Wed. May 29, 2013

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend. Mine was quiet. The family partied Friday evening at Ian's birthday party, so the rest of the weekend our girls and their families went off to do their own things.

I do believe summer is here. We have had a couple days of "hot". Today is going up 87° with another chance of severe thunderstorms developing this afternoon as the humidity goes up. It's already 80° and it's not even noon yet. I just turned the A/C back on. Hubby didn't want to but I can't take it. When the air outside gets heavy and hot, I have trouble breathing.

Every morning I watch the weather channel, not just for our forecast for the day, but also to see what kind of weather my family and friends all over the country are going to have. I see that the mid-west has more chances of severe weather. Those poor folks in OK... they've sure been hit hard this past year. It seems to be almost a daily threat of one thing or another.

I had another piano lesson yesterday. The material is gradually getting more in-depth, of course, but I'm going to have to practice, practice, practice.

My plan for the day? Sweep and steam clean the kitchen floor, mop the bathroom floor and I see there's ANOTHER load of laundry to take care of.

There was another murder in Ft. Wayne (Indiana) last night. There's been so many in that city this year already, I've lost track of the number. Ft. Wayne is only 30 miles west of us so I watch their news at noon. If one of the criminals in that city gets loose, runs from the police, they either head over the state line, our way, or toward Chicago. We've already seen high-speed chases that came through our little town.

In the news: 24 sets of twins in one school's 5th grade class!!  "An Illinois school could land in the record books for having 24-sets of twins in one grade. The previous record was held by an Iowa school with 16-sets in one grade."  Wow! I wander if they were all born there. If so, someone better check what's in the water. lol

I better get to my chores. So I will wish you a good day with sunshine and smiles. 

Sat. May 25, 2013

It's turning out to be a fairly nice day. The sun is shining and the temperature is up around 65°. 

Yesterday was a busy day but it was fun. We picked up Jr and Bryan, our 2 youngest grandsons, after school and brought them here to our house. Of course the boys wanted to relax and play, but it was time to go to Ian's (grandson #4) birthday party. So we grabbed the gift and off we went.

Daughter #1 got several large pizzas and drinks so we had to corral all the boys to take time out to eat.
When you have 6 boys, ages 10 and 11, plus the two youngest who are 6 and 8 yrs. old, all growing boys, they can wipe out the food that's available, no matter what. Hardy appetites.

After we had them all convinced that their plates and cans were their responsibility to pick up, then off they went again. My son-in-law brought out the go-cart and for the next couple hours, they took turns running it around the backyard. It was fun to watch them. Our daughter even got into the act. She took Jr, our "reluctant to try anything new" grandson, for a ride. It was a slow start, but after the first go-around, he said 'one more time'. Now he's hooked. He wanted to go back over today to ride some more. 

Little Bryan wasn't afraid. He was right up front, wearing his helmet, ready to go. The bigger boys were good about taking him for a ride and he loved it.

 When it started getting dark, they had to put the go-cart away, so we took them all inside for cake and ice cream. 

We all teased Ian about all the smoke he left from blowing out all those candles. "Next time we better have the fire department on hand."

It was a fun evening. The boys all stayed over-night, including Bryan. The original plans had to be changed because it got way too cold for them to sleep out in tents. Jr came home with us. He didn't want to stay. We had no trouble getting him to lie down. He was out almost before his head hit the pillow. I'm sure Bryan was the same way.

As for today, I've done very little. I got a load of laundry done just before Daughter #3 came in to pick up Jr. She stayed and talked for awhile.

Hubby got the yard mowed and now we're both going to just goof around the rest of the day.

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. We have no plans. Just staying home... maybe watch some movies.

Friday May 24, 2013

I don't have a lot of time so this will be short. 

Today is Friday! And this afternoon will be the start of the long Memorial Day weekend. This, being the first official holiday of the season, used to be our first backyard cook-out with all the kids. We won't be doing that this year tho'. Too many scheduling problems.

This evening we're all going over to daughter Lisa's for Ian's 11th birthday party. He's having several of his friends over with a camp-out in the backyard tents tonight.

Bob and I will be leaving here shortly to go over to Teresa's to get the littlest grandsons when they get out of school. We're bringing them back to town and taking them to the party with us. She has a late appointment (client massage) so she'll join us when she's done. 

She just now called me to tell me that Bryan wants to stay for the camp-out and JR wants to stay overnight with us. So I'll have to make sure they pack the appropriate clothing for the different situations.

After having 6 grandson's, I've learned several things about boys..... one being, they never pack clean underwear. Never could understand -- what's the deal with the underwear? Men can be the same way.... wear the same pair for days!!

I think that's all to report for now. I have things to do now. I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend.

Oklahoma

Yesterday was such an emotional day. Those poor people in Moore, Oklahoma who lost everything in the massive tornado... my heart goes out to them.

I have a dear online friend that I met years ago. She lives in Wellston, OK, just 45 miles from Moore. They had storms and tornadoes come through her area Sunday. I kept checking in with her to make sure they were ok. I finally got a message yesterday around 2:45 when her power came back on. Then she said "more tornadoes on the ground"!! And I lost contact. I turned on the weather channel to see any reports out of OK. I ended up sitting here and watching the live video of the tornado. I went on Google maps and followed the path along with the news.... hoping it wasn't going to move more NE and hit her town. It fizzled out before it got close to her. Then there were all the video and pictures of the destruction. So horrible.

As I watched the destruction, it brought back so many memories of the tornado that came through our town in 2001. I've never felt or seen anything like that in my life. And I never want to again.

Our weather today is going to be another hot day. We had to break down and turn on the A/C Sunday as the temperatures went up into the high 80's and humid. Today it's very windy with a chance of severe thunderstorms here from the same weather system.

A prayer request: a friend's husband isn't doing very well and she's afraid she's going to lose him. At times like this we don't know God's plan but we can always know that He is with us and pray He gives us strength.

I have my first piano lesson this afternoon and I'm getting nervous, of course. I've been practicing but I want to do better, want it to be perfect. I know --- That comes with practice. I just hope I'm able to have the finances to do this. I've wanted to learn to play for as long as I can remember. It all started when my parents were given a huge upright that was painted pink. I used to sit every day at that out-of-tune keyboard with several broken ivory keys and "play my own songs". I think I was 8 yrs. old. My parents couldn't afford for me to take lessons. Now here I am in my 60's and I have a chance to finally learn but finances are in the way again. Where there's a will, there's a way. Right?

I guess that's all for today. Thank you for stopping by. Hope you are having a good day.

Important Health Information

A friend posted this on her FB page. I wanted to keep it but where? I may repost it there but, I thought, why not put it in a blog.  And share with friends here. I hope you take the time to read it.
**********
THIS IS VERY INTERESTING THOUGHT I WOULD FORWARD IT.
Good thing to know!

From the Mayo Clinic ---
How many folks do you know who say they don't want to drink anything before going to bed because they'll have to get up during the night!!

Heart Attack and Water - I never knew all of this ! Interesting.......

Something else I didn't know ... I asked my Doctor why people need to urinate so much at night time. Answer from my Cardiac Doctor -
Gravity holds water in the lower part of your body when you are upright (legs swell). When you lie down and the lower body (legs and etc) seeks level with the kidneys, it is then that the kidneys remove the water because it is easier. This then ties in with the last statement!
I knew you need your minimum water to help flush the toxins out of your body, but this was news to me.
Correct time to drink water... Very Important. From A Cardiac Specialist!

Drinking water at a certain time maximizes its effectiveness on the body: 2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs
1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion
1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure
1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack

I can also add to this... My Physician told me that water at bed time will also help prevent night time leg cramps. Your leg muscles are seeking hydration when they cramp and wake you up with a Charlie Horse.

Also from the Mayo Clinic ---
Aspirin:  Dr. Virend Somers, is a Cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic, who is lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 A.M. and noon. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show that sleep apnea is to blame.

