cold cool

 I went to Morton Arboretum to see the lights tonight

    To be more precise, WE went to Morton to see the lights.

    Emily, Sheri, MK, Greg and I had a cold, but great ,time.

    I think it was in the upper 20s while we were there.  At one point I checked and was surprised to see how cold it was.  My n ew coat seems to work well.

    Jackie was a little leery of going, and opted to stay home.

    In hindsight it was probably. good choice.  She would have been frozen and I would have had trouble pushing her around the 1 mile plus track.  To be honest, I had a little trouble making it around by myself.

    That and clearing the debris from the porch and in front of the garage doors, blowing the sidewalk, and picking Jackie up off the floor were about the only things I did today.

    Emily helped with the pick up.  Jackie did not exactly fall, but something happened and she slid down from the bed and onto the floor.  No harm, no foul.  I am just glad Emily was around.  Julia was snowed in when it happened and would not have been able to get here.

    Hopefully that does not happen again.

Peace and Love

that white dot is the moon

and now, something different

 Well, never mind about that

    I tried posting a video, but it did not work.

    I was standing outside with the wind howling, the snow blowing, and me freezing.

    Beth is really bothered by the snow and blowing.  She has gone out several times, turned and looked at me and then come back in without doing anything.

    Finally she did her business....on the porch.

    It is not where anyone can step on or in it, hut I will pick it up tomorrow.

    Christmas is almost all upstairs and Jackie is shocked at how much we have.  She asked 2 questions:  Where did we get that?  Where are we going to put that?

    Some things don't get put out.  The wreath Emily made in third grade or the candles my mother had when I was little.  Both are broken, but I can't part with them. I guess I am just a sentimental old fool.

    Back to the weather.

    The snow is supposed to stop tomorrow morning, so hopefully our trip to Morton Arboretum will still be a go.  

    If not, I guess. that is how life works.

    Keep warm.

Peace and Love

legs, baby

 I need a new pair of legs

    Mine are worn out.

    I started hauling Christmas up from the basement.

    Why the hell didn't we put in a dumb waiter?

    Not the kind that brings you alphabet soup when you asked for minestrone, but the kind you can put boxes in and hit a button and they magically rise to the next floor.

    Of course I still have to go up the stairs to unload them, but I wouldn't be carrying half ton containers up the stairs.

    Speaking of half ton containers.

    Last spring I put my strawberry plants into a tank, like a stock tank used on farms.  I was going to say a water trough, but I don't know if that is a word or not.

    Anyway, I put it on top of a furniture mover so I could just roll it into the. garage.  Easy peasy, right?

    I had to move it today because we may get somewhere in the area of 11 inches of snow tonight and through Saturday.  The plow guy pushes it all off the end of the driveway and the strawberries were in the way.

    Let me tell you.....moving that sucker was not easy!

    First off, the rollers have a mind of their own when it comes to directions.

    Second, I. think I put 300 pounds of dirt in the container.  

    Julia and Emily came by a little after I was done and asked why I didn't ask them for help.

    Because I am a stubborn old man who refuses to believe he can't do the things he used to be able to do.

    I don't know my limits, but come spring I will have someone help me take it out of the garage.

    I may be stubborn, but I am not stupid.

    Or am I?

    Just don't ask me to bring you minestrone soup.

Peace and Love

Whaaat???

 We were all set for Thanksgiving

    Then Julia walked in.

    Let me back up a bit.

    Jackie and I made pecan pie for the first time.   I do get confused.  Is it peecan or peon?  Whatever.

    We froze the pie.  I took it out Tuesday night so it would thaw.

    Yesterday we made sweet potato pie or casserole, whichever you call it.  Put that into the fridge.

    At some point I was to take the pecan pie and the apple pie out  of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for today.

    That's the back story.

    Julia  goes into the dining room, and calls out: "Why is the sweet potato pie on the dry sink?"

    I reply, saying it is the pecan pie just looks like the sweet potato pie.  you can see the pecans on the top.

    Julia brings it over and says, "There are no pecans.  See?"

    And she shoes me the sweet potato pie.

    Then she asks, "When did you put it here?"

    I had no idea.  It might have been this morning, or it might have been last night.

    If it was this morning, well that pie has only been out of the fridge an hour or so.  If it was last night, well that could be botulism just waiting for someone to test it.

    And I could not remember when I put it there.  Still can't.

    We dumped it and Julia made another and it didn't have the potential to sicken us like the first one did.

