When I got up this morning it was around 40 degrees on the big thermometer on the entry porch.  It is now at 50 and hopefully will go higher today.  Of course the beautiful white landscape has disappeared and this is what the back driveway looks like now.  But I don’t mind that.  I will gladly wade a little mud to be able to wear a lighter jacket and take Brandy with me for a ride in the truck. 

Yesterday I managed a couple of hours of work on the lap robe but I still haven’t got 1/4th of it done.  Then when the light faded I crocheted another row on the afghan.  It measures 96” on the diagonal but I still need five rows before I can start decreasing.  But a little bit in front of the TV every night will make it go faster.

I have been having a time with Spirit noise wise the last few months and used to cover him (at least I thought it was a him) up to quiet him.  This last couple of weeks I started opening the cage and letting him climb on top. 

The results are a quiet bird who cuddles his toy for hours.  That is why I think he might be a she.  But it doesn’t matter as long as we are both happy..

Tomorrow I take Jay to the hospital for another test so I will take the new dishcloth with the apple basket to embroider on it.  It is smaller and easier to to carry.  This way I won’t sit and wonder how long we will be there. 

It seems my blood pressure is acting up right now so the substitute doctor I saw the other day asked me to take a reading three times a week and if it stays up or goes higher to contact my personal physician about some medication.  I don’t like pills so I am trying to stay calm and not stress out to avoid them. 
I’ll see Dr. Hukill in another two weeks about my foot so I’ll discuss this other problem then. 

Day after tomorrow is income tax preparation day so I have to check my folder and make sure every thing is in it.  Also property taxes are due by the end of the month.  I’m pretty sure we will have enough to pay them but again it is another thing to stress about until it is done.  I have got to stop this problem if I want to get better. 

As for the weather I keep remembering that this is February, in Michigan, which means we can have snow right up to the first of April.  I can’t get to excited about 50 + degrees when I remember that little fact. 

Well I have read my email, visited my blog buddies, and now posted for today so it is a couple of games of free cell (I’m at game #36138 with 10 not solved) then on to the ironing board with four shirts and some handkerchiefs to do.  Next will come lunch for Jay when he gets home and something figured out for supper.  Then I’ll pick up that lap robe again for a while. 
Remember to take care of you and laugh out loud—because it is good for the lungs!!! 

Update:  It is now 60 degrees at 4pm .  Jay checked his papers for his test after he came home and found he had not followed the instructions so it has been rescheduled for 2/23/09.  I hope they won’t charge us for the change but if it happens it happens.  Well lunch is over and my lap robe calls.  See yah!

My company came today.  I no longer feel like the jilted bride left at the alter.  Yep Cindy and David came up this afternoon and we had pot roast and sweet potatoes cooked in beef broth and cider that Jay so loving prepared.  With a salad from a bag and biscuits we pigged down.  For dessert I had made a Sour Cream Apple Pie.  That was pretty good also. 

David took my pile of projects and made quick work of them.  My new smoke alarms are up, the light at the entry door is back in one piece again and one of of my embarrassing problems has been corrected. 

Some years ago after moving in here I painted several rooms in the house.  I moved this hanging basket thing out of the pass through intending to hang it in the kitchen or the utility room right off the kitchen.  I temporarily hung it on the curtain rod that was on the laundry room door until I could hang it up properly.
Well the temporary lasted some six or so years now.  So each time I walked into the laundry room I would think I have to fix that but I didn’t.  Well I bought a bracket the other day and David, bless his heart, installed it today. 

Wednesday the hubby replaced the light over the kitchen sink and added two more florescent bulbs to the main kitchen fixture so now I can see better.  So with my two guys helping I’m am a much happier lady tonight! 

I must take time here to hail the conquering heroes!

Yes sir although one looks half asleep and the other one distracted these two men beat Cindy and me at pinochle this evening. So I raise my coffee mug with the Folgers and the chocolate creamer in it in recognition of who is the better team this time.  But we will meet again.

As you can see my partner is all tore up over the loss and I am also crushed. ( Or is that I have a Crush,orange that is!)

Oh I finished sorting and filing the first ‘want to try’ recipe book this morning and will check the other one out soon.  It seems this was a get it done time around here this week and I’ll tell you I’m happy.

As usual we enjoyed our time together with Cindy and David and parted with kisses

This morning promised to be a very productive day.  Jay was going off to Dialysis and I was going to embroider.  It was chilly in the house and I missed seeing Brandy anywhere when Jay said to bring the camera and come quick. 

So it was off to the bedroom to discover my dog, who always sleeps on top the covers,  was nestled warmly under them.  I guess it was cold in here this morning.

Anyway I got it in my head to make the One Banana Bar recipe that Pammie had on her blog the other day.  So I got out the Jay Wants To Try binder to check for the recipe.  I remembered Jay looking through it for the bread pudding recipe yesterday and how long it took to find the one he wanted.  So I decided as I searched I would put the recipes in piles according to what they were.  Yep that is where the ‘but first’ came in!  After all if I was going to sort them then I might as well make dividers, label them, and put the recipes in behind the correct dividers.

When I finally found the cookie recipe I took a few minutes out to make it and then continued sorting and filing.  I was almost done when Jay came home so lunch was the next duty.  Then it was empty the dryer, fold, and then put away the clothes.

Seeing I had an empty washer I decided to wash the clothes in the hamper and then dry them.  While I was on a roll I washed the bird cage covers and cleaned the cages so when the covers were dry they would go on a clean cage. I was barely through with that when it was time to think of supper. 

