And the countdown continues…

at 76 days till spring.  It is bitter cold here today.  The temps fell below zero overnight with more snow to come the next few days and the high on Monday to stay below zero.

My daughter came by this morning and took me to pay some bills  and get some groceries.  I stocked up because Boston Boy told me that one should always stock up when we have winter weather warnings.  lol   I purchased 10 TV dinners for the freezer for when I don’t feel like cooking and assorted other good stuff.  I made tuna casserole yesterday and put some of that in the freezer.  I think I may make some chili tomorrow.

I am still feeling like Scarlett today and not doing anything.  I am reading a book by Lisa Gardner.  I average reading 3 or 4 books a week, one of my greatest pleasures in life.

I am resigned to the fact that I can’t expect to get my window put in till Spring.   That is OK because I sure don’t want them putting a window in when it is below zero temperatures.

Nothing new to report here which is always good news.  The weather is boring and to answer a question about why I don’t go south for the winter…when I hit the lotto or someone leaves me a bundle then I will.  For right now, I can’t afford to maintain two households.  However I do have relatives in Florida and I am always open to suggestions.  Seriously, I do have numerous health issues that I don’t mention in my blog and I need/want to stay in close proximity to my doctors.

Stay warm and Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

If I knew you were comin’ I’d have baked a cake…

and I did which will be served with strawberries and whipped topping .  Does anyone remember that old song sung by Eileen Barton?

Eileen Barton

I purchased California strawberries at the store yesterday.  They don’t have the flavor yet that they will have later in the season but they are not half bad.  Good enough I thought that they needed to decorate a cake.  My  niece is coming for lunch and that will be our dessert.

Sunny and 2 degrees this morning with a wind chill of 15 degrees below zero.  However, it is the first day of February and it will soon be spring.

I hope you all have a good weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Fantastic Friday…

Oh my, the garage sales, so many and I was worn out long before we found them all.  North Pekin alone was having a community sale of 40 or more homes.  My daughter and I went to several in town and then to quite a few in the community sale.  I got several books including 2 cookbooks put together by different groups.  I love that kind of cookbook.  It is my kind of cooking.  Lots of really nice Christmas trays and tins.  I do a lot of goodie giving at Christmas and I never ask for the container to be returned (unless it is one of my kids.)   Then we stopped for a bite to eat and then home.

Not a good picture taken from the inside of my car.

It was in the low 40s when we started out this morning.  It has climbed all of the way  up to58 degrees now.  Can you imagine garage saling on the first day of June wearing, jeans, sweatshirt and a winter coat?  Yep, that was me.  My daughter wasn’t dressed quite so winter like but then she is 20 years younger than me and healthier. 

Three men ages 24, 23, and 19 were arrested for vandalizing my cemetery.  Just as I suspected they were not juveniles but adult drunks. 

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x639970681/Alcohol-fueled-cemetery-vandalism-police-say    

My furnace wasn’t working this morning when I got up.  Maintenance came and fixed it while I was gone.  That is one good thing about renting.

I hope you all have a peaceful weekend.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Chilly Friday…

at 51 degrees and windy.  It was brrrr cold this morning in the 30s when I first got up.

My daughter and I went to Kohl’s and nosed around.  My daughter bought me a lovely St Louis Cardinal shirt for Mother’s Day.

I am one of their biggest fans.  I love baseball.

But before that we stopped at a church rummage sale where I found this lovely whatever you want to call it.  I have decided to use it to hold some of my cds.  At home I had beautiful built in oak shelves that Jim had built for me to store books and cds.  They were hooked to the wall so they had to go with the house.  Jim loved to work in wood.  I have so many lovely things that he made for me.  Rae’s husband is a master wood crafter and he worked with Jim in the beginning.  When I moved I had so many things (furniture) etc. that Jim had made for me.  I brought it all with me as I couldn’t bear to sell any of it.  Jim could take pieces of old things from a sale and they were beautiful when he finished putting them together, but the nicest things are the things he built from scratch.  I have a two bedroom place so it is kind of crowded.  One of these days I will let my kids take some of it.  For now these things comfort me.