    Supper turned out great.

    Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet corn casserole, taffy apple salad, ham, 3 different pies for dessert.  Sandy brought little smokies wrapped in bacon and Kevin brought a ham.  Emily made the corn casserole and mashed potatoes.  Julia made a pumpkin pie and brought some chips and dip.

    All in all it was a pretty darn good day.

    Should be an interesting weekend.  Bears play tomorrow, we have tickets for the Morton Arboretum's light festival Sunday, and tickets for The Book of Mormon Monday.

    We also have a winter storm watch starting Friday night with the potential of 4 to 197 inches of snow.

    Like I said....should be interesting.

Peace and Love

Thanksgiving eve

Twas the night before turkey.... 

    And tomorrow we will all be stuffed!

    Today I made taffy apple salad and sweet potato pie.  Jackie read directions and I did the mixing.

    I hope someone finds the tip of my left finger tomorrow. Maybe I can still get it re-attached.

    Needless to say, I am thankful for a lot of things.

    My family, my friends, the people who read this in Singapore.  All of you have made my life fuller and I thank you.  Of course I can't forget my dog, but she doesn't read this.

    Last night when she wanted to go out, the wind was howling.  She came in and went into her bed in our bedroom.  It was almost 2 a.m., maybe later, and when I stumbled into bed Beth started whining.  So I picked he up and put her in bed with us.  

    Her body was shaking.

    I think the wind was freaking her out.  It was really loud.

    After a few minutes she settled back to sleep and I did too.

    Today I found out that friends Karen and John also went to see McCartney.  They were sitting in section 307 Row 12, we were sitting in section 307 row 7!  We were not far from each other, but did not see one another.

    Goes to show you it is a small world after all.

Peace and Love

And Happy Thanksgiving!!

Awesome!

 Paul McCartney was awesome tonight

    I sang.  I took pictures.      I smiled.  I discovered I look like a goof in every selfie.

    A big thank you to Sherrie for driving, to Emily and Julia for providing supper for Jackie,and helping her, to Kimberly for staying with Jackie, and to Jackie for letting me go.

    I love the Beatles, but this is the first time I have seen a concert with any of them!  I can't believe I have waited this long.

    And I even saw someone I knew!  Besides Sheri!!

    Anyway, got home a little after 1.

    As Sheri was driving down my street I noticed an object in the ditch across from our house.

    Now, Jackie had texted and told me it was windy.

    I had Sheri aim her headlights toward the object and it turned out to be my hose cart!  I had left it in the driveway by my strawberry field, but the wind seemed to have a moving effect on it.  It was heavy for me to move, so that must have been a strong wind!

    I am having a decaf tea and then am heading toward bed.

    I hope.

Peace and Love

Huh

 I can't believe I forgot tonight

I told Jackie my blog was done and posted.

I went to bed and just now, because I don't sleep well, got to thinking about what I wrote.

I could not remember.

I knew I didn't write about going to the dentist.  Or my experience with customer service at the Tribune.  Or shopping.g Or the dreary wether.  Or the frustration I have been feeling all day.

And I know I did not tell how excited I am about going to see Paul McCarney tomorrow night.

So I got up. etc check what I did write.

Nothing.  Nada.  

Truthfully, I am too tired yet wide awake to write anything that makes sense.

Peace and Love

family. time

 We celebrated Julia's birthday today

    Yes. it was a day late.  But she had plans  yesterday, so we had dinner today.

    Julia made lasagna.  Emily brought banana cream pie.  I ate.  

    Some birthday!!  She had to make supper and bring it to us!  Plus, we are getting her a snowblower for her birthday and Christmas, so she didn't even have a present from us!

    She got a card, but I told her not to write on the envelope because I needed it back.  When I went to bring the bag of dog food into the house from the garage, I found the missing envelope behind the bag, proving once again that I don't lose things, I just misplace them.

    Honestly, I am stuffed.  

    I have been  eating too much and exercising too little and that has to change.

    All I did today was sit.  Watched the Bears, read the paper, watched the last quarter of the Dallas game.   My fitness tracker just told me that if I go on a 300 minute walk I will reach my daily goal.

    Oh hell, that won't happen.

    Guess I will just drown my sorrows in a cookie.

Peace and Love

well.......

 Sometimes life is pretty funny

    And not funny ha ha.  Or funny as in I would not eat that.

