As promised the other post about this last weekend.  Saturday afternoon Michael and Darlene came up to spend a couple of days with us.  I had made the scalloped potatoes and ham and the Polynesian Sunshine pie was dessert.

It was yummy!  We cut it in four pieces and ate the whole thing.  After dinner we visited a while and then I turned in. 

On Sunday it was my Birthday gathering but Jay had to prep for a Colonoscopy on Monday so there was no solid foods for him.  He decided that remaining in front of the T V in the bedroom was the best place for him so we didn’t see much of him. We had our dinner and played a game Cindy had brought up with her until it was late.  My children went home and Dar and Michael decided to stay over until Monday.

Monday morning I drove Jay to the hospital for his test and we had lunch on the return trip home.  The doctor who did the test gave him an a OK!

The rest of these pictures involve either windows or pets and were taken over the last few days.

I thought my plants were moving around the sill when I glance at the bay window Saturday.

But it was only Molly enjoying the sun shining in!

This morning one of the Red-bellied Woodpecker hit the french door window extremely hard and fell to the deck floor. 

He didn’t move right away so I took a small towel and tried to move him off the snow.  When I picked him up he chirped loudly , flew out of my hand, and landed on the lower part of the railing.  I left him there and when I looked out a little later he was gone.  I told Jay when he came home I was afraid to go down by the garage in case he had fallen dead.  I will get enough courage to look tomorrow and see.

Spirit came down of his cage this evening and when I walked into the room both Molly and Brandy were up close and investigating.  When I reached for the camera Molly moved away so the resulting picture only shows Brandy.  I warned her the bird would bite so she backed off a little and I put Spirit back in his cage. 

Today I have washed, folded three loads of clothes, caught up on the computer happenings, wrote checks, recorded medical expenses, and generally lolly gagged the day away.  Oh well I’ll do better tomorrow!

Where to start—My party—74 wrinkled years to the good—celebrate with friends and family.  I swear I’m am curling up in a prenatal position and turning pink.  Michael and Dar remembered that I like shrimp so for a birthday breakfast Michael made omelets with shrimp, asparagus, and cheese.  Light and fluffy and absolutely delicious with raisin and cinnamon toast. 

They spent the early afternoon with Darlene assisting and Michael cooking my dinner. 

Side dishes of asparagus, peas, a salad, and a bread similar to french bread. (I’m such a expert on this stuff).  The roll ups had shrimp or ham with bread crumbs and other things that I didn’t see because he wouldn’t let me in the kitchen ( he kept saying sit down it’s your birthday).  Again he turned out a very tasty meal.  But he also had another volunteer helper come into the kitchen.

Kathleen,  Anne’s mother, helped Michael with the asparagus and generally kept him company for a while. 

The cake was made here and as with most cakes that look a little sad it was very delicious

Cindy prepared to set the table as Michael and Darlene took a short break.

Then is was time to eat.

. 

It was Kathleen . David. Cindy, Michael on one side, and Les and Anne on the other.  Darlene was out of this picture as was hubby, Jay. ( I’ll explain his situation in the next post).

Of course if someone takes a picture of the “birthday girl” it has to be with her mouth full. her bib on, and that damn bra strap showing (old lady personified !)  I hate bras which any one near me can tell you.  I could be the original shot my self in the kneecap trying to hit my heart broad! 

No birthday post would be complete with out a picture of the presents so here they are!

Finally I have to say it was a great party and this was my reaction to the celebration.

If you had met me 52 years ago this is who you would have been introduced to——22 years old, married, no children.
A lot has happened since then.  Some good, some bad but all a part of what makes up me. 

I’m am pleased to have reached the ripe old age of 74 today and basically the years have been kind to me.  I have a hubby who loves me, three children that I am very proud of, their spouses that have brought caring into my life, and three grandchildren that couldn’t be replaced with any other human in my heart.  The friendships I have known have brought many happy moments to my life.  The tears shed for those who have past and those who made themselves absent from me only fulfilled the knowledge that everything is not always good and happy. 

A great deal of memories that I have are buried beneath the cares of daily life but every once in a while a person or feeling will bring them flashing into reality again.  Then I find myself smiling and longing to bring back that situation to savor for a few moments. 

My only words of wisdom are to try to reach out to others because there is always a hand out there that needs holding. 

All is done except the three shirts waiting on the chair to be ironed.  Amazingly I accomplished almost every thing I wanted to do yesterday and I can still walk this morning.  This is a feat that has not occurred in a very long time.  See I am doing better. 

This evening Darlene and Michael are coming to visit and I have plans for supper already in mind.  In a phone conversation the other day I mentioned to Darlene that I had made scalloped potatoes with ham and she said they loved them but didn’t have them very often.  Well that solved my problem quickly.  So I planned that, a steamed vegetable side dish, and a salad.  For dessert I found a recipe for Polynesian Sunshine Pie printed on one of those slips that are generated with your receipt when the clerk rings up your groceries.  I’ll be making that this morning after I’m through with the ironing board. 

I have been up since a little after 6 this morning and didn’t bother to turn up the heat in here. It just kicked on and is a welcome feeling indeed.  The big round thermometer on the porch is reading 16 degrees and even though we had no snow last night there is still some laying on the ground. 

Well I have done my visiting for this morning and have some minor chores to do so I will say—have a great day as I run about four games of Free Cell and then shut it down!  Remember to laugh—you know why!!!!!

Yep when you work for yourself you can take as many breaks as you want and when you want.  For years I had to follow a schedule that dictated almost every day of my career.  To deviate from it brought problems for not only me but my co-workers as well.  So I did my best to hold to the times that had been set for me.  But now I can stop when I want, clean up when I want, and visit when I want. 

This morning the bedroom, living, and dining room are now vacuumed.  The bathroom and utility room are prepped for mopping.  The bird cages have been cleaned and the covers are now in the washer along with second load of clothes,  The first load is in the dryer and If the energy holds out I will add the kitchen floor to the mix. Not put it in the washer but mop it!!! If not tomorrow morning early it will be done.  Yes we are having company this weekend.  That means get out the coal shovel and the garbage can and make every thing nice again.  Well not quite that bad but at my age it seems that way. 

Yesterday I got the new tires on the pick up, went to the doctors and did a bit of shopping.  The tires have taken a big worry off my shoulders.  I can’t change a tire anymore—can’t lift the good one high enough off the ground to mount it on the lugs.  Now I should be able to drive anywhere without worrying about it. 

The doctor said the foot looked good.  No sign of infection or weeping so I can stop bandaging it.  He also said to get off the blood pressure pills.  He feels that once the worry about the infection and also the swelling in my leg are gone my blood pressure will return to normal.  Of course I am to see him in a month for a recheck.

Well my Carpenter C D has started playing over and the vacuum cleaner needs to be emptied and put away. I’ll get the table and chairs back in place and possibly start the mopping.  BUT FIRST ( there it is again) I see my outside birds need suet, thistle, and seed so I’ll get that done first.  A look at the clock says I’m moving right along—Not the speed of light but a satisfactory pace for me. 

I have to add that Brandy is waiting expectantly on the end of the sofa fot me to put the dog bed full of toys back down on the floor. 

Golly I love working for me even if I don’t get a paycheck!!. 

Set the alarm because you have an appointment at 10 in the morning.  So I set it and this morning I dutifully hauled my dead butt out of bed, set the thermostat up so I could shower, went to the kitchen to make coffee, and poured a bowl of Special K with strawberries.  I check outside and found this.  Snowing like crazy, truck covered, and the road out front barely discernible.  This was going to be quite a morning. 

Yesterday I had taken Brandy to the Doggy Depot in Clio to be groomed, while at the same time, I was getting an oil change and tire rotation on my pick up at Simms Chevrolet.  Barry, my service manager had some not so good news for me.  It seems the tires were getting pretty crappy and he recommended replacing them very soon.  Now these tires came with the truck when we bought it in April of 2001 so we have gotten our moneys worth out of them.  So I had Barry ordered new ones to be put on as soon as they came in.  Thus my concern when checking the weather this morning. 

A thought occurred to me that maybe I should confirm the appointment time with the doctor’s office.  So I called and announced myself as the slightly retarded Mrs. Axsom and that I needed to confirm my appointment which my mind said was 10 am but my newly located appointment card said 3:10 pm.  The receptionist giggled as she replied 3:10 pm.  My mind said thank goodness because the snow and blowing may let up by then.  Of course it is now 18 degrees at 10:24 am and there is no relief yet.  But at least there will be some evidence of where the lanes of the road should be by then. 

I have spent the last hour or so visiting my blog buddies, reading e-mail, and posting so I think the time has come to play the domestic goddess.  I’ll start with mopping the kitchen, utility, and bathroom.  Then I will plan my next strategic move based on the time available before the E T A at the doctor’s office. 
I’ll visit later!

Good Morning! 

The News from Hooterville ( daughter Cindy calls it). 
Molly is on the mend.  No unwanted surprises on the floor.

Yesterday was spent working on the projects (in the picture) with a little more accomplished.
 
The snow and cold are back and I hate it.  I have to take my I Love Snow sign down off the front porch wall because it is quickly becoming a lie!!

My beautiful new, warm, and comfy slippers arrived from Australia the other day and now I can walk straighter.  My hubby does spoil me.

Everyone but Molly and me are still in dreamland.  But that is because of the siestas they took yesterday and the late bedtime last night.  (Which makes for a quiet time for me in the morning). 

This morning I have to go gas up the truck, buy some 1/2 % milk, and pick up some more needle threaders.  I’m sure if I look I can add bread and eggs to that list.