Now I sit here typing with the dish washer going and one last tub of laundry turning in the dryer because I decided to wash the bedclothes also.  Of course I haven’t made the bed yet.  But hey I have emptied the dishwasher twice today, the washer and dryer three times, fed all my animals, and my hubby.  So I don’t feel too bad about not finishing the recipe book or working on the lap robe. 

My whole life seems to revolve around the ‘But First’ theory but at least I get a lot of things done.   

Did you ever have one of those days when no matter how hard you searched you just couldn’t find what you were looking for.

Well Brandy did yesterday.  It was hilarious to watch that little head buried deep in her dog bed/toy box and using one paw to either pull out or shift around her toys in search of something.  Watching her brought back memories of my frantic searching for a bill or receipt that I had mislaid.  One of the moments when you put something away so only you and God knew where it was.  Then it ended up that only God knew. 

I finally decided to put my ugly afghan and the yarn I’m using in it in my big basket.

I then placed it in the corner beside the Lazy Boy so it would be handy, 

Well as of yesterday I have broken two of my resolutions.  # one and three have fallen by the wayside.

Monday I drove Jay to Dr. Webb’s office and we ended up at a hospital nearby where Jay was admitted as an outpatient to have his dialysis arm worked on.  We left the house at 9:30 that morning and never got back until after 8 pm.  A long tiresome day but at least the dialysis treatment worked better on Tuesday. 

Yesterday was chores around the house trying to catch up on things that didn’t get done Monday.  My company and I decided that Thursday would be a better visiting day than yesterday so I’ll see them tomorrow.

Today Jay and I went to a medical equipment company for some parts for his Bi Pap machine.  While we were out we went to Sam’s Club, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Gilroy’s Hardware, and Vg’s for groceries.  It was another long day for me.

Consequently I have not embroidered one stitch on my lap robe even though I’ve been saying for a week I would be picking it up, 

Tomorrow morning it is a recheck on my foot and long awaited company in the afternoon.  Maybe Friday will be my pick up the needle and do something day.  Cold first with no snow then the last two days more snow than I wanted to see but Saturday should be in the forties with rain.  A weather alert in effect states don’t go out without a hat and gloves today.  I think we need one of those tents that the utility workers have but with a coal stove in it to go outside with. 

Well it is past my bedtime so I’ll hit the tick!!!  Good night!!!!   

The first of February with 32 degrees registering on the thermometer and a promise of another one or two up today.  By golly it is almost balmy with the sunshine streaming through the french door windows and all the outside things creating lovely shadows on the snow.  I’m not foolish enough to think all this will melt away—not in February but I can wish it would. 

My Ugly Afghan is now 52 inches long with another 20 or so to go.  That isn’t saying it is done because with this pattern when you reach your goal in length you have to do the whole thing again decreasing as you go .  But hey it is a good start.  I will put it up for a few days and work on my Santa lap robe for a while. 

Tomorrow Jay and I will trek down to Dr. Webb’s office for the appointment we missed last Monday.  This time I’ll set the alarm and have us well on our way with plenty of time for traffic, snow if we have it, and any other unforeseen problems we might encounter.  We also plan, after the appointment, to purchase a new florescent bulb to install over the kitchen sink and two LED bulbs to go with the two we all ready bought for the fan/light fixture over the dining room table.  We are trying them out in order to comply with the new ruling due on incandescent bulbs,  I want Jay to add two more florescent bulbs to the main kitchen fixture because I seem to be having trouble with light right now.  It may be time to see Dr. Rohr again.   

Hopefully Tuesday Cindy and David will be up for dinner.  David has been volunteered to take some of the items off this pile and put them up,  You realize that I said he was volunteered to not that he volunteered to but he is very good about helping out!

This is because of my recently discussed third rung issue with the step ladder.  It is tough to get old!!

Tuesday is also mail the monthly payments out day so it will a penmanship practice in the morning.  Another one of those wonderful things that we all go through month, after month, after month.  But then on the other hand I can’t convince myself that online bill paying is the way to go.

Wednesday, so far is a free day!

Thursday it is my turn to visit the doctor’s office to check on the treatment for the foot infection.  I swear, and I have said this a hundred times, if it weren’t for doctor’s appointments we would have no social life at all.  With every appointment I set up I tell them I must check my Social Calendar, a little date book I carry in my purse, to make sure that day is clear.  If nothing else getting older make one get more organized with days available, when to send out bills, recording when payments were made, and filing every pertinent piece of paper where it can be found quickly in case a dispute arises.  Boy I wish I had learned that one fifty years ago.  I have wasted too many years searching for receipts. recipes, correspondence., and just plain everyday things that are created in living a life.

Friday is another day not yet planned out.  But for today my friend I have a few things to do. Like after walking bare footed (something I do seldom) across the kitchen floor in the middle of the night I know now for sure that a good sweeping and mopping are long overdue.  I have one shirt to iron.  Speaking of shirts I must tell you that after one month I have only messed up a couple of my resolutions.  The first one was the piecing between meals—I can’t stop that darn it—so that is off the list.  The second is I went out to the doctor’s office last Thursday with my lipstick on but forgot my earrings.  I may be able to salvage that one.  I’m a little shaky on the one about cooking creative meals so I have to work harder on that.  But breaking one completely isn’t too bad.  Do you Agree?

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