    Just funny,

    I bought a birthday card for Julia.  Came in the house with the card and envelope in a bag.  Took out the card and the envelope and gave the card to Jackie.

    The envelope has disappeared.  Vanished.  Gone.  Pfffft! Into thin air.

    I have extra envelopes, but not big enough for this card. 

    I guess we will lust put in in a brown clasp envelope.  then we will find the actual envelope

    Actually found an envelope!  But we can't write on it because then the card that was in the envelope will be without an envelope.

    I have a little Makita brand palm sander.  No, I don't sand my palms, but the sander fits the palm of my hand.

    Sanding the patio furniture  I wished I had the bag that attached to the sander.  It is black and I know I saw it in the basement.  I looked.  

    I have been sanding without the bag.  I realize now that may not be the smartest thing to do.

    First of all, there is sawdust everywhere. 

    Second of all, lots of times I turn it and it blows into my f ace.

    I looked up the model on the Makita webskite and went to parts, only to find this part is obsolete.

    OBSOLETE!!

    But they did show a picture of the RED bag that used to be on the sander.

    Tomorrow I will go back and look for a red bag.

    And I will start wearing a mask when I sand.

    Nov. 22...... a date of extreme happiness and extreme sadness.

    Julia was born this date.  That's the happiness.

    And our country forever changed when JFK was killed in Dallas.  Camelot was over.  The youth of the country was shattered, as were our hopes and dreams.

    Some dates should never be forgotten.  June 6, Dec. 7, Nov. 22, Jan.6, Nov. 11  are just a few that come to mind.

    But our country survived.  That's the good thought I am having tonight.

Peace and Love

OMG

 I had a bad experience today

    I made my daily trip to WallyWorld and in the course of my wandering, my back decided to do something that I can only describe as painful.

    It hurt to walk.  It hurt to not walk.  I found myself leaning over the handle of the cart to ease the pressure on my back.

    I was in the rear of the store, and I knew a bench was a long way away.

    After several minutes and painful steps, it went away!

    I was fine.  No pain.

    Maybe it was talking to Ken that did it, but the pain went away.

    Huh.

    When I got home I put a heating pad on my back, which may have been a mistake.  I should have iced it first.  Oh well.

    I finished sanding the patio table today.  I may start on chairs tomorrow.  Or I may not.  It all depends on my mood.  And my back.  Sometimes when I go to bed and have trouble sleeping I try to remember things.

    Like the  names of the 7 dwarves.

    Or the 8 reindeer.

    Or the characters on Modern Family.

    I'm beginning to think that is all counter productive.  I get so worked up on the names, I think I overstimulate my mind, making it harder to go to sleep.

    I  need to think of calming waters, beautiful sunsets, and having a glass of wine at Charlie's on the shores of Lake Geneva......those thoughts relax me.

    So tonight, no names.  

    By the way,  I only remember 5 dwarves and 7 reindeer.  And Modern Family?  Only about half of them.

    I may have to turn to Google for help.

Peace and Love

this and that

 Just some odds and ends from my mind

    Note to self:  No coffee after 3 p.m.  No Dr. Pepper  the same day you have coffee.  The world is quiet at 2 a.m.

    Made a pecan pie for Thanksgiving.  Jackie directed and I acted.  It looks good.  We froze it. 

    I can't find 2 gallon freezer bags at the store..

    I could not find my password notebook.  Looked everywhere.  Jackie said that maybe it fell behind the drawer.  So I pulled the bottom drawer out and looked.  this is what I found.

yikes


    Yes, this was all under the bottom drawer.  And yes, the password book was there.  By the time I found it I could not remember why I was looking for it.

    Anthony Rizzo was traded by the Cubs in 21, if I remember correctly.  He was one of my favorite players.

    Yup.  Still have it.  I guess we don't use much aluminum foil.At least it won't expire.

    

    Took a 90 minute nap before we made the pie.  It might have been 2 hours, I was tired.

    I hope I sleep tonight.  No coffee.  But the nap might keep me awake.

    I hated sitting on my back patio this summer.  Yes, it was hot.  Yes, it was humid.

    But the main reason was the table.  I did not clean it last year, or this year.  It just looked bad and felt bad, so I never wanted to sit out there.

    After the pie, and playing withe Beth, I did this.

    I sanded the table.  I finished the whole thing, but you get the idea on why I did not like sitting at it.  In the spring I will put some teak oil on it so it will look and feel great.

    I will also try sanding parts of the chairs.....the arms and backs especially.  

    For several years I have been working on a book.  I am almost finished.  I am starting to read through again to be sure all is in order.  It's a novelette.  

    

    The sun has not been out for 3 days. It is depressing.  And chilly.  And wet.

    At least there are no hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.  That's a bonus.

    Thank you for reading this.

Peace and Love

hell trip

 I had a terrible shopping day

    I went to DeKalb to pick up an order at Kohl's.

    I also had a problem with my new hearing aids.

    I replace the cones and wax filter every 3-4 weeks.  It's a fairly simple procedure, usually taking less than 5 minutes.

    Today I could not get the cones on one of the hearing aids.  I tried and tried but it would not go on.

    I figured now I had 2 reasons to go to DeKalb/Sycamore.  Throw in visiting the Hallmark store and HyVee and that is four.

    I told Jackie I would be back by 2:30, figuring 90 minutes would do the trick.

    First stop:  Audiologist.

    First problem:  Everyone is busy.  I need to make an appointment.  "How does 7 a.m. tom morrow work for you?"  she asked.  

    It didn't , I said. Then I said I would just go back home and try again.  I went out to the car and as I was sitting there, the other receptionist came out and asked, "Are you Terry?  Dr. H sent me to get you.  She will see you now."

    Seems the good doctor recognized my voice!

    She took about 5 seconds to pop the cone on.  Easy Peasy.

    Nest stop:  Kohl's to pick up my on line order.

    Evidently I deleted the e mail that said come to the store and do this.

    So I tried opening our account.

    Invalid password.

    Huh...maybe it's this. hyadayadayada

    Invalid passrod.

    This?  yadayadayada

    Invalid password.  Your account is now locked.

    Damn.  I go back to the Kohl's site and try to reset my password after supplying the needed information.

    I don't have a keypad on the phone.  Try again.  No keypad.

    By now it is 15 minutes of me trying.

    So I get in line at the check out and a young woman calls me over.  I explain what is going on and within seconds she has my keyboard up on the phone and has accessed my account.  Then she took me over to where my on line order was and made sure I got it.

    She was super!!!!

    But now I was behind.

    Opted to go to Lowe's for driveway markers.  To save time, I ask the first person I see where they are.  Turns out they are in aisle 15, bin 24 which is a 3 mile walk from where I am standing.  I don't get why they are not with the snowshvels and other winter stuff.

    I buy 10, for me and for Julia, and Emily if she needs them, check out and the guy charges me for 11.

    I tell him he is wrong, he apologizes, and says I have to go to the customer service desk, which is 1 mile from where I am standing.

    Get there, wait for the person ahead of me to finish, then get my cc credit.

    Stopped at the Hallmark store to buy 2 boxes of Christmas cards.  None of the boxed cards are printed in the US.  They all come from Vietnam.  

    By the time I left HyVee for home it was almost 4.  

    My 90 minute trip was now approaching 3 . 5 hours, which it was by the time I got home.

    Luckily Jackie was fine the entire time.

    Luckily we had leftovers for supper.

    Luckily we watched Only Murders in the Building, following the same steps we did last night but ended up with the podcast.

    Luckily this missive is done.

Peace and Love

tech times

 Damn technology has vexed me again

    Sat down to watch Only Murders in the Building.  Hit the correct episode, and the show's podcast came on.  

    Tried it again.  Hit the correct episode.  Again, the podcast telling us about the episode we have not seen.

    The third time was not the charm.

    I don't understand how we get a program that we did not want.  I gave up.

    We placed an on line order.  As I was filling in the boxes, I could only type Ja.  The keyboard did not work on the rest of the letters.

    Ok, figured the keyboard needed to be charged.

    But no! Worked for our last name.  I plugged it in anyway.

    Still did Ja.  So I  tried my name.  It did Te.  Nothing else.

    Huh.

    Finished the order and made sure all the info was correct and hit submit.  Nothing.  Hit submit again.  Nothing.

    Now I am not sure if I placed 2 orders or 1.

    Called customer service.  Talked to a nice woman who took all the information and then told me to enter Jackie's cc number, which is not heard by any human, then hit pound.  I did.

    The number dd not work.

    Did it again.

    Did not work.

    Used my cc and she said I would be called to verify the information. 

    I got the call.  I had to enter the cc number 3 more times before it was accepted.  Then the security code was not accepted.  I finally all worked, but it was vexing.

    Who knows where my cc numbers went, or to whom they went.  I assume the callers were all legitimate people and not bastards.  