1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night.
The reason: Aspirin has a 24-hour "half-life"; therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the Aspirin would be strongest in your system.

2. FYI, Aspirin lasts a really long time in your medicine chest for years, (when it gets old, it smells like vinegar).

Please read on.
Something that we can do to help ourselves - nice to know.
Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve instantly on the tongue.
They work much faster than the tablets.

Why keep Aspirin by your bedside? It's about Heart Attacks -

There are other symptoms of a heart attack, besides the pain on the left arm. One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating; however, these symptoms may also occur less frequently.

Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack.

The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep did not wake up.
However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep.

If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water.
Then:
 Call 911. 
 Phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by.
  Say "heart attack!" - Say that you have taken 2 Aspirins. - Take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and ....DO NOT LIE DOWN!

Cool, cloudy Saturday

Today is an over-cast day with the possibility of thunderstorms this afternoon. Of course that's what they said yesterday, but we didn't get any rain.
The temperature right now is a comfortable 69°, climbing up to an estimated 81°.

And for Terri, here's the 10-day forecast for central Ohio...
Sunday 83°/68° with isolated T-storms
Monday 87/71 Partly cloudy
Tuesday 81/70 with scattered T-storms
Wed. 80/68 with scattered storms
Thursday 76/60 with scattered storms
Friday 69/55 and mostly sunny
Sat. 73/55 and mostly sunny
Sunday 75/59 and partly cloudy
Monday 78/63 with scattered storms
It looks to be very comfortable. :) Just don't forget a light-weight jacket for those cool evenings.

And that, dear friends, is the end of the weather forecast from the meteorologist in me. :) I can't help it. It's one of my hobbies. 


Hubby is over at the neighbor's finding out what he's going to do. He has a plumbing problem over there, digging holes all over his yard. He said he may have to get a backhoe in the backyard and since the only access is along our joined property lines, that means there goes my peonies. Oh well. Matt needs working drains so he can shower and do laundry. My sacrifice to the cause. 

While I was outside a little bit ago, I checked the flower bed. My irises have opened but the blooms are so heavy they're falling over. They don't last long, just like the lilacs. The blooms on them are gone already. The peonies will probably be blooming in a couple days.

Our annual peony festival isn't until June 7th & 8th which means all the blooms will be gone by then. It's THE biggest event of the year for us. That weekend they'll be having all kinds of activities going on all over town. Art shows, flower shows, the kid's fishing derby, concerts in the park and the parade, just to name a few.

Do our feet shrink when we get older? I was looking at all the shoes in my closet the other day. I have a couple pairs of summer slip-ons that I like but could never wear for very long because they hurt my feet. I was just going to give them away but I've hung onto them for some unknown reason. Just couldn't part with them but now I know why. I put on one pair of them yesterday and wore them the whole day. They've never fit this well. I think my feet shrunk. Now if only my waist would do the same. :)

It's that time of the year again ... our annual appointment for the exterminator. We live in an area where the ants and carpenter bees visit in huge numbers. Those horrible bees bore holes into the fascia boards of the house, causing a lot of damage. I was so surprised that first year. The holes were as large as quarters, maybe more. And when the ants want to camp out in my kitchen, that's where I draw the line.

I know that I'm suppose to think of the environment, but with some things, I can't. And I won't. I need the nice man in the blue shirt with his trusty nozzle and spray.

That's all I have for today. I really should do something constructive today, whether it's right or wrong.

I hope you are having a great day. 

More random thoughts

Another beautiful summer-like day. We've had temperatures in the 80's the last couple days and it looks like we're in for another one. I'm trying to hold out and not turn on the a/c already. Hopefully the weather people are right when they say we'll get back down into the low 70's by the weekend. As long as the humidity stays low, it isn't too uncomfortable. I'm NOT complaining. It's so much better than shivering.




On this day in history, in 1866 Charles Hires invents Root Beer. And nylon stockings hit the market for the first time in 1940.

There's almost nothing to report on my last few days. It's been the same old stuff.

Hubby mowed the grass Monday and now he's off getting gas for the mower so he can do it all over again. He does this every spring. Once the grass comes alive after a long winter, it grows faster than the weeds.

Tuesday he got his string trimmer back from the shop so he tested it by going around the house and cut down those areas of tall grass that the mowers won't reach.

Yesterday the highlight of my day was going back to WalMart to get some items we didn't get Monday, plus pick up my meds at the drug store. While we were at WM, we ran into his brother and his wife. We talked for a few minutes then headed for home.



Oh, Tuesday, the biggest highlight of my week was meeting an online friend face to face for the first time, via Google Hangout. It was a great experience but I was so nervous I could hardly think. She's such a sweet lady and was so patient with me.

The president is having another news conference now. He so full of lies, that's all that comes out of the man's mouth. I usually don't watch these but I wanted to see how he was going to stumble, uh-uh-uh, and change the lies he told the other day. So far it's been full of I's and me's. Normal stuff. He also keeps saying he did not know about the IRS actions until it broke in the news. I'm sure that was another lie.

That's about all for now. I hope you're having a great day.

Mother's Day 2013

My last few days have been very busy, but very nice. Thursday my brother stopped by on his way to Pennsylvania with a load going to a paper mill. We took him to Bob Evans for lunch then back to his truck so he could get on his way. We had a nice visit.

Friday he came back to town around 5:00 pm. He wanted to go to Orchard Tree for their Friday seafood buffet, then he came back home with us. We sat up till almost midnight talking. He spent the night. I had gotten a text message earlier from Lori, who lives in Michigan, that they were in Ohio, heading for Teresa's house. I told her that her uncle was here and if they wanted to come over to have breakfast with him in the morning before he left.

Saturday morning we got up early and drank a pot of coffee before the kids even got here. Lori and I made scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, bagels and orange juice while the guys talked. We had a great time having him here with us. After we got the kitchen cleaned up, they left and we took my brother back to his truck, which was parked at WalMart. Teresa was shopping inside, so she got to see him for a few minutes before he pulled out. Then she and the boys came down to the house.

When Lori and her family got back to our house around 1:00, we all had lunch together, with more laughing and playing with the kids. It was great.

Bob's birthday is next week so since Lori won't be able to come down 2 weeks in a row, we had a combined Mother's Day and birthday party for him. The girls gave him a gift and instead of a cake, Lori made him a fruit pizza. He loved it. After everyone left around 5:00, I cleaned up the kitchen -- again -- then collapsed. Today was a day of rest. I'm still tired, but it's a good tired after a great weekend.


UPS delivered a bouquet of roses Sat. morning from Lisa, with a note saying she was sorry she couldn't be here. (She was out of town.) I could have cried. The flowers are so beautiful. She's a sweet girl.

Lori had a gift mailed to me and it arrived on Thursday. I got some of these last year from her and they are so delicious. They're from Sheri's Berries. The largest, juiciest strawberries I've ever seen. 

Teresa gave me a gift card to one of my favorite restaurants. She knows I love the chance to have someone else do the cooking.

Now that the excitement is all over, tomorrow is back to the old schedule. I have laundry, as usual, and a kitchen floor that needs cleaned.

Our weather the last couple days has turned cold. I almost had to get the heavy winter coat out again. Tonight we have a freeze warning, getting down to 33°.

I hope you had a great weekend.

Thursday May 9

For throwback Thursday, and Mother's Day, I've chosen a couple pictures of my mother.

Since I'm not sure if she would like me posting the one picture of her, I've included another of my favorites. The first one was taken in 1921, she was 3 years old. She looked like a doll baby.

Then the one below.... I love this picture of my mother because it shows a side of her we hardly knew. The picture was taken by my father, December 1943, in Winter Garden, Florida, on the day he left for New Guinea during WW2. They were waiting for his train to pull in when they went across to a nearby church to sit on the steps while they waited. 

As for today's schedule, I'm waiting for a call from my brother (from Texas). He's got another delivery to Pennsylvania so he's coming this way for a brief stop-over. The last I heard, at 10:57 am, he was 110 miles away. He wants to have dinner at Bob Evans then he'll be hitting the road again. He said on his way back, he may stop by and spend the night before going on home. Our sister is at work but I'm hoping that she'll be able to stop in after she gets off to see him. He missed her the last time.

I'm going to check my email now and get off here. I hope you have a great day.

Wed. May 8th

I know I've been  MIA the last few days and the only excuse I have is... laziness.

Our weather has been beautiful, still. Perfect, in fact. Highs in the 70's with cool nights, perfect for sleeping with the window open.

Sunday we went to church, the one we're checking out to see if we want to make it our new church home. The service was good. After that it was all downhill so we went to our car and left. But we weren't there to socialize, we were there for the worship. (Matthew 18:20)  We'll go back.

Monday, the theme of the day was 'food'. We went shopping; we had to; the refrigerator, freezer and cupboard was empty. The only thing I had to make any kind of meal was a can of tuna. We went out to our favorite grocery, took advantage of some specials on meat. We brought it home, put it in the refrigerator, then went out to WalMart to get the taxables and the rest of the grocery items. When we got home, we took all the meat out and vacuum sealed it into meal-size portions. I now have menus and enough food for the next 3 weeks.

Tuesday was then laundry day. There's nothing more to say about that. We all  know what that entails.

Yesterday was also election day. We had a primary/special election for city council seats and the school tax renewal levy. That passed. Now we have a permanent 1% tax.

Today, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I have to dust the living room and steam clean the kitchen floor.

Bob got up early today and went out to the rifle range. He's helping one of the guys with some maintenance work and mowing. He'll be gone several hours, I'm sure.

I have to get busy now. Hope you have a good day. Keep smiling.

Sat. May 4

Another beautiful day. I could get spoiled with this perfect spring-like weather. The high today is suppose to be around 68°. We've got some clouds moving in but we aren't going to see any rain until tomorrow, according to the weatherman.

I don't have any specific plans for today. I should steam clean the kitchen floor... if I can muster up the energy. Bob is out mowing the yard. The last few days we could almost watch the grass grow. He mowed last Tuesday but when the squirrels can hide in it, it's time for another cut.

I just put on some eggs to boil. I'm thinking deviled eggs.

Bob and I went up to Orchard Tree last evening for supper. They have a Friday Seafood buffet each week but by the time we got up there, we both changed our minds. We had a sandwich and a piece of butterscotch pie. They are famous for their homemade pies. They're always so good... my treat for the week.

Today is the 139th Kentucky Derby.... "the greatest 2 minutes in sports"  I haven't been watching any news on the horses running this year. I just saw on the Weather Channel the forecast could be rainy. If the track turns muddy, that will change a lot of the chances. Some horses don't do as well as others when it comes to mud. Orb is the favorite so far this morning, but that could change if the rain moves in before the 20 horses break from the starting gates at 6:24 p.m. The purse is $2,199,800, with $1,439,800 going to the winner. I'll probably watch it this evening. I love horse races. And baseball games. One fast and short. The other slow and boring. lol

I had to take a short break and now I'm trying to get my breath. I went outside to help Hubby trim some tree branches that hit him in the head when he mows. Then we carried them all out to the curb so the city crew can pick them up Monday, according to the schedule in today's paper.

I think I'm going to stop here ......

A wish for you~ 

May God grant you always, 

A sunbeam to warm you, 

A moonbeam to charm you, 

A sheltering angel so nothing can harm you, 

Laughter to cheer you, 

Faithful friends near you, and 

whenever you pray, 

Heaven to hear you...ღ ღ ღ 

The end of another week

It is beautiful today. The sky is that blue color I love so much with just a few of the 'brush stroke" clouds and lots of sunshine.

Our temperature is a comfortable 75°. The forecast says we may have a rainy weekend tho'. I guess all the flowers coming up may welcome it.

I can safely say that spring has sprung.

Last year we went from the furnace to the air conditioning in one day. This is more like normal. I'm thankful for this weather.

I was outside yesterday looking at all the work we need to do on the flower beds.

I've only got a few tulip bulbs left after the rabbits found them.

A neighbor down the street had a big fat rabbit that lived in the house. When the kids got tired of it, they let it loose. Needless to say, she found a mate so we had quite a few hungry ones running around the backyards.

Then the last couple summers we haven't seen any. I didn't buy any bulbs to replace them because I felt it was no use in doing so. Consequently, these flowers are the only ones to survive.

I checked out the peonies too. They're growing like weeds, as usual. It won't be long and we'll have some big pink blooms.

More sirens! It seems we are hearing them more often now that the weather is warming up, not that that has anything to do with it. Maybe it's because my windows are open. This one was another fire truck that went flying past the house just now. They stopped at a house about 4 blocks down.

I don't know how the fire department is getting down our street. The street crew started working on W. Main street this past Monday. They've got the first 6 blocks barricaded and tore up. It's the main thoroughfare to the west side of town. This is the first phase of the construction.

Phase 2 will be the biggest problem. We don't know how they're going to handle the traffic. That part of the street runs in front of 2 factories and several businesses. They have to keep part of it open because they can't keep all those folks from getting to and from work. We're talking a couple thousand people coming and going on that part of town. The town is estimating the project to take over 7 months to complete but on all the others they were short by a few weeks. Oh, well, it has to be done. We get a lot of semi trucks going to the factories and they've torn up the pavement bad. It will be interesting to watch.

Our grandson came in yesterday and spent the afternoon with us. He's the one that just got home from college. He brought us a big can of chocolate-covered almonds.And we gave him a new cell phone. Fair trade? Sure. He's our baby.

In an earlier post I mentioned that we had him on our cell phone plan. So when his phone went bad, I searched Verizon's site and found the phone he wanted for FREE. Easy on our checkbook.

He was pleased. We got it activated then he played with it for a long time, getting his ringtone set, his contacts, his wallpaper, etc. etc. This old grandma did good.

That's all I have to report for now. I hope you are having a great day.

Thursday May 2

Wow, it's Thursday already? I haven't posted anything the last few days because I've been so busy. By the time I sat down to the computer, my brain didn't want to organize my thoughts.

Tuesday I had a hair appointment. I couldn't cancel because I needed the trim badly. Then my sister and I had scheduled meeting after work. I enjoy getting with her so we can catch up. I'm afraid this time I did all the talking. She has good shoulders to cry on.

Then later that evening Bob and I went over to our daughter's to sit with the boys until she got home from OSU/Columbus with her oldest son. She was exhausted by the time they got home at midnight. She worked all day then drove 5 hours, down and back, to bring Curtis home from school. Everyone in the freshman dorm had to be moved out by May 1. She couldn't get him this past weekend because he had his last final exam on Monday. I think the school has terrible timing.

The good news: he's going to be home all summer so hopefully we'll be able to spend lots of time with him.

We had a good time with the boys. Bob watched cartoons with them while I washed up her dishes. Then we baked some cookies. That was a treat for them. After they had a couple warm cookies, it was time to get ready for bed. I told Bryan, age 5, that he was getting tired. He said "no I'm not". The words were hardly out of his mouth when the eyes went closed.

Our oldest grandson Joseph, age 20, just posted this picture on his  Facebook page of himself with one of his "new friends".  Joe works with a traveling group called "Understanding Wildlife" that goes to schools and towns all over the country, putting on shows that teaches kids and adults  about the rain forest and how important it is to preserve it. They travel with several animals, birds and snakes in a climate controlled trailer.


Joe loves animals, always has. He loves this job, even tho' he's not home much. He was hoping to be able to save up some money so he could go to school to be a veterinarian.

Right now he's back in Pennsylvania where they have several shows scheduled over the next few weeks. 

Do I worry about him? Of course. But the owner trains his people slowly before they get to actually handle any of the birds and animals.


I better get off here and get busy. It's almost time to start thinking about supper.
Until next time....