I have just started organizing the Cds.  Lots more to go.

I hope your day is being good to you.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

It’s Monday…

all over again.  When I was young the days passed so slowly.  Now the months fly by and I barely have time to complain about the bitter cold of winter when all of a sudden it is the scorching heat of summer. 

This week will be a very busy week for me.  I will be happy to see it pass quickly with nothing new for me to think about.  I have appointments for the next 3 days, actually 2 tests tomorrow back to back.  Then Wednesday the procedure.  If you are inclined towards kind thoughts or prayer I would appreciate them.

It is a beautiful morning, bright sunshine but still cold in the 30s.  It is to reach the upper 50s today.  We are below average on precipitation here because there was so little snow last winter and the spring rains have mostly passed us by.  So we could use a few inches of rain.  I know the farmers need some.

My daughter and son in law stopped by after church yesterday to eat with me.  We had roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, green beans and banana pudding.  It was all good.  I am limited on what I can eat for the next two days so I sent the leftovers home with them.

After they went home I ran the vacuum sweeper and dusted the furniture.  Just trying to keep busy.

I hope you all have a great week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Chilly Friday..

It is just like winter outside.  The temp is 44 degrees right now and the wind blows right through a sweatshirt and a spring jacket.  I am home from paying bills. 

Comcast raised my bill 20 some dollars this month.  I talked to the gal at our local Comcast office and told her that I would be leaving if I had to pay that much more each month.  She was able to get me a promotion package that  is a dollar or so cheaper than what I have been paying.  I really hate change so I was glad for that.  I am not a Comcast fan though and that hasn’t changed.

I also went to city hall this morning to get a map of the city so that I can find my way around to  the garage sales.  Thanks Mary for reminding me to do this.

After a stop at Food Depot and and a bite to eat at Hardee’s it was home and I am worn out for some reason.  I don’t think I will do much the rest of the day.

I hope you all have a good weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Late again…

I have been busy this morning.  Laundry and then another trip to grocery shop with my daughter.  We about cleaned the store out along with a few dozen other people.  it actually was hard to get around in the store this morning because of the shoppers and all the workers stocking the shelves.
I noticed again as I went by the Baptist church on the corner as I turn to go to my daughter’s house that the parking lot was full of people waiting to get food.  I feel so very fortunate!  I am very thankful for all of my blessings and I do not take them for granted.  There but for the grace of God go I.
If you are noticing my new autism background, it is because I am very interested in autism,  I have a niece that is autistic and this really strikes home for me.  I think something like 1 child in 88 will be born with some form of autism.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/   Now you know where a good chunk of money (if I ever were to have a good chunk) would go.  Cancer research and autism are the two causes I would support.  April is autism awareness month.
It is chilly, cloudy and windy today at 52 degrees.  We are expecting a hard freeze tonight.  I don’t have my tomato planted yet so I am not worried about that yet. 
I hope you all have a wonderful Good Friday.  Stay safe and be happy!!
Beth

Today has been declared…

The Day All Old Folks Go Off Their Diet Day by my WV sis.  This morning she and her husband were entering the Jolly Pirates Doughnut Shop in Ashland KY at the same time as several older ladies.  (Now bear in mind that my sis is almost as over the hill as I am.  Actually she is 22 months younger).  My sis is a great people person.  She jokingly said to this group of ladies that this was officially the day that all old folks go off their diets.  This did not go over well with this group of ladies and they walked away in a huff.   LOL  I had never heard of a Jolly Pirates Doughnut Shop but I guess they are common in KY, WV and Ohio.   Have any of my readers heard of this place?

My sis and brother in law live in the part of WV where you can stand with your feet planted in WV and put your left arm in Ohio and your right arm in Kentucky .   The name of the city is derived from these three states.  Ken O Va (Kenova)  I think that is so cool the way that city was named.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenova,_West_Virginia

It is cold and windy this morning at 24 degrees right now and not to get much warmer today.  I am longing for Spring which stands in the countdown to Spring at 23 days.  I am waiting impatiently for a day with sunny skies, no wind, and 70 degrees.