    So there.

    Don't tell me how easy computers make our lives....I won't believe you!

Peace and Love

social studies part 2

 I have a funny story about social studies

    This goes back to my teaching days, when the internet was a new field for all of us.

    During inside recess during the winter, lunch ladies would allow students to play games like Oregon Trail on the computer as long as the classroom teacher did not mind.

    I said I was fine with it.

    We were also working on social studies reports of some kind.

    A principal found me and told me to get to my room and get the kids off the computers.

    I went to the room and found 3 of the 4 computers were on a porn site!!

    Two boys, really nice kids and good students, were working on the last computer and I asked them what they were doing.  They told me they typed in social studies and images of barely dressed ladies came n the screen, so they went to the next computerl

    The funny thing is....they were spelling social studies wrong!

    I quickly shut off the computers and that was the end of unrestricted use during lunch.

    I tried spelling social studies every different way possible and I could not get to the same site they did.  Research.

    The district had software to block offensive sites, but evidently whatever they typed was not deemed offensive.

    Hard to believe why last class of students will be at least 26 years old.   Time flies too quickly.

Peace and Love

    

Social studies

 WEehad a pretty social day today!

    Friends John and Kathy came out for lunch, conversation, and some wonderful desserts from a German bakery in Chicago.

    Julia joined us, but Emily was busy driving from Omaha with 2 dogs.  More on that later

    We watched the Bears pull out another one, but the Cardiac Kids are causing my BP to rise a little.

    Emily went to Denver to adopt a dog.  She flew out from the Quad Cities, rented a van and brought 2 dogs back with her.

    I went over and helped her introduce them to the rest of the group.  I hope they all get along. 

    She didn't intend to bring 2 back, but when she saw how the dogs were living she opted for both.   They are brother and sister and seemed pretty attached.

    Then Kevin, Jen and Sam came over bearing wassail!  Kevin brought a little rum for ours, but the ladies preferred it straight.  After 2 glasses I am feeling tired.

    In summary:  I did a lot of eating, talking, watching football and not walking.  My fitness tracker has reminded me of that twice this evening.

    I guess I still have time to hit my goal.  Nothing like a late stroll down a dark street.  

    Who knows, maybe I will see a meteor.

Peace and love

whew!!!

 It's Mother Nature's  fault

    My neighbor mowed and swept his lawn yesterday.

    So I decided to get a final (maybe) mowing in today.

    It was windy.  I think most of my leaves  blew into his yard.

    Now, that is not my fault!  Eventually the wind changed directions and blew them across the street and into the empty field there.

    While the wind was blowing leaves into his yard, it was also blowing leaves from the park into mine.

    Now, I don't mind the leaves.  I like to mow them and leave them as feed for the lawn.  When I had a mulching attachment that was a lot easier to do. I did try to go over them several times, but the wind kept moving them!

    I still have a maple with a lot of leaves and 2 oaks, which lose leaves in the spring, I think.   I am kind of surprised the maple still has leaves.  

    Jackie and I went to Julia's today.  Along with Sherie, we hauled up Julia's Christmas boxes.  I think there were 546 of them.  Well, maybe not that many, but a lot.

    Realize all of these were from Switzerland.  I am sure there will be things she no longer wants.  I will be curious where she puts it all.

    After Thanksgiving I will be lugging our boxes up. I should have installed an elevator.

    We brought Beth, who christened Julia's basement floor.  Luckily it was in the basement and we were there.  Quick cleanup and  disposal.

    We had pizza for supper from an Oregon place.  It was very good!

    Driving home I went a little slower and kept a sharp eye out for Bambis.  They are everywhere and I don't need a new hood ornament.

Peace and Love.

Done...for now

I finished this week's to do list

    I did not follow the order, but the doesn't matter.

    Yesterday was supposed to be apple pie day and today was supposed to be bulb and tree feeder day.

    But my errands took longer than I thought yesterday, plus the cleaner was here and doing pies did not make a lot of sense.

    So I planted about 30 bulbs.  Not light bulbs, but flower bulbs.

    Following my Standard Operation Procedure, I plum forgot which bulbs were which, so when they come up next year I am sure I will be surprised.

    But then again, we have had squirrels around the house this fall.  When you plant oak trees and they produce nuts, squirrels seem to appear out of nowhere.

    I also finished hammering in the tree feeder stakes yesterday.  I hope the stakes provide some help with growth for my trees.  

