Storm Gorgon Coming In Right Behind Storm Frona

January 5, 2015

Good morning.  Gosh, this weather is strange.  Yesterday never got up into the 50's until around 11 p.m. last night.  Shortly thereafter, it cooled down to around 40F.  The fog forecast for the morning arrived mid afternoon, and the "lots of rain" did not happen. 

Right now, it is 35F and dropping.  Tonight will be in the low teens, and Thursday is supposed to be the coldest day of the week with a high of 17F.   This new winter storm "Gorgon" is bringing this new batch of wicked cold temps and possible snow later in the week.  I feel really bad for folks in the central region of the country.  They are dealing with -0 temps.  Brrrrr!

 As promised, I took a photo of the blue afghan that I am working on.  This will be for my grandson Kevin. 

 

There's not much happening here.  When it's cold like this, I only go out when I absolutely have to.  Tomorrow, I have an appointment, so I will do all my errands while I'm out.  Then I'll hibernate again until it's time to go food shopping.  These days I'm very grateful that I have the remote starter in my car.  It was definitely a very good investment.

 

Now I'm going to clean off another pantry shelf or two, and then settle down with a hot cup of coffee and a crochet hook.  The Game Show Network (on TV) has been showing a lot of the old time game shows, so I think I'll watch a few of them. 

 

On that note, I'll take my leave.  Till tomorrow, Y'all stay warm and have a wonderful day.

 

Hugs, Edna B.





Storm Frona, You Are Wicked!!

January 4, 2015

Good morning.  Wow, what wicked weather we're having.  Yesterday was cold, but tolerable.  Last night, the snow started and after a few hours it turned to ice pellets.  Next the light rain and fog moved into our area.   Today we are expecting warmer temps with lots more rain before the wicked cold creeps back in tonight.  I'll be glad when storm Frona finally blows out to sea.

This morning there are all sorts of little footprints in the snow outside my door.  I haven't yet figured out what sort of critter made the prints.  It certainly does not look like they belong to birds or chipmunks.  Oh well.

Folks, you may have noticed that I've had to turn on the moderator on the comments page.  I'm hoping that this will get rid of the spammers for a while.  In just two or three days, they dumped almost 2000 spams into some of the comment sections on this blog.  It took a while to find and get rid of all of them.

Joe is busy this morning taking down their Christmas tree and putting all the decorations away.  I'll be taking my little tree in a few days.  Unfortunately, I will have to replace my tree because the cord gets too hot when you plug it in.  I am very afraid of house fires, so I've only been able to plug in my tree for a few short times.  Before I dispose of this tree, I will cut the cord off so that no one else tries to use it.

Friday afternoon, I dug out the jar I had been saving, labeled it and set it on top of the bookcase.  I've already put one piece of paper in it.  It's going to be fun reading all the bits of "happenings" that will be in the jar by the end of the year.   (I took this photo before I put the slip of paper into the jar.)

I started cleaning up and putting away gifts and Christmas bags.  Thank goodness I check all the bags before folding them up because I found a really precious photo in the bottom of one of the bags.  The photo is a gift to Pogo from his friend Izzi.  Pogo and I just love it!!

Last evening, I worked on the blue afghan.  I'll have to take a photo of it to show how pretty it is.  I'd like to finish this one before starting another new one.  It would be nice to have a few of these finished and put away before vacation time gets here.

Today, I'm finally taping some programs on to DVD for daughter Audrey.  One of the programs has eight one hour episodes, and I'd like to get this one finished today so that I can mail it off to Audrey this week. 

Well, that's about all the news for this morning.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all stay warm and have a fantabulous day. 

Hugs, Edna B.

Spring Is Only 78 Days Away!!

January 2, 2015

Good morning.  Today will be a few degrees warmer, I think.  (only a few though)  Old Man Winter might be a likable old sort, but he can't leave my area soon enough for me.  I am just not a winter type person.  I need sunshine and warmth.  Thank goodness that Spring is only 78 days away.

And even better, vacation is only 58 days away.  Woo Hoo!!   Pogo and I have already figured out what we want to pack to take with us.  Aside from clothing, we'll pack one of his soft quilty houses, and we'll take his stroller.  Unfortunately, we'll have to leave his sofa here at home.  It's just too big to take with us.  (and it doesn't fold up!)   Oh well, he'll get over it.

I am so looking forward to visiting the area flea markets (in our area of Florida), and sitting out on my screened in porch all day long.  I would like to have a porch like this on my house, but I would only get to use it a few months a year. 

Today, I want to post the cover and first page of my new calendar.  For some reason, I ended up with extra calendars this year, so if you got one last year, but not this year, please let me know and I'll send one to you.  I apologize for my forgetfulness.

I have a photo of the new afghan that I started a few nights ago.  This one is gray, and I really like it.  Why do I have more than one afghan going at the same time?  Because sometimes I get bored, and I can put down the one I'm working on and work on a different one for a while.   Well anyway, here's the photo of my pretty gray afghan.  I'm thinking that I might like to keep this one for myself.   We'll see.

 

 

A couple of months ago, I found an interesting image on the web, and I've been saving it to share with you now.   I've never really heard of doing this before, but I think it's quite an interesting idea.  I'm thinking that I might make myself a jar later today and give this a try.

 

 

I've been saving a plastic (jar) container for no special reason, but I knew it would come in handy one day.  Today I will put a 2015 label on it and see what happens throughout the year. 

 

That's about all my news for today.  In the winter, I'm a rather dull person.  Sit and crochet, sit and watch TV, play with the dog, visit with the dwarfs out in the main house, food shop once a week, pop in an occasional load of laundry, wash the dishes, and occasionally give the vacuum cleaner an obligatory run around the room. 

 

I will have to work on making my days a bit more interesting.  Yesterday, I did not give my new bodyblade a workout, so today I think I may exercise a bit with it.  I'm not sure how long it takes to get rid of the turkey gobbles on the arms, but obviously two times did not do the trick. 

 

Oh well, now it's time to get dressed and find some new mischief to get into today.  So, till Sunday,  Y'all have a fantabulous weekend.

 

Hugs, Edna B. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

January 1, 2015

Good morning, and Happy New Year to everyone.  It's cold outside, but the sun is shining.  Old man Winter is digging in his heels here in my little part of New England.   Last night was very cold!!  I went outside a little after midnight to try to get photos of the moon, and I thought my fingers were going to freeze and fall off.  Brrrrr!

There were clouds and there was a halo surrounding the moon, so my photos did not have much detail in them.  But there was some weird detail all around the upper left edge of the moon.  Here are two different photos, both cropped to see the detail.

See the little dots and other odd little bumps?  I'm thinking that they are just a dark part of the moon that the light was reflecting on.  The bottom photo isn't very sharp because the halo was much heavier when I took the photo.  All my photos had the same strange dots and bumps.  Ah well, this is the first moon of the new year 2015.

Did anyone stay awake late enough to celebrate the new year, or at least watch the festivities and fireworks on TV?  Pogo and I did.  Well, at least I did.  Pogo  tried.  He got all comfy on his little sofa and then dozed off.

After all the excitement was over, Pogo woke up, took a short potty break, asked for and received a snack, and then crawled back onto his little sofa and drifted back to dreamland.

I took these photos of Pogo with my phone so that I wouldn't wake him up.  I have to tell you folks, just watching him makes my eyes happy.  After taking these photos,  I turned out the light and drifted off myself.

Today is going to be a rather quiet day for lots of folks.  I know I'm going to be looking for a little nap this afternoon after I clean off another shelf in the pantry.  I'm getting the kitchen project done one shelf and cardboard box at a time. 

Well, that's my news for this morning.  I wish you all a great New Year.  May you be blessed with much happiness, good health and prosperity.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a beautiful day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Wishing Joe A Happy Birthday, And Saying Goodbye To 2014

December 31, 2014

Good morning.  It's cold today, but the sun is shining so it's rather a nice day to sit back and reflect all that has happened in this year of 2014.  The next time I sit down to type a post for my blog, we'll be in a brand new year. 

It's been a year of many changes for me, the biggest being retirement.  It's amazing how we spend most of our adult life looking forward to the day when we can retire from the work force.   Yet when it actually gets here,  are we really ready for it?  Is it what we expected it to be?

I know I always thought that maybe I would do a bit of travelling once I retired.  Now that I'm here, I'm not too excited about the idea of travelling.  I mean, the mind thinks it's a great idea, but the body doesn't seem to want to go too far from home.  Plus, I don't like to leave my little doggie at home while I go traipsing about.  It's more fun to be with him.

There are a lot of good things about retirement.  I have more time to do whatever I want to do.  I'm not in any rush to do things anymore.  If they get done, they get done.  If they don't, oh well.  I can nap or sleep late whenever I want to, and I have lots more time to play with Pogo and do fun crafty things. 

There are always "downs" to go with the "ups" in life, but so far, the "ups" are ahead.  I have a lot to be grateful for.  My family, friends, Pogo and fairly good health are among my many blessings.  There is a roof over my head and food on my table.  Life is good.

So how am I doing with my kitchen project?  Well, I'm like a turtle, slow and steady.  I managed to empty a whole shelf in the pantry, and I went through all my canned goods.  Sad to say, I found several that were outdated.  Of course, this was just more side-tracking because I had to open all the outdated cans, empty the contents into the garbage, and then wash out the containers so that they could be put in the recycle bin. 

I filled the kitchen sink with more dinnerware and bowls of all sizes.  They all need to be washed before they can be packed in a box to be given away.  By the time the glassware was all washed, I was all pooped out. 

This afternoon, I'll spend some more time working in the pantry.  As long as I'm cleaning things that haven't been used for a while, and changing the shelf papers, I may as well keep going until all the shelves are done.  Dee Dee and Eddie came by today to help me set up the new oven, but alas, I'm not quite ready.  What else is new?  I'm thinking that I'll have the kitchen ready for the oven by next week. 

Today, I have photos of some beautiful gulls.  These birds have such great character and are always willing to pose for photos. 

Tonight, I'll cook us some juicy hamburgers and rice for supper.  Afterwards, we'll attempt to stay awake long enough to watch the "Ball" drop at midnight, and to see all the beautiful fireworks on TV. 

Today is also Joe's birthday, and Pogo and I have a super neat present to give him.  Joe has been so good to us, always helping with everything.   So, Happy Birthday Joe.  May your special day be filled with happiness and good friends, 

Well, the morning has gone by, and it's time to rustle up something tasty for my little guy's lunch.  He did not eat any of the doggie food that I gave him for breakfast.  I keep trying though, because it's supposed to be good for him.  Hmmm, I wonder how come Pogo never learned that?

I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.  May the new year bring you good health, happiness and prosperity.  Y'all have a truly beautiful day, and I'll see you again next year.

Hugs, Edna B.

I'm Busy With Projects A, B, C, D and E

December 30, 2014 

Good morning.  The sun is shining but it is a tad bit cold.  It's only expected to get up to about 30F today, and back down to 20F  tonight.  Tomorrow will be more of the same.  Brrrrr!  I did not want to crawl out from under my blanket this morning, but Pogo insisted on eating.   Not that he ate any of the tasty breakfast that I prepared for him.  It was doggie food, and he did not eat it!

I guess the big question is whether I actually did some work on the kitchen yesterday.  Well, yes, I did.  I worked my fat little fingers to the bone (well, not quite down to the bone), and made quite a nice mess of everything. 

You know how it is - before you can do "A", you first have to do "B".  However, before you can do "B", you have to "C", etc, etc.  I'm in the middle of working on C, D and E.  As soon as I can, I'll get back to working on A.   In order to make room for the new oven, I have to move the microwave and the two-drawer storage units.  These units have to be moved in to the pantry. 

Here's where C, D and E come in.  In order to make room for the storage units, I have to go through a lot of dishware, other glassware, dry goods, etc.  This is where I get bogged down.  It's not so easy to get rid of my "stuff".    But I'm slowly getting there.  So far, I've filled two cardboard boxes with dinnerware, and Joe put the boxes in my car so that we can deliver them later today to the Good Will store.

Today, I'll try to fill a couple more boxes.  Sad to say, I really don't need most of this stuff.  After all, there's only me and one tiny little dog here.  I should be able to get along just fine with dinnerware service for two.  (or service for one and a half)   So, I've decided that I'll get rid of most everything, and then go buy me a new set of dinnerware for two.  I'm keeping my mugs though.  I'm quite fond of my odd little mug collection.

Well, as you can see, this project is going to keep me busy for quite a while.  This sort of stuff is not my forte.  You most definitely do not want to hire me to do any house cleaning or organizing.  But, I am really good at doing laundry.  And, I'm kind to small children, old folks and all God's furry critters.  So that has to count for something.  Right?

Now that the shocking pink afghan is finished, I'm back to working on the blue, black and white one.  Plus, last evening I started a new light gray one.  I've had this gray yarn for a while now, and I've been itching to see how it works up.  I'm just not sure what other color to put with it.  This type of project makes me so much happier than the houseworkie stuff.

Yesterday while I was posting here, Pogo was curled up next to me.  After a while I turned my head to see how he was doing, and he was not there.  Instead, there was a cocoon shaped pile of blanket.  But when I looked closer, I noticed one tiny little ear sticking out from the top of this cocoon. 

The photos aren't the greatest because I was trying to take the photos quickly with my phone before Pogo realized what I was doing.   His antics always keep me so amused. 

Joe and I will do our food shopping later this afternoon because I'm sure the market will be quite crowded tomorrow.  Everyone will be shopping for food and snacks for their New Year's Eve parties.  I already have a bag of low salt potato chips, a jar of onion dip and some Nestle's chocolate dipped ice cream cones, so I'm all set for my own private little party.

Well that's about all my news for this morning.   Now I must get back to the pantry and see how much of a dent I can make in the "toss out" project.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Jiggling And Wiggling With A Bodyblade

December 29, 2014

Good morning.  At the moment, (8:14 a.m.)  the sun is shining but it's a wee bit cold.  Today will be our last day to hit 40F for a while.  There's an Artic Freeze blowing down on everyone, bringing wicked cold temps with it.

Well, I did not get very much done in the kitchen yesterday, but I did do some heavy thinking.  I'm very good at the heavy thinking part of any project.  It's the actual "doing" part that I'm a bit slow at.  Hmmmm.

There's a new piece of exercise equipment that is supposed to be quite easy to use, and very effective for trimming and toning the body.  It's supposed to especially good for getting rid of those turkey chins hanging from one's arms.  So naturally I thought I'd give it a try.  It's called a bodyblade.  Here's a couple of pictures that I downloaded from the web.

This exercise actually looks like fun, and something that this old coot might actually be able to do.  My bodyblade arrived a few days ago, and it really is a bit of fun.  I need to read the booklet and watch the DVD that came with it so that I can learn all the different exercises I can do with it. 

Can you imagine the fun it could be to just jiggle away all that wiggily fat that seems to be attracted to some of us older gals?  I tried the bodyblade for a few minutes the other day, and I haven't noticed any changes in me yet.  Hmmm, I guess I'll have to try it again later this afternoon.

Today is Monday, so I went digging into my photo archives for a couple of pretty orange photos.  I took these photos a couple of years ago when I was by the ocean at sunset. 

I'm thinking that this year, Pogo and I might just squeeze in a few weekend getaways by the ocean.  I'd like to spend a few days on Cape Cod too.  I miss getting out with my camera, so I think I'll push myself a little harder in the new year to get out and go different places.  This could be a good New Year's resolution for me to work on.

Now I think I should mosey on over to the kitchen and try to do something a little more physical than thinking.  It's a very small space, so it's going to be tricky moving things around and still have a place for everything. 

On that note, I'll take my leave.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.