Closing this off for now as I am observing “The Day All Old Folks Go Off Their Diet Day.”  Come join me.  The official age to celebrate this holiday is to be over the age of 55.  You are certainly eligible RB.

Enjoy the weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

I felt like I…

had to post today because I am on a roll here.  I have posted each day since December 1st so I have kind of got in the habit again.  I used to post every day when I was on WLS but got out of the habit.

I was out with my daughter this morning, paying bills and running errands.  We ate at Grumpy Pete’s aka Eighth Street Station.  This morning was a lull in the weather as we are to have a mixture of sleet and snow this afternoon.  When I got up this morning the wind chill was 8 below zero and the wind was out there right in my face as I walked to and from the car.  But the bills are all paid and the baby doesn’t need shoes and I am not busted.  Remember that old song Busted?  One of my favorite old songs which goes like this:

Busted written by Harlan Howard

The bills are all due and my baby needs shoes
But I'm busted.
Cotton is down to a quarter a pound
But I'm busted.
I got a cow that's gone dry and a hen that won't lay
A big stack of bills that get bigger each day
The county's gonna haul my belongings away
I'm busted.
I called brother Bill, thought I'd get me a loan
I was busted
Lord, I hate to beg like a dog for a bone
But I'm busted.
But Bill said that "There ain't a thing I can do,
My wife and my kids are all down with the flu,
And I was just thinkin' about callin' on you,
I'm busted."
Now Lord, I'm no thief, but a man can go wrong
When he's busted
The food that we canned last summer is gone
I'm busted.
The fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow
Me and my family's gotta pack up and go
Where I'll make a living, the Lord only, knows
I'm busted.

Love that song.  I am going to have to see if I can find it to put it here on my blog on Mixpod.

Other than all of the above nonsense, I am in for the day as it is too darn cold to be outside.  The weather is supposed to moderate and be in the 40s by Monday which is good as I have to go for a fasting lab early Monday morning.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

My photo of the month…

This tree is between my house and the cemetery.  It is very old and parts of it is dead.  I just hope the cemetery association doesn’t decide to cut it down before I get all 12 photos.

This photo was taken on 4 January 2012 at 10:00 AM.

It is a beautiful bright sunshiny day out.  The temp is up to 34 degrees already.  A welcome change after the bitter cold and wind of the last few days.  Tomorrow it is to be in the 50s.  C’mon Spring!!  The countdown to Spring has begun.  Only 76 more days!!

I made a quick run to the store this morning.  School is back in session so the traffic is lighter and the stores are not so crowded.  Hooray for school.  lol

Let’s see, on my agenda for today??  Maybe clean a little bit.  Definitely need to make some phone calls. 

Do stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Good morning Monday Tuesday…

and baby it is cold outside!  12 degrees, still windy and sunny.  I have been out and about already, to the pharmacy and to the grocery store.  Warm up due on Thursday to the 50s.  I am liking this winter so far, remembering last winter and the one snow after another thingy.  http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x545137894/Unseasonably-mild-winter-to-continue-National-Weather-Service-says

I have been keeping busy cleaning files and drawers and shredding papers.  Next on the agenda will be getting ready for the tax accountant.  I am always glad when I get that done.

I noticed today that the stores are ready for Valentine’s Day.  My favorite holiday since it is the date of my daughter’s birth.

I haven’t settled on the one object that I plan to photograph each month on the same day and at the same hour.  I think it will probably be the big tree close to the cemetery across from me. Maybe Thursday when it has warmed up to the 50s.