    And in a fit of optimism, I cut the seed heads off cone flowers and black eyed Susans and tossed them into my unmowed grassy field area.  Maybe I will get lucky and some flowers will result from that.

    So today was pie day.  We made 2 apple pies, one for Thanksgiving and one for later. 

    Jackie did a lot of the slicing and mixing while I turned the wheel to peel the apples and then I cored them.

    I discovered our apple coring tool is a little bent and does not work as well as it did.  And the tool we use to peel the apples does not stick to the counter like it is supposed to.  The suction just isn't there anymore.

    Ah well.

    The biggest issue is the clean up.  Lots of bowls.  Lots.  

    But that is even done, so life is looking good.

    Peace and Love

Every other Thursday

 2 things happen at every other Thursday

    Someone comes in to clean the house.

    I go to the chiropractor.

    Except.....2 weeks ago the cleaner was here and I forgot to go.  That was the first time ever.

    Today, it happened again!

    I went to the butcher, apple orchard, Cypress House, then home.  At 5 I realized I missed the chiropractor.

    That wasn't the biggest issue of the day.

    I could not find my glasses.

    I always (except when I don't) put them on the dresser at night.

    This morning they were not on the dresser not by the computer, not on a kitchen counter, not anywhere I could see them.

    I looked for 10 minutes.  Jackie and our helper looked.  Lisa found them on the floor in front of the couch!

    Howe the hell did that happen???

    I remember petting Beth on the couch last night and I guess I dropped my glasses then, but I don't remember doing so.

    I am just happy I did not step on them when I went to bed.,

    Every day I seem to lose something important.   The only thing I have not lost lately is weight.

    That would be nice to lose!

    These used to be called Jingles when I was a kid.  I have loved them ever since.  Jackie does not like the anise flavor, but I love it!  The best part?  Licking my finger and sticking it in the colored sugars that end up in the bottom of he tray.  

    So, why don't I lose weight??

Peace and Love

May be

 I think I bought a coat today

    I know!  Either I did or I didn't.  It can't be both.

    I bought one, but I am not sure I will keep it.

    I mean it seems nice, warm, a color I like.  But I need to wear it for a few minutes to get the feel.  And to wear it outside to be sure it is warm.

    I think I will be happy with it.

    But I want to wait a day or two before deciding.

    I am weird like that.  I hate to buy most clothes because I do't know if I will like the shirt or pants.  I am wishy washy when it comes to clothing.

    Tonight was my last meeting on the Rochelle Area Community Foundation board.  I have been on the board for 6 years and it has been a tremendous experience.  I am glad I was on this board.

    I also recognize how important giving to the foundation is for the community.  Jackie and I are monthly donors, and if you can, I suggest you become a monthly donor also.  Any amount goes to supporting groups in our community.

    I got suspenders as a parting gift!  The director said this was because I was such a strong supporter of the RACF.  It even has RACF 2020-20025 etched into the back part.  Very net!

    I was at Kohl's in Sycamore today looking at towels.  When I got back to the car, I no longer had my key.

    I retraced the route I took in the store.  From coats, to pans, to towels,  no keys.  There was a girl working in the section and I told her I may have left my car key in the towels, someplace.  She held me look for a few minutes, then called the front to see if anyone had turned a key in.

    When I had gone to the car and discovered the key was missing, I took everything out of. my pockets.  So while the girl was on the phone I did a pat down.....and found the damn key!  Seems these jeans have little coin pocket inside the front pocket and that is where my key was,  along with a grocery list I could not find the other day.

    Honestly, I felt like an idiot but also relieved that I really didn't lose it.

    9 p.m. and I have not seen any lights.  

    Well, let me clarify that.  No Northern Lights.  But there are a lot of flashing lights at Skare and Flagg Road.  Hope no one seriously hurt.

    

Peace and Love

e gads

 I took a nap today

        Our morning help was here, and after I finished most of the paper, I decided to take a nap.

        I set my alarm for 1 hour, which would be 11:30 or so.

        Jackie woke me at 1:45!

        My only excuse is I must have been tired.  I know my alarm went off and I t urned it off, thinking I would get up. 

        But NOOOOO. I slept another hour plus.

        I did feel strangely rested throughout the day.  I just hope I sleep tonight, because it was only 9 hours ago I was asleep.

        Strange, isn't it?

        I was playing with my phone tonight when it spoke to me. 

