html

My family is headed back home now and being a mom I will relax when the phone rings and I hear they are home safely.

So I am doing laundry and resting today as I am pretty well exhausted.  I hope you are all having a nice weekend!

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Better late than never…

I am way behind schedule again today.  Out running errands to Wal*Mart, K-Mart and the grand opening of the Aldi store that moved across town.  I found the second book in the O’Dwyer trilogy by Nora Roberts at Wal*Mart.

Book Two of The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy
Shadow Spell

“With the legends and lore of Ireland running through his blood, falconer Connor O’Dwyer is proud to call County Mayo home. It’s where his sister, Branna, lives and works, where his cousin, Iona, has found true love, and where his childhood friends form a circle that can’t be broken…

A circle that is about to be stretched out of shape—by a long-awaited kiss.
Meara Quinn is Branna’s best friend, a sister in all but blood. Her and Connor’s paths cross almost daily, as Connor takes tourists on hawk walks and Meara guides them on horseback across the lush countryside. She has the eyes of a gypsy and the body of a goddess…things Connor has always taken for granted—until his brush with death propels them into a quick, hot tangle.

Plenty of women have found their way to Connor’s bed, but none to his heart until now. Frustratingly, Meara is okay with just the heat, afraid to lose herself—and their friendship—to something more. But soon, Connor will see the full force and fury of what runs in his blood. And he will need his family and friends around him when his past rolls in like the fog, threatening an end to all he loves”

Picture and review courtesy of www.amazon.com.

I hate getting hooked on trilogies.  But then I love to read so who cares??

Sunny and warm here today at 64 degrees right now.  The wind is the big factor  as it is gusting at 30 MPH. 

Have a great week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

The weatherman lied…

again!!  Maybe I shouldn’t say lied but the 1 – 2 inches of snow forecast for yesterday turned out to be 5 inches.  This on top of what we have and our snow cover on the ground is well over a foot.  More snow predicted for this afternoon and tonight.  Right now the sun is shining and it is 3 below zero.  I sure am waiting for the warmer days promised beginning on Tuesday.  But aha Mr. Weatherman, I am not holding my breath.  The countdown till Spring stands at 33 days.  I do know that spring will be here some day, I just feel it in my heart.  I haven’t seen a bird of any kind for weeks now.  I do see the squirrels though.  I am feeling sorry for them as their acorns are buried under a foot of snow.

I did nothing yesterday!  I didn’t even read a book.  I need to get on Amazon or out to Wal*Mart and purchase some new books. 

The maintenance crew has been here checking to see if there was any more tornado damage in our houses.  I have a pretty good crack in the wall underneath my window which runs the whole length above the sink and around.  It has always been cracked a tiny bit and me being a happy homemaker had dabbed spackling in the cracks.  Now the cracks have widened since I did that in 2010.  Gosh!!!  I can’t believe I have lived here 4 years in April.  My memories of my own washer and dryer, water softener and 2 car garage are fading quickly from my mind.  Now my mind is filled with thoughts of my car that again looks like a giant snowball.  I will go out and clean that off again when the temp warms up a bit.

I have a roast with carrots, potatoes and onion in the oven now.  That will last me a few days.  I am trying to keep from baking goodies as there is no one here but me to eat them and my freezer is full.

Have a peaceful weekend!  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

It is…

61 days till spring and we are under a winter weather advisory for 3 – 5 inches of snow beginning mid morning.  It was very cold this morning when I got up at 6 degrees with a wind chill of 10 below zero.  It has warmed up to 19 degrees with a pretty nippy wind.

 

The apple pie turned out good.  I  had a piece of it with peppermint ice cream.  I also made homemade vegetable beef soup and that was good too.  I will have some of that for my lunch today with some toasted garlic bread.  The rest of the pie goes in the freezer or I would end up eating it all. Info for Vee.  I usually do cook for myself and only eat TV dinners in an emergency.  I have only eaten 1 TV dinner in the last few weeks.

 

I am about to finish the Heather Graham book and I am checking my bookshelf to see what I will read next.  If I get a chance to get out to Wal*Mart I will see if Emilie Richards has anything new out.  It is cheaper to buy books at Wal*Mart than Amazon but I really like the books delivered to my door.  I am ashamed to say that I have never become involved with the library here as it is downtown and there are those awful one way streets to contend with.  I practically lived at the library at home and had an online account with them.  Maybe I will make that something for my bucket list.  Master the one way streets downtown.  And maybe I will take a space ship to the moon.

 

I noticed that the workers are out in the cold this morning still working on putting a new roof on the apartment building.around the corner from me  I feel sorry for them and I hope they are getting overtime for working on Saturday.

 

I hope your weekend is a good one.   Stay safe and be happy!!

 

Beth

Who’s counting??

It is 66 days till Spring.  It is 41 degrees and bright sunshine this morning.  The snow is almost melted away except for gigantic  piles where the snow has been cleared from the parking lots.

I have already had my tank filled with gas and been to Wal*Mart this morning.  Gas is $3.17 a gallon today.  Down about 20 cents from what it was running during the Christmas season.

I am in the cleaning mode today.  Maintenance put down a lot of snow melt and that has been tracked in my front door and the back door.  What a big mess!!  I have the rugs in the washer and I have to go check on them in a minute.