I forgot to mention as I do each time that I don’t like Monday holidays.  They mess the whole week up.  Everything is a day late in the week.  That said, You all stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Monday book review…

I have stated many times that I love to read.  Turn on the iPod with the Bose speakers and settle back with a good book.  Christmas before this last one my brother gave me a Nook as a gift.  I love it.  It is very expensive though for someone who reads 2 – 3 books a week.  So last summer I went on a garage sale marathon hunting books from my favorite authors.  I literally found dozens; enough to fill two bookcases and a box.  I haven’t had a Nook charge for several months now.  I even purchased Janet Evanovich’s Smoking Eighteen in hardback for just a couple of dollars more than it would have cost me for the copy for my Nook.

But, I did title this post Monday Book Review so I guess you are wondering if I am ever going to get around to it.  First of all, I love a good murder mystery most of all with a little bit of romance thrown in.  Mariah Stewart has written a trilogy  of books entitled Dead Wrong, Dead Even and Dead Certain.

Stewart leaves you begging for more!, August 3, 2004

By

Detra Fitch

This review is from: Dead Even (Mass Market Paperback)

Three prisoners met briefly one February morning. Archer Lowell was the youngest. To make himself look tougher, he suggested a game. Each of them thought up three people that they would love to kill once they were out of jail. Then they swapped victims. Archer never meant for any of it to really happen. When Archer finally got out of prison, he decided to stay on the straight and narrow. So the other two prisoners went after those on their swapped hit list. One of them, Curtis, was dead. The other, Vince, would never get out of prison again. Archer was not a killer and had no intention of going after his three targets. However, Archer did not expect Vince to hire someone to watch him. When it became obvious that Archer would not play the game, Burt stepped in to make him.
FBI Special Agent Miranda Cahill was partnered with Agent William "Will" Fletcher to watch Archer, just in case he went on a killing spree. No one expected him to actually do it, not even the Bureau's profiler, Anne Marie. When the first person died under their noses, the hunt was on for a fleeing Archer.
Also, Julianne, the daughter of Mara Douglas (from previous novel), had been located after seven long years. Mara's ex-husband, Jules, had hidden himself and his daughter with the Reverend Prescott. An agent had been inserted into the Reverend's Valley of the Angels and would soon escape, taking a reluctant young girl home to her mother. The agent first had to gather evidence that would shut down the child-prostitution rung that masqueraded as a shelter for run-away girls on the street. Everything was about to come to a climatic ending!
***** Romance takes a back seat in this, the third of the "Dead" series. Since Miranda and Will already have a history together, the author did not have to build on the love portion. The two main characters already had strong feelings for one another. This gives much more time to the story's plots. Plots, plural.
Hold onto your seats, because Mariah Stewart will plunge you into a heart pounding, roller coaster ride. You won't come up for air until the last page has been turned. Excellent! *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I was lucky enough to find all of the trilogy at garage sales last summer, plus several of her other books.

***********************************************************

It is bitter cold and windy this morning at 21 degrees.  I have to go out at 9AM to run some errands.  Not sure what I will do with the rest of the day but I am sure I will think of something.  I hope you all have a peaceful week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Day Twenty Eight…

and I have just about made it.  Only 3 more days to go and I will have posted every day for a whole month.  Whew!!

It is cold and clear this morning checking in at 25 degrees.  I am so loving the mild temps  and best of all no snow.   As you can see from the picture below that I took this morning, the grass in my front yard is still green.

I did get the vacuum out yesterday even though I had no one come in to help me.  The only volunteer I had was from England and the reason he volunteered was because he thought he fancied eating at Grumpy Pete’s.  lol 

I am not sure what I am going to do this morning.  I would like to go out and look around in the stores some more.  I was out yesterday and the traffic was bumper to bumper and the people were wall to wall.  Even that way at the grocery store.  I will be glad when the kids go back to school and the people go back to work so that I can walk around in the stores without bumping in to anyone.

I have my Christmas decorations all put away for another year and my living room is back to normal.  It looks bare in here now.

Do you have plans for New Year’s Eve?  I don’t.  If you do remember to not drink and drive.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Day Twenty Six…

and it is a crisp clear  morning at 25 degrees.  I am up early this morning as I intend to go check out the day after sales here in town.  Probably the best bet will be Wal*Mart.

