Happy New Year!

This has been an OK year for us, but I know that hasn't been true for everyone. People we love are having emotional challenges which impact on us. It's difficult not to be able to help.I hope the upcoming year is better.

Open Views

We have freedom of speech and lots of people take advantage of that for themselves. I am glad they do because I don't buy their records or watch their movies if they leave the entertainment field and venture into pressing their opinions on others. They have the right to remain silent, too.

Clearing up Christmas

Today the Christmas stuff went back in storage. I sometimes think I should leave it out and add to it so we would live surrounded by our Christmas treasures. It would be hard to keep everything dusted.

Snuffy Smith

A long time ago a cartoon strip called Snuffy Smith ran in our paper. One strip showed his wife loaded down with grocery bags coming up the path. Her husband says to wait a minute, he'll help. He rearranges the bags for her...but she is still carrying all of them. Sometimes I think I'm married to Snuffy Smith.

Pie Results

My pie turned out OK but wasn't what I expected. It tasted and looked like apples and raisins. Before the apples took on the color of the raisins. Oh well.

Apple Raisin Pie

Six cups of sliced apples and one cup of raisins plumped in warm brandy, some sugar and cinnamon took a while to compile. The hardest part is the crust. I saved the brandy from the raisins and plan to fold some into whip cream and try some drizzled over ice cream. It's baking now. I hope it's worth the time. But planning iit is fun, too.

Gingersnaps

The hospital gift shop has started carrying gingersnaps. This is to hold ID cards. The center part can be changed to other things.

Dressing

I used the food processor to break up the cornbread for the dressing. It made the dressing too packy. It was easier, but not better.

Too Windy

I thought about taking down the Christmas lights today because the temperature was in the 70's. But it was too windy. I guess I'll wait for a calmer day even if it is cooler.

Pillow

I bought a pillow from a chiropractor several years ago. It allows water to be added to adjust the firmness. Last night it developed a leak. That was a surprising way to wake up.

Merry Christmas!

I hope your day was serene and blessed. I don't use either of those words a lot but I do want those feelings in my life. It is sometimes difficult to determine what gives me those feelings.

Mincemeat Pie

I haven't been able to find Nonesuch mincemeat pie filling. So I checked Amazon. They had it but one jar cost $27! I don't want to spend that much. I made an apple pie once and was a cup short of apples so I made up the difference by adding a cup of raisins. It tasted like mincemeat pie to me.

Easy Lunch

The pork tenderloin came out of the crackpot absolutely perfect. With wasabi mayo it made a great sandwich. The food for tomorrow is ready to finish and we won't starve waiting for the feast.

Strange Compliments

Today two people left really nice compliments on a couple of my posts. I didn't publish them because they are apparently an attempt to link their business ads.

Coffee Treat

I bought some Starbucks expresso coffee grounds and got out the cappuccino machine. It took a while to get to the further part and a puff of steam fogged up my glasses. The mess multiplied after that.

Christmas Movies

I'm tired of Christmas movies. I don't want to see or hear any. Bah humbug!

Waiting

I keep seeing people accusing various groups of leaking information from the dems. Nobody is suggesting the information iis false. So who cares who leaked the truth. Leaking isn't as bad as being jerks.

They Let Me Keep the Shirt

I tried to donate blood today. I'm still in the mad cow banned group because I lived in Europe for at least five years during mad cow time. But they let me keep the tee shirt.

Dirty House

I've been concerned about algae-looking scum on the outside walls,  cornices, and columns. The house is six years old. I found and advertisement about cleaning the outside of buildings and called for a free estimate. He quoted us a great price but said the temperature needs to be above freezing.

Painting

Larry made a pencil box and I painted it for a neighbor's foster child.

Generator

Larry looked at the generator this morning. It said it needed oil. So he gave it some. I guess we need to check with Lowe's about maintenance.

Power

Last night the power went out and the generator didn't come on so Larry got a flashlight out and I lighted some candles. Then we went to bed. About an hour later the power came back on so we got up and turned things off. This morning we saw it had snowed and rained ice because it is white on the mulch. It was in the 70's the last few days so the ground was still warm...but not the mulch.

Our Weather Alert

We have a tornado watch until 9 tonight. It's 71 degrees right now and gusty winds are rearranging the leaves.

Wax Melts

The scented wax is in donut-shaped tins. They are easy to change so I don't have to use one until it is gone.

New Laptop

I have a couple of old laptops and decided to get a new one. I ordered a game I've played a long time. The laptop has no CD slot! It has Windows 10. So I took it to a local computer guy. He transferred the game and made it more user friendly.

Soup

When we were in Germany, I discovered erbsen soup. I wasn't familiar with it as split pea soup so it took a while to figure out the translation. But Larry makes this. Instead of a wurst hanging off both sides of the bowl, this has ham in it. I'm not sure why he puts carrots in, but iit is still pretty good.

