And the countdown till Spring continues…

at 67 days!  It is bright sunshine here today and the temp is 28 degrees.  It is predicted to warm to the upper 40s today which is a tropical heat wave.  I was just reading one of my  blogging friends posts.  She lives in Tasmania and she said her temp there today is to reach 98 degrees.  That is a bit hot for me although in the summer in central Illinois we usually have quite a few days when the temp is that warm.

I have been forgetting to mention that my doctor visits on Friday were fine.  I did have to have some lab work done while I was at my primary care doctor’s office.  I met the nicest ‘young’ man who was 86 years old and his wife who was waiting there for lab.  He was a World War II Veteran and he was telling me all about how his ship carried the soldiers to the islands where they were needed.  He was telling about Pearl Harbor Day.  It was awesome just listening to him.  Such a wonderful guy and such a lovely wife.  I wanted to hug them both but I didn’t and now I wish I had.  I do so appreciate our veterans.  The number of our older vets is getting to be so small and they have such stories to tell.  When I see a veteran I stop and thank them for their service for our country.  May God Bless them all!! 

I am making potato soup today.  I haven’t made that for a long time and it sounds pretty good.

I hope you all have a blessed day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

 

Snowing and…

the temp right now is 23 degrees and the countdown to spring is 70 days.  The side streets here in town are unplowed and it is treacherous going.  But I did make it to the stores for the first time in 7 days.  My cabin fever is temporarily halted.

I made it to the pharmacy for prescriptions and then to a couple of the grocery stores for restocking.  I still forgot to get baloney!!  No milk or bananas in Krogers.  In fact there were signs posted all  through the store about how their trucks couldn’t get here from Indianapolis!  Schnucks had milk and bananas but I still forgot the baloney.

I was able to get necessary ingredients for chili which was important.  When I made chili on the weekend I was almost out of chili powder and my chili was way too bland.  Ground round was on sale for $4.79 a pound but  you had to buy it in a big package to get the sale price. I plunged right in and bought an almost 5 lb pkg and now I am browning it off in a big pot and will separate it and freeze to have ready for cooking.  I would have saved part of it for a meat loaf since Debbie’s looked so good yesterday but I decided I was too lazy to do that.  I also bought a big chicken to cook on the weekend.

I will be late with my post again tomorrow as I have 2 doctor appointments.  And then a 3rd doctor appointment next Tuesday.  Then I hope that is it for a few weeks.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Good news and a winter weather warning…

The news at the doctor’s visit yesterday was good.  I see the doctor’s again on March 7th and no CT scan or Pet scan needed for at least 6 months.  Thank you all for the  prayers for me!

Oh the weather outside is frightful!  It is freezing drizzle right now.  We have 100% chance of freezing  rain, sleet followed by rain followed by freezing rain to change to all snow tomorrow.  Needless to say I will not be going out today.  I am thinking about the ones out on the interstates heading for Christmas at home.  I will turn on the scanner in a minute to keep updated.  I have my battery operated lantern and flashlights standing by in case of a power outage.

I have a roast in the oven with carrots and potatoes hoping that it will be done before the possibility of losing power.  I can smell it cooking now.  I have laced it all with Worchester sauce and onion and the smell right now is incredible.

I will be drawing a name this evening for the cook booklet.  I will post the winner tomorrow.

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are and not freezing rain or sleeting or snow.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Even though…

we celebrated on Thursday, today is actually my son’s birthday.  Happy Birthday Jim!! 

Yesterday afternoon I changed furniture all around.  My daughter and son in law came on Saturday afternoon and got the bed I was getting  rid of.  If any of you come to visit me now you will have to sleep on my exercise bike.  I am trying to decide about a small sofa or love seat.  Anyway, no matter how many times I change the furniture around I still don’t have any more room here.  lol

I have a doctor appointment that I am leaving for in a few minutes.  I will be by to see you all when I get back. Get the tea pot ready!  And I will be hungry by then too.

It is raining and 58 degrees right now.  Yesterday the temp reached the low 70s.

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

Beth.

Friends are like snowflakes…

And speaking of snow, we are under another winter weather warning.  Snow is predicted for Monday and Tuesday so I am going to have to reschedule my doctor appointment.  As much as 6 inches predicted on Tuesday after snow and rain tomorrow.  I am so ready for spring.

Be kind to your neighbors this week.  I will do the same.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Let down again…

Sometimes I wonder about the ‘clowns’ we have in government.  They did it again.  The automatic spending cuts go into effect today, March1, 2013.  Everything is stuck in limbo.  I cannot believe that grown men and women that we have placed our trust in  act like overgrown babies.  And that is all I have to say about this as I have enough problems as it is with keeping my blood pressure under control.

I have laundry going again and it is snowing again.  Snow predicted for next Tuesday when I have an important doctor appointment.  I am hoping that I don’t have to reschedule that.