I am still stuffed from eating over Christmas so all left over candy and cookies have been put in the freezer, hidden behind everything in hopes that I won’t think about them anymore for a few weeks,  I have one more appointment this week on Friday and some lab work to be done, then that is it for this year, the good Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise.

I have some major cleaning to do this week.  Anybody wants to come and help me, feel free to do so.  I will take you to 8th Street Station aka Grumpy Pete’s for lunch.

I still have more pictures to go through to put on my computer.  I think this one of my daughter and her cousin Timmie is so cute.  Marcia was 17 days older than her cousin.  Sadly he died of complications of diabetes when he was 41 years old.  He was a terrific  guy  and I still miss him. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

One down and two to go…

doctor visits that is.  I am just home from seeing my primary care doctor.  I had an early morning appointment which meant I had to get up this morning at 5:30.  One more next week and then one on the  30th and I will be done for this year. 

My kids are coming over around around 11 to take me to eat at 8th Street Station aka Grumpy Pete’s.  The food there is always good.

It is really nippy out today but the sun is shining and for that I am ever grateful.

I am grieving today with my Twin,  She lost her beloved Lady Bianca yesterday.  Love you Twin!!

This is just a short update.  I am trying to post each day this month.  Only 15 more posts to go.

Beth

First wind chill of the season..

this morning.  It was 6 degrees when I got up this morning and the wind chill was 1 below zero.  I don’t like it when we start having wind chill along with the temperature.  That means winter is definitely closing in.

Yesterday was a fairly decent day although it didn’t get out of the 20s all day.  I went with my daughter to an open house at a small flower shop downtown.  They were serving sherbet punch, cookies, etc.  There were door prizes to be given.  Evidently neither one of us won as I didn’t hear anything.  We each purchased something though.  Marcia got a lovely center piece with live flowers and I purchased the cute snowman you see below.  His tummy lights up and it is so pretty in the dark.

The arrangement is sitting on top of an old wooden bookcase that is put together with wooden pegs.  Jim and I picked it up at an auction probably 40 years ago.

I am going to make oatmeal raisin and snickerdoodle cookies today.  Actually just the dough and I will make the cookies tomorrow.  Cookies don’t spread if you chill the dough  a few hours or overnight.

I forgot to tell you that after the  flower shop open house we had lunch at 8th Street Station aka Grumpy Pete’s.  I don’t know why they changed the name.  I thought Grumpy Pete’s sounded way more classy.  lol

Time to get busy.  You all take time to enjoy the morning.  Today is unique in that it is one of a kind.  Stay safe and be happy!!  Oh, and ‘Hi’ to RB who I know reads my blog each day even though he says they are nothing but gossip.

Beth

On my high horse again…

What can I say?  One word says it all. Blagojevich!  Yesterday Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison.  Just one in a long line of corrupt politicians we have been blessed? with in the state of Illinois.  Trying to save his a$$ some time to be spent in prison he apologized repeatedly yesterday in front of the judge.  Smiling here, I say it did him no good.  No more celebrity or reality TV shows for him, at least for the next 12 years or so.  Blagojevich has to report to prison in February.  I hope while he is in prison that he is forced to get a haircut as I am tired of looking at that hair hanging in his eyes.

I don’t think I have to explain who Blagojevich is as he has made Illinois a laughingstock all around the world.  At least Ryan had a poor old sick wife that I felt sorry for.  I can’t think of anything in Blago’s life that would warrant my showing him compassion.  Illinois is so far in debt that my grandchildren’s grandchildren will not live long enough to see our state in the black.  By the way, I don’t have any grandchildren just to set the record straight.

Enough ranting for today.  It is cold outside, 25 degrees and snow is in the forecast for tonight.  I need to force myself off this chair and go clean the bathroom, one of my most hated jobs

You all stay safe and be happy!!

Beth