The doctor sitting in for my personal physician ordered some blood pressure pills for me the other day.  I have taken two so far so a verdict on how they are working is not in yet.  I really hate taking medications so this is kind of a trial in necessity over attitude with unknown results thus far.

I see a little sunshine sneaking through the venetian blind so I have to go open them so Molly and Brandy have a comfy spot on the floor in the sun to snooze this morning.

My social calendar shows only an appointment for me with Dr. Hukill this week so barring any surprises I should be able to do a little of the domestic chores that running a household dictates.  I might even sneak in a couple more games of Free Cell!

So stay warm, keep healthy, and laugh out loud!

Today started out with the usual chores.  You know brush the teeth, take the pills, check to see the cat has food, unload the dishwasher, and eat the breakfast hubby made for me.  But this is where the usual became unusual.  Molly, our cat,  has been having some trouble digesting with the oblivious results off and on for a few days.  Well this morning she was heaving clear liquid so I called Dr. Buck and she said bring her right in.  So my breakfast went into the fridge and after a small tussle Jay and I managed to get her in the pet carrier.  I suffered only two scratches in the process. 

At the Vet’s office after temperature taking, feeling the body for anything unusual, and blood tests it was determined she was dehydrated and had a viral infection.  Doctor hydrated her and gave her a shot to get her back on the well list.  When she is better I have to take her back for a batch of shots that are overdue.  I found out one thing.  When you take a 15.5 pound cat and put her in a plastic pet carrier it is a test of your muscles to transport her anywhere. 

Now she is back home and hiding up in the loft and I have had my breakfast, stripped and remade the bed, loaded the washer, then transferred that load to the dryer.  I have read today’s newspaper, have now visited with all my regular blogs and taken time to visit with you. 

I thought I would mention that my Ugly afghan has reached the half way point and I have started decreasing now.  I still have an area the size of the palm of my hand to fill in to bring the lap robe to being 1/4 done.  But a little work on both each day is slowly working towards my goal. 

I hope today was a happy one for you and yours and just the beginning of a better year for us all.

Today is called The Day Of Love.  It’s the day when flowers, candy, and cards are purchased to declare your feelings for your significant other.  You may also e-mail, text message, or call them on the cell phone to connect with the one you love.  But back in my day we didn’t have all these modern things.  Nope all we had was the telephone to speak to our sweetheart. 

I’m here to say I spent many an hour talking to the object of my affections or crying tears of dismay waiting for the phone to ring.  It was the only way to communicate when you couldn’t be together. 

But time marches on and maybe someday we will teleport to the spot where our love waits for us. 

Happy Valentines Day to you all!

Yep like Dorothy in the land of OZ or Alice in Wonderland I too was lost in a strange land for a couple of days.  Only my land was the kitchen and the things that threatened me were spoons, bowls, skillets, the oven, and a Taste Of Home magazine.  Some unknown power took control of my brain and forced me to open the magazine and start to read.  A little voice in the back of my head kept saying put the magazine down!  You hate to cook!  Put it down and walk away.  But I couldn’t leave it alone on the counter.  I found a pencil and pad and started writing down all the things I would need.  Butternut squash—I have that in my food room.  Carrots—those are in the vegetable drawer.  Onions—in the newly hung baskets in the laundry room.  Potatoes—in the wooden bin Jay made me some years ago.  The bacon strips—in the meat keeper and the stew beef in the freezer down in the mud room.  Beef broth—I could make that right here with my concentrate.  That left very little for the store—cabbage and green peppers.

Almost magically the book flipped over to page 48 where the words Cashew Beef Stir-fry grabbed my attention.  But I thought I don’t do stir fry—never have.  But look, my eyes told me, we have carrots, onions, rice and a 1/4 of a can of cashews.  When you are at the store you can pick up the broccoli. a red pepper, a beef sirloin steak,  and a yellow summer squash. 

So there you have it with list in hand it was off to Rosati’s to buy my needs.  I have to be crazy I kept thinking .  I hate to cook.  It will turn out lousy,  I’m buying sirloin and I’m not even Chinese!  But I kept marching through the store crossing off the items on my list as I put them in the cart. 

Then it was back home and on Wednesday the adventure became a reality.  The Wok my son had bought me several years ago appeared from out of the basement and with Jay assisting the Cashew Beef came together.  Actually it was quite good and I had enough to freeze some for another meal. 

On Thursday before going to get the income taxes done I threw the ingredients for the Loaded Vegetable Beef Stew in the slow cooker and let is merrily simmer away for about six and one half hours.  That also came out quite good with enough for another two meals in the freezer. 

But today I think I have escaped my spell because I don’t care to cook anything.  I don’t even want to warm up canned soup.  However my hubby wanted to know if I wanted to continue getting the magazine seeing I had done so well.  ( Man I don’t know——-)