        Actually, it was TC because somehow I had Facetimed him.  I don't know how I did that. 

        Then I accidentally called Carrie.  

        At that point I put the phone down because it is clearly above my ability level.

        Lots of people posting pictures of the Northern Lights tonight.  I could not see them well, but the camera did.   Emily and Julia both saw them, but they are in darker areas than our subdivision, so maybe that is why.

        The lights are amazing in the pictures.  I am glad for all the pictures on Facebook.

        Busy day tomorrow.  Doctor, toes, meeting; should be an action packed day.

        Hope I am up for it.

Peace and Love

the sunset made it look like the world was on fire

this flying saucer beamed me up!

Looking toward the park

bad choices

 Sometimes I make bad choices

    Like buying stock in Portillo's only to see it lose 70% of its value in the first month.

    Or not buying stock in Apple when it was $9 share.

    Today I really regret throwing out my winter coat last February.

    I loved the coat.  But it was old and showing wear.  A torn pocket, velcro sleeves that no longer had stick to it ness, holes in the pocket so my keys would fall out, forcing me to search all over the snowy driveway for them.

    I figured I had all summer and early fall to look for a coat.

    Sure, I found one and bought it on line.  but I could not get my arms through the sleeve holes easily  and the coat was skin tight on my arms despite being an extra large.    If I was ever put in a straight jacket I imagine it would have felt very similar.  When I returned it, the clerk said the coats were restyled and she did not like them.  She also said not to buy a coat on line because the sizing is always an issue.

    After that I went to 5 stores, including North Face, Dick's, Macy's, and Eddie Bauer.  But I could not find a coat that "spoke" to me.

    So today I had a sweatshirt and heavy sweater type coat and damn, it was cold!

    I may have to rethink my criteria for a new coat.

    I am always being told get rid of stuff I don't want or use.  Well I did.

    See where that got me!

    Friends John and Kathy were supposed to drive out today, but Chicago and the roads were a mess.    I saw some videos people posted and it looked like a blizzard.

    They made a good choice.

    I decided to tackle the downstairs.

    That was a mistake.

    Beth and I had a good time playing down there, but I did not get as much done as I had hoped.  Maybe I will go back down tomorrow.

    I just get so damn tired.  Julia has been gone about 4 months and the only tine  I go down there is to play with Beth.  It was a little dusty.

    I hope to watch some movies down there this winter.

    But first I have to figure out how to do that.  And dust.

Peace and Love

oops

 It was that kind of day

    I had to race Beth to get to the pack of dog snacks I dropped on the floor.  There is a reason why there are seals on the bags.  I did not seal it and the little goodies spilled all over the floor.

    Try telling a hungry dog not to eat the snacks on the floor.!

    Well, I tried but it did not work.

    I got most of them but she targeted the ones out of my reach.

    Minutes later I dropped her kibble all over the floor.  This time I got most of it before she did and I let her scarf up the rest.

    Friend Michael bought museum raffle tickets, so I bought him a drink at cypress House.  I was halfway home when I said, "Damn!  I should have had someone. take our picture."

    I had a nice time sitting with him the very comfortable greenhouse and just chatting.  Thank you for buying raffle tickets!

    Two days ago Jackie asked me if we had 9 inch pie pans.  I said sure.

    Today I got them down and they are not 9 inch, they are 7 inch.

    So I went to the store to get 9 ichn pie tins.

    Walmart has those aluminum cooking utensils in 4 different areas.  None of the areas had pie tins!  None!  They did have them with graham cracker crusts, but that is not what we want. You would think at the time of year when people bake pies they would have tins, right?.

    So I went to Aldi's.  They had cookies but no pie tins.  I bought cookies.

    I went to Runnings.  No pie tins.

    What the hell?

    Wednesday we have a doctor appointment in Sycamore so I will check stores over there.

    Bed, Bath and Body works have to have the worst web site in the retail world.

    Astoria jJewelers has the most difficult site.  You have to send a picture of the items you are returning, but try as hard as I know how, I can't load a picture on to their return form.

    I think it is intentional because they are a crappy business to deal with.

    That's all I have to say about that!

Peace and Love

stuffed

 I feel like a Thanksgiving turkey right now

    I am stuffed.  Full.  Bloated. Sated.

    I made crepes for supper, with some bacon.

    I love crepes.  I had 4, which is the problem.  I should have stopped at 3, but oh no!  

    I still had bater left and I eyed it for a second before adding water to it to spoil it for future crepes.