I did make the potato soup yesterday.  It was very good.  I made a pot with ground beef (which my son in law likes) and a small pot with ham for my daughter.  I sent most of it home with the kids but I did keep a small bowl and that is what I will have for lunch. EASY is the way I make potato soup!!  Peel however many potatoes you want and cut them in cubes.  Peel a nice sized onion for each pot and dice it.  Put the potatoes and onion in a big enough pot.  Barely cover with water and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and cover the pot.  Cook till potatoes are tender.   Previously brown ground beef until done.  Drain.  Cut cooked ham into small cubes.  Season to taste with Season all salt and pepper.  Add the cooked ground beef and the ham to the separate pots of the cooked potato and onion.  Add milk (about 2 cups per pot) and heat thoroughly.  Taste and add more seasoning if you want.  And that is it.  I never use a recipe for most things.  I just do it.

And now I have to go check on the rugs.  After The Young and the Restless I will get the sweeper out and get busy.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Why is it…

that when you go to the car dealership for something they always find something else??  I went to the Buick dealership this morning for a new battery.  They found over $300 worth of things that need to be done in the future.  At least it wasn’t written in red.  The new battery cost almost $200 including the labor.  I have decided to wait till spring on this and then I am going to either get a new car or a good used one.  My car is a 2002 Buick Lesabre with less than 85,000 miles on it.  I did find out that the battery is located under the passenger side in the back seat.  I had no idea!

I have been to the bank this morning, Walmart, Food Depot and dropped some books off at Goodwill.  I checked Food Depot for the Hostess Snacks and they have filled that shelf with something else.  However while we were at he car dealership my daughter found a lone Hostess Ding Dong in the vending machine.  For the sake of nostalgia we shared it.  Not a Twinkie to be found in town.

Anyway the morning was very busy for me so I think I am going to rest awhile.  I am on an antibiotic now too and I am pretty stressed out. 

I hope you all have a great week.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Tuesday Triumphs…

I think I can do it now.  bj gave me the nod to look on Google for instructions on how to thread the bobbin.  I found a how to video from Singer and also some step by step instructions which I printed out.  I am always on Google for something but it never occurred to me to Google the bobbin thingy.

I have been out this morning to Wal*Mart stocking up on some paper items that I was running out of.  I also stopped by Food Depot to get a couple of Power Ball tickets.  The payout stands at $320 million right now.  I am not a Lotto player but I always buy one or two when the jackpot gets so high, knowing full well that I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than ever winning anything.  The dream is there for a little while.  If you don’t see a post from me tomorrow you will know I am on my way to Springfield to cash in my winning ticket.

I think my new beautician is getting the hang of it now and I had really decent hair day yesterday. 

Lovely day today with still no rain in sight.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Backside of Friday and finishing the Comcast Rant…

I went out with my daughter today to touch the morning.  We did the garage sale route.  Not much there but a few old cookbooks that I picked up.  I love to look through them and as I have noted before, once in awhile I fix a recipe from one of the old cookbooks.
Before coming home we stopped by Wal*Mart so that I could by a new corded telephone. 

 Because…

I did it.  I had already gone by the local Comcast Office yesterday morning and paid the coming month’s bill.  Afterwards the thought came to me that I am tired of fighting with Comcast.  Their customer service is the pits.  Monday afternoon I am having my service changed over to ITV3.  The price is the same but with more channels and I can have corded phones in my house again.  Comcast has the computer, phone and cable all running through the same hookup.  Comcast telephone service is sporadic at times.

**********

spo·rad·ic/spəˈradik/

Adjective:
Occurring at irregular intervals or only in a few places; scattered or isolated.
Synonyms:
occasional
**********
I will probably have to fight to get back my money I paid Comcast but that is OK.  I just want to be rid of them. They are like vultures, raising the price of something every month and of course the final straw was the huge overcharge on the bill I received this week.  And you know what…it is like a weight off my back to think that I won’t be fighting with them anymore.
It is very pleasant here today at 78 degrees right now.  While I was out this morning there wasn’t a cloud in the bright blue sky.
My neighbors next door and two doors down are switching  from Comcast too! 
See, I have extended my Comcast rant from Tuesday through Friday and now I am  letting go of it.  I hope that Mark  is reading this.   Goodbye Mark!
 
Beth

Wednesday and…

I am too P**ped to to pop.  http://usads.ms11.net/shanehill.html    answer # 9 at this link.  In plain English, I am worn out.

I was up this morning at 6 AM.  I picked up my daughter shortly after 7 and we went to Menards and Walmart where I purchased a new shower curtain and bubbly mat for the tub.  Then back home where we had tea and a doughnut that was decorated so prettily with white frosting and sprinkled with red white and blue sugar.  Dontcha just love the 4th of July??  I do!!  I LOVE America with all of its faults!  And what could be nicer than a doughnut with red white and blue sprinkles.  I tell you, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

Then, getting down to business.  We, mostly my daughter climbing around, cleaned the bathroom, walls and all and put up the new shower curtain.  Then we moved everything out of the utility room which was no small chore.  My daughter proceeded to clean the walls in there and mop the floor.  She helped me unpack a couple of plastic tubs that I had never unpacked from when I moved here 2 years  ago.  I found 4 small photo albums that I need to go through and get the pics on the computer.  We ended up with 3 boxes and 2 sacks full of stuff for Goodwill.

After dropping the stuff off at Goodwill we stopped at one of the McDonalds  which was next door.  Turns out we should have gone to the other Mickey Ds which is closer to my house.  There must have been 50 or so middle school age kids from a church group that were being treated to a lunch there.  It was a problem ordering our lunch because of all of the noise.  Don’t kids that age make a lot of noise?  I don’t mind the noise.  Those were happy kids.  I repeat again, I LOVE America!  Better those kids be involved with a church group than out wandering around getting into trouble.

So that has been my day so far.  I still have quite a bit of stuff to put away and Y&R has been recorded for me to watch later.  Actually it has been a really good day for me.
Stay safe and be happy!! 

Beth