Survivor

Survivor finished for this season. Ken shafted Dave knowing he wouldn't win against him. Well, he wouldn't have lost any worse than he did against Adam. I listened to them talk about how the game is evolving and realized I don't seem to like what it is becoming. It seems to be survival of the sneakiest. That isn't a trait I like.

Doctor's Report

Larry had his surgery the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Today he went for his first checkup. The doctor said he would expect to see the amount of healing on a patient six or eight weeks after surgery. So he is doing really well.

New Stuff

These simmering pots are really popular! The initial order came in yesterday and five sold as they were being unpacked. Anyway, we got an order in yesterday and sent off another order today.  The scent tins are nice. Whatever ingredients they use don't make me sick.

Christmas Cards

Sometimes people design and print their own Christmas cards. Sadly, some of those people can't spell.

Christmas Cards

Sometimes people design and print their own Christmas cards. Sadly, some of those people can't spell.

Kitty Litter

It's the time of year I buy kitty litter. I put it on icy places i might walk. It's heavy but usually lasts all winter.

New Hershey Kiss

I buy Hershey kisses as part of our Christmas decorations. This year I saw candy cane kisses. I bought a bag because I thought Larry would like them. Turns out I'm a fan!

Oranges

This is the time to buy oranges. I like navel oranges best and look for oranges with a stem end that isn't brown. If it is mostly green on the stem end, the orange isn't old. My husband thinks Florida navel oranges are best but I can't tell that they are any better than California navel oranges.

Better!

Today was Larry's best day in over three weeks. He put on clothes and drove to the doctor. I went along in case he needed help, but he did fine. The doctor said he is doing great!

Books and Food

I'm going back through Nathan Lowell's solar clipper books. The breakfasts featuring bacon, potatoes with onion, and fried eggs always sound really good.

Long Day

"I had a busy day today."
"You've had a busy three weeks."
I didn't really think he'd noticed. But I had an appointment for a hair trim. I needed a couple of onions for the stew I worked on just about all day. I changed the bags on three vacuum cleaners and vacuumed. I washed a couple of loads of clothes and mixed up another five gallons of the diy laundry detergent.
The most exciting thing was bringing up large ornaments from the basement. Larry put them out. He also walked down to the shop. It's the first sign of interest he's shown in anything except his recovery.
I was really glad to see signs that he is getting better.

Stew

The weather is great for soup. We are about finished with the gumbo and I'm planning a roast/stew for tomorrow. I'll cook the roast until it is tender, take it out to cool, trim fat off, cut it into pieces, and return it to the pot. Then I'll add the vegetables.

Repairman

Finally a guy came out to hook up the propane tank for the shop. It wasn't a big deal but lighting the pilot light and getting it to stay on took a while. After he left, Larry tried to critique my performance.

Good Earbuds

If you dropped the earbuds out the car door and close the door, dragging them bumping along the road, and they still work, it may be difficult to read left or right. I put a dab of gold paint on the right one. It looks a little chewed, but works just fine.

Monday

I cleaned out the refrigerator, emptied all the trash cans inside, put the garbage can by the road, put winter sheets on the bed and washed the summer sheets.
I also started my Christmas cards.

Do You Want Something?

I'm going to the store. Do you want something?
Good health and energy.
I got you something that is supposed to be a nutritional supplement, but you seem to only want chips and cookies.
Maybe tomorrow.

Leftover Ham

I've been eating ham ever since Thanksgiving.  All the nice slices were gone so I chipped up what was left and added it to my shrimp gumbo recipe. I don't think I'll do it again because it was kind of salty, but still...good enough to eat and I didn't waste any of the ham.
I also put up the Christmas tree I bought on sale after Christmas last year and put out the Nativity pieces. I brought the pyramid up from the basement, but I haven't figured out a place to put it. I usually put it on the coffee table but Larry is spending a lot of his recuperation time on the couch and I think it would block his view of the tv. Still, it was a pretty good day.

Jigsaw Puzzles

These little puzzles come in packs that are theme based. I got the Germany puzzles and several other countries. They come with three levels of difficulties, but I'm enjoying the pictures.

Jigsaw Puzzles

These little puzzles come in packs that are theme based. I got the Germany puzzles and several other countries. They come with three levels of difficulties, but I'm enjoying the pictures.

When I was a kid and young adult, I spent a lot of time dreaming over catalogs. This KOA directory is what I'm currently drooling over. I love the deluxe cabins! We camped for years, but now feel strongly about a bathroom.

Lights

This is the first times I've put up the Christmas lights by myself. Larry put up wooden strips with cup hooks last summer! He painted the strips blue so they look nice.