My niece is coming for lunch today and I am finishing up that lovely roast with BBQ sandwiches and baked beans.  You know, I grew up eating a lot of pork 'n’ beans from a can.  I still count them among my favorite foods,  Some other things that I had an overload on  when I was a child (any kind of greens in particular) make me shudder.  I remember picking dandelion greens.  Yuck!  Wilted lettuce I hate.  I hate to order a hot sandwich only to find it has hot lettuce on it.

The Jodi Arias trial really heated up yesterday.  A couple of you have asked about this trial.  Just go on Google and put her name in and read away. 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/01/jodi-arias-weeps-in-arizona-death-penalty-case-as-testimony-turns-to-killing/    This trial has everything!  Lies, sex and murder.  Just like reading one of my favorite murder mysteries or watching The Young and the Restless.  The sad thing about this is that a young man lost his life because of a psychopath.  And that is not funny!

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

Beth 

R.I.P. Stan Musial…

“Stan Musial, the longtime St. Louis Cardinals baseball Hall of Famer, passed away Saturday at age 92. Stan Musial had a lifetime batting average of .331, including 3,630 hits, 475 home runs and 1,951 runs-batted-in.”   http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Sports/2013/0120/Stan-Musial-remembered-for-hitting-prowess-and-ebullient-personality-video

 

"was a poor boy who struck it rich in many ways through the wonders of baseball.   I learned to hit with a broomstick and a ball of tape and I could always get that bat on the ball."  ~ Stan Musial quote ~

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/sports/baseball/stan-musial-substance-over-sizzle.html

 

I think most of you know that I am a big St. Louis Cardinal fan.  Stan Musial was active in the days of my youth.  He was a great favorite of my dad who was one of the world’s greatest baseball fans.  I have this nice thought that maybe daddy is shaking Stan’s hand right now and wishing him God Speed!

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It is bitter cold here this morning with the wind chill at 6 below zero.  I have a doctor appointment this morning and I am not looking forward to going out in the cold to get the car started.

I hope this is a really good week for us all.  Be kind to your fellow man.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

The ice man did come…

and he deposited about a 1/2  inch thickness of ice all over my car.  I worked on it yesterday for about and hour and then for another hour this morning.  I had to be able to see out the windows as I had a doctor appointment in Peoria this morning.  Next Monday I have another appointment with a different  doctor.  I am hoping that we don’t get any bad weather next weekend.  It was 9 degrees when I got up this morning . The sun is shining brightly now and it is up to 21 degrees.

I can tell you one thing,  I am getting to old to be scraping ice.  The car was running for over half an hour before I could even begin to get any of it off.  I am so ready for spring.  Bring it on!  Please note the new countdown to spring widget that I have at the top of my right hand column.

Now I am worn out so I am not planning on doing anything the rest of the afternoon.

For the person who asked what I was reading:  It is The Perfect Love Song by Patti Callahan Henry.  I am just getting started on it but I think it will be pretty good.  Nothing like John Sandford’s books of course but then we can’t have everything.  I have read all of Sandford’s books and a few of them I have read twice.  I love that guy!!

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Book Description of The Perfect Love Song

Publication Date: October 12, 2010

Jimmy Sullivan has been living on the road with his brother, Jack, and his band The Unknown Souls. Without a place to call home, Jimmy and Jack lead a nomadic life filled with music and anonymous cities. When they return to a place Jimmy never wants to see again—their old hometown of Seaboro, South Carolina—he falls in love with Charlotte Carrington.

With his soul now filled with hope, Jimmy writes his first love song. When he performs it at a holiday concert to a standing ovation, the lyrics are dubbed the “Perfect Love Song,” so much so that Jimmy finds himself going on tour with famous country music stars, catapulted into a world where the trappings of fame and fortune reign supreme.

All too soon, the hope that had once inspired Jimmy to write such beautiful, genuine lyrics is overshadowed by what the song can do for him and his career. In his thirst for recognition, he agrees to miss Jack’s wedding in Ireland to sing at a Christmas Eve concert. And his ties to Charlotte seem to be ever so quickly slipping away.

Alone in New York City on Christmas Eve, Jimmy finally sees—with the help of a Christmas miracle or two—that his material gains are nothing compared to love, that he is losing all that really matters in his life. Is it too late to find his way to Ireland, to his brother, and to love?

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Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

A beautiful cool morning..

in the heart of Illinois today.  I had the windows wide open and the sleeping was great, down to the lower 50s last night.  The temp today is to reach the lower 80s with a nice breeze.  It is 60 degrees right now.  Still no rain to speak of but hopefully it will come eventually.

I am up and all geared to do some cleaning.  What and how much I haven’t decided yet.  Definitely the dreaded bathroom will be first on my list.  Then, I cook on the weekends so that I have leftovers for a few days. 

I received good news from the nurse late yesterday afternoon, no blockage around the stents in the arteries to my kidneys.  So I am OK for now.  Thank you God and my blogging friends for caring.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth