Snow, Snow, Go Away!!!

February 8, 2016

Good morning.  It's a sort of mini white out here.  The snow has been falling steadily, but so far it is a fine snow.  It has been windy though.  The good side of the wind is that it has been blowing all the snow off our huge pine trees.  Phew!  The last snow storm was very wet, and too much snow stuck to all the branches of the pines.  We lost quite a few branches from the weight of the snow.

On the other hand, I'm not so happy about getting a foot of snow, or having snow for three or four days in a row.  Hopefully, some of the snow will go out to sea and miss us.  Yes I know, wishful thinking!!

Well, who were you rooting for in last night's Super Bowl game?  Did your team win?  Several of the dwarfs sat up late to watch the game.  Most everyone here is in bed by 8 or 8:30 p.m., so the guys did well to stay up as long as they did.

 For all my family and friends here in New England, I have some photos to share that my friend Beth sent to me.  Gosh, I am so jealous!!!!!   This tree is right outside her window.  And it has blooms and leaves!!!!  

 

My friend Kyra has Snowdrops and Crocus coming up in her garden.  It's just not fair!  We have nothing coming up except for more snow!!   What is wrong with that Ground Hog?  Has he been smoking too much of that medicinal grass?  (image borrowed from web)

I'm still squirting the nose spray, and I'm still coughing and running temps on and off.  There's no point in calling my doctor today or the next couple of days because he will tell me to come to his office.  There's no way I'm going to take my car out in this snowy mess.  I'll just keep on squirting.

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

Hugs, Edna B.

OOPS!!! Parking Woes In Wisconsin

February 7, 2016

Good morning.  We're starting out today sunny and cold.  Soon though, it will be cloudy and cold.  More snow will be moving in tonight, all day tomorrow through Tuesday.  Oh goodie!!  We had snow on Friday.  3-5 inches was forecast with the snow ending by 3 p.m.  Unfortunately this was not the case.  Here's a photo of how much snow we already had at 2 p.m, and the snow did not stop until after supper.

This is Joe, cutting a path to my door and around my car.  As you can see, there's more than five inches of snow here.  Photo taken at 2 p.m. Friday. 

I've been watching the news videos this morning of the parking fiasco in Wisconsin.  Parking for Winterfest was very scarce, so officials allowed visitors to park on frozen Lake Geneva.  Unfortunately, the weight of the cars was too much and the ice cracked.  At least wenty cars found themselves in water. 

Here are some photos that I got from Google.  Would I have parked my vehicle out on the ice?  Not if you paid me!!!  I figure that if God wanted us to park on frozen lakes, He would have turned the ice to concrete.

From what I could find, all but two vehicles were able to be pulled out of the water.  No people were lost.  Possibly by the time I post here, the last couple of vehicles may have been pulled from the lake.

Have you noticed that the TV news channels are getting a bit more aggressive about reporting the snow?   In the past, we've gotten a foot or more of the white stuff and not one of the regular programs was constantly being interrupted to give us updates on how much snow was falling.  Friday, WBZ kept interrupting the regular programs every 30 minutes to give us updates.  Imagine!!!  All this concern for 1 - 5 inches of snow!!  Are the TV ratings really sinking that low?

I suppose most folks will be busy watching the Super Bowl today.  I won't.  I'm not a football fan.  But I hope it's an enjoyable game for you and hopefully your team will win.  Good luck.  I'll most likely be watching the puppy bowl.  That's usually a lot of fun.

Well, that's my news for this morning.  It's time to see about some breakfast for my little guy.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Mr. Groundhog - What's All This White Stuff????

February 5, 2016

Good morning.  Looking out my window, it's a winter wonderland here with everything covered with snow.  They are forecasting 3-5 inches of snow, but if it keeps coming down, we'll most likely get more than that.  There's already several inches on the ground.   This photo was taken from our front door.  Flakes of every size falling.  And they are all very wet!!  Makes for fun shoveling.

Of course, along with the mess from the snow, there is also beauty all around us.  Here's a photo of my Japanese Red Maple tree, adorned in all it's winter finery.  Now this is pretty!!

Well, I'm still here, squirting, coughing, and well -- all the other stuff.  I seem to be running temperatures on and off all day and night too.  I guess the nose spray is really working.

I've decided to stop my whining about not having the right yarns, and have picked up the medium rose afghan to finish with the existing yarn.  I will simply go a bit slower to catch the yarn as it splits.  It's the only way these afghans will ever get done this year. 

Unfortunately, my interest doesn't stay very long.  I crochet a couple of rows, and I'm tired.  So I put it down and attempt to watch a bit of TV.  Sometimes this works, and other times I just fall asleep.  The good part is that I'm retired, so it really doesn't matter.

Joe did not do my shopping yesterday, so none of my meds got picked up.  I'll have to call the pharmacy today to see if they will hold them until this weekend.  Then I will try to go get them myself. 

DIL Janet came by Wednesday and brought me a cute gift.  Have you ever seen an LED pen camera?  Here's what it looks like.  It's fun until someone asks to see the photos you take with it.  There are none! 

Well, I don't have any more news for this morning.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

I'm Still Squirting Away!!!

February 4, 2016

Good morning.  I won't chat very long this morning as I just want to crawl back under the covers.  I must say, my doctor was spot on.  Squirting these nose sprays up my nose several times a day has me well on the path to feeling super.  NOT!!!  But I'll keep squirting.  If I'm not better by Monday, I'll call the doctor again to see if he has any other super ideas.

Later today, I'll make up a small shopping list and Joe can pick up a few things for me.  Dwarf Mike will take Joe to the market again this week.  Or they can wait till tomorrow and go shopping in the snow.  Yup, I said snow.  It's supposed to start late tonight and snow till mid afternoon tomorrow.  Ah well,  it is still winter.

I borrowed this puzzle picture from the web, and found it to be very interesting.  The idea is to see how many faces you can find in it.  So far, I've only found twelve.  Good luck.

Now I'm going back to bed.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Oh The Wonders Of Modern Medicine

February 3, 2016

Good morning.  Today will be another wonderfully warm day, but we are expecting a bit of rain.  I suppose though, that a bit of rain might be nice for our reservoirs and our yards.  I'm not planning on going out today anyway, so no biggie.

I had a doctor appointment yesterday to see if he would give me something to help clear up this cold or bug or whatever it is that I have.  As expected, he said just go home and use your nose sprays.  That'll clear it all up.  Really???????  I told him okay, but that I may have to come back next week for something that will really clear it all up.

I did ask him to send a prescription to the oxygen company for me to have a portable Inogen concentrator.  He did, and the company called me later in the day.  Medicare won't cover it.  Last year, the oxygen reading for "okay" was 96.  It has since been changed to 90.  Folks, at 92, a person is not breathing very easily.  Yesterday my oxygen was reading 92 sitting down.

Today my oxygen is much better, but it bothers me that Medicare does not take better care of us old folks.  We're the ones who paid into the system our whole lives.  It's sad if us old folks have to take out bank loans to pay for medical equipment that we might need.  Nuff said.

I found this absolutely adorable cartoon on the web and had to borrow it to share here.  For years, I've been wondering why men shouldn't also be mandated to have precious parts of their bodies slammed by this medical marvel machine.  If they did, we'd have new technology rather quickly.

While I was out yesterday, I stopped by a couple of stores to see if I could find the yarns that I am wanting for my afghans.  I did not have much luck.  It's the same answer everywhere when you ask the clerk why the inventory is not very good.  "We only have what the main office sends us.  We don't get to order what we need or want."  Does this make sense?   How can someone in the mid-west know what someone on the east coast might need for yarns?   This could be another rant, but I'm not going to go there. 

Today I will call around different stores to see who has a decent yarn inventory, and then maybe one day I can make a trip to wherever that may be.  I was hoping to have these afghans done for next Christmas but that not might happen if I can't find the yarn I want.  Oh dear, such a problem!!

Well, today is Wednesday, and I have another quick page for you.  This one is a bit whimsical.  Have fun with it.

Here is your download link:
Expired

That's about all the news for this morning.  Now I must go to the kitchen and make some breakfast and a cup of coffee.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Happy Ground Hog Day!!

February 2, 2016

Good morning.  Woo Hoo!!!  Punxsutawney Phil says that Spring is right around the corner.  Yeaaaah!!  Let's give a big cheer for this fabulous Ground Hog!  I borrowed this photo of Phil from the web.

Did you know that Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip?  Here's a little more information about him.  He weights 20 pounds and is 22 inches long.  This is his 130th year predicting the weather. 

Every summer Phil drinks a magic punch that gives him seven more years of life.  The last time he predicted an early Spring was back in 2013.  He has an accuracy rating of 40%.  That makes him about the same as most all the other weather forecasters.

Lately I haven't been working on my afghans because I'm just not loving how the new yarn is looking with the main colors.  I can't give something away as a gift unless I'm happy with it.  Unfortunately, I can only buy the colors that the local stores decide to stock.  Walmart is the closest store, but their yarn department is really sucky!  It's always messy, and not re-stocked very often. 

Speaking of Walmart, Here's a photo I borrowed from the web.  I find this to be a sad reflection on what we are willing to tolerate from the people who live here.

I think it should be mandatory for everyone wanting to live here to at least learn to read and write the English language.  Signs like the one shown here should not be necessary.  I also read on Facebook that some schools are going to stop teaching cursive.  I don't know how accurate this report is, but I think it's a really day for our people when they stop learning how to write and read English.

How many of you found all the words hidden in yesterday's puzzle image?    These are the words that were hidden:  mirror, tiles, straw, cord, couch, cat.  If you found all the words, congratulations.  Now if I could just find a whole book of these puzzles I'd buy it!  It's good to make the brain work a bit each day.

I read an article in our local newspaper that says:  "A new study published shows that drug shortages in emergency rooms across the United States increased more than 400 percent between 2001 and 2014.  There was a huge increase in the shortage between 2008 and 2014.  More than half of the shortages were of life saving drugs, and 10 percent affected drugs with no substitutes.  The more common drugs on shortage are used to treat infectious deseases, relieve pain, and treat patients who have been poisoned. 

The shortages are real, they're happening, and they're getting worse, even though Emergency Rooms are implementing things like providing posters with quick alternative drug options.  (WHAT ARE THESE?)   The primary reasons given for shortages were manufactiuring delays (25.6%), supply and demand (14.9%), availability of raw materials (4.4 %).  Pharmaceutical companies listed "business decisions" as the reason for a shortage 2.1% of the time.  For more than 46% of the shortages, no reason was given at all."  (all info taken from the Patriot Ledger)

I find this information appalling.  I can't prove it, but I sincerely believe that these shortages of drugs in the ER's has something to do with the government and the insurance companies trying to make it more difficult for young people taking the drugs and over-dosing.    

I also don't understand why a lot of us folks are being denied drugs that we need to keep up our quality of life?  There is no shortage of drugs on the street.  So, obviously it is not our drugs that is feeding the street addicts.  Somehow, I do believe that if there really is a drug shortage, then it is a planned shortage.

Little by little, a lot of us are noticing that it is getting more difficult to fill some of our prescriptions now.  Doctors don't want to prescribe, and pharmacists don't want to fill.   Drugs that I need have been replaced with inefficient drugs.  I have to learn to deal with more pain and more spasms, and yet the addicts are still od-ing. 

I have not figured out the logic of all of this yet.  If you know it, please explain it to me.  I'm not alone.  I know of many other folks in the same situation with their meds.  ( NOTE:  everyone I know with this same problem is over 55, with most of us over 65.)

Enough of my babble.  Before I leave you today, let me share a beautiful scrap layout that Beth made for Pogo.  Thanks Beth.  We love it!  Pogo sends you and Cisco woofs and a big lick!

Now I'm off to see what kind of fun mischief I can get into today.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Hello February!

February 1, 2016

Good morning.  I've been very busy this morning.  First I cleaned out a few things from the refrigerator.  Today is trash pickup day.  Then I made some breakfast, and started working on some new quick pages. 

In case you haven't noticed, it is already February!!  This is going to be a very busy month for Pogo and me.  We have appointments for Pogo - physical and grooming, and with the tax accountant for me.  I have to arrange for our rental car in Florida and buy a new suitcase.  Then of course, there's the packing and lots of other little things that will have to be done.  Yup, a very busy month. Here's the February page from my calendar.

Today is supposed to be a wicked gorgeous day in the 50's.  Woo Hoo!!  This super weather gives me the energy that I need to finish working on the less fun projects.  (like taxes)  I mostly have to match up tons of receipts to credit card statements, then put the figures in the correct columns for the tax work sheets. 

I often wonder why we have to pay so much money to an accountant to do our taxes.  We do all the leg and foot work, provide all the figures and totals, and pop lots of headache pills.  It seems that the accountant looks it over to make sure we did everything right, then he uploads the information to his computer and files it.  Then he sends us a huge bill.  I wonder if it would be alright to deduct appropriate amounts of money from his bill for all my hours of work???  Seems only fair to me!!

I must remember to call Wayne today and make an appointment for him to come by and check my laptop.  He also needs to check out my small laptop to make sure it is ready to travel.  A couple blog friends have given me advice on how to fix my task bar, so I'll give that a try after I've finished this post. 

Pogo is walking back and forth between me and the refrigerator.  I think he's trying to tell me that he wants food.  I guess it's time for me to get a move on.  Before I leave, let me post this cute puzzle image that I borrowed from the web.  There are six words hidden in the picture.  See if you can find them all.  I'll post them all here tomorrow.   Have fun.

That's all my news for today.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B.