    I use a crepes mix from some store.  It is really good.  I have a crepes pan but I no longer have the wooden flipper.  We used it for something and Julia said it was no longer good to use on food, so I threw it out.  I have looked of a replacement, but haven't found one,  so I use a pancake turner.  

    At one point in life we had a friend, Ann, who did crepes parties. The food was amazing.  We had them at church twice, our house a couple of times, and always enjoyed the friends, fellowship, and food.

    She even made them for the fifth graders on year.  The was pretty darn special.

   I have a problem tonight.  (No smarty remarks...I have a problem every night!)

    Beth  is refusing to go out into the rain.  It has been 5 hours and she will not leave the porch.

    I put a coat on her, stood with her out there but she just looked at me.

    Now. that it is snowing,  I thought she might venture out.  She made it to the sidewalk, dressed in her red plaid coat, and looked at me like I was nuts.  She went back on the porch while I stood out in the wet snow calling a not listening dog.

    I guess when she has to go, she'll go.

    I just hope it is not 4 in the morning like it was last night.

    My Vermont friend Luke said he thought the wipe off board was a remarkable invention.

    Go ahead, groan.

Peace and Love

A 30 minute trip

 I was gone over 2 hours today on a 30 minute  errand

    I added a couple of stops and ended up yakking with 4 different people.   I guess I was really chatty today.

    I did have a bit of sticker shock  at the store though.

    I bought some Mac and cheese.  I remembered when you could get 2 boxes for a dollar, today they were $1,24 each!    I have been oblivious to price hikes, but now I am starting to notice them.

    I wanted to buy some 10 inch bungee cords to finish the garland project.  I remember buying a pack of 10 lf those for $5.  Today I spent $7.99 for a pack of 4.  4!!!! I should have passed.

    Bananas seem to be holding steady at about 55 cents  a pound , or so.  I buy them regularly.

    Raspberries were $3 for 6 oz., which is $6 a pound.  Not sure if that is expensive or not.  but those damn things rot so quickly.  

    I might have mentioned this the other night, if I did forgive me.

    Fawlty Towers was a British tv show years ago.  John Cleese played Fawlty, his wife was Prunella Scales, who passed away recently, and Connie Booth was Polly, who was actually married to Cleese in real life.

    There is a live dinner theater version of the show coming to  Chicago featuring actors who play Fawlty, his wife Syble and Manuel, their language challenge helper.  However, the show is called Faulty Towers, I imagine because of trademarks or whatever.

    I was curious and checked out tickets.  $159 a person!!!!  Holy crap.

    It's a 3 person show and I assume it is mostly improv and interacting with the audience.

    Our Exit 99ers  could do a show like that for a much cheaper rate.  And we would be funnier.

    Anyway, if I mentioned it before, forgive me.  I am old and losing my trains of thought .

    Not only that, sometimes I can't even find the station.

Peace and Love

garland, not judy

I hung Christmas garland today 

    I know!  It's early November and I have lights out and garland up!  What the hell is going on?

    I am going to blame the weather.  It is mild now, but that will change pretty soon, I think.

    Speaking of change, I have seen several signs in stores that they will be rounding purchases due to a lack of pennies.

    I also read that one of the problems with pennies is so many people collect them,  I am proposing a National Turn In Your Pennies Day.  If all of us penny savers turned them in, maybe there would not be a shortage.

    Once the pennies are gone, government will have to keep up with inflation and eliminate nickels.  Then dines.  Where will it stop?

    Imagine life with silver dollars and no credit cards.  You'd have to have big pockets to buy a lot of groceries.  Imagine carrying $40 in silver dollars around.......very uncomfortable, especially if you are a man.

    Usually I dis commercials, but there are 2 running right now I just love.  Both by Amazon. The elderly ladies sledding down a hill and the young girl who comes home for the holidays, goes up to her old room and sees her dad on a treadmill.  She buys him some workout shorts.  And the elderly ladies transform into young girls as a Beatles song plays in the background.  Well done, Amazon!

     There is a British department store that runs some of the best  Christmas commercials.  I think one last year was of an elderly gent working out with weights.  Everyone, even his family, thought he was nuts.  But on Christmas he was strong enough to lift his granddaughter up so she could put the angel on the tree.  Google it, if you want to see it.

    Everything is on Google.

    Our morning help was here, so about 9:30 I went to take a quick nap.  Jackie woke me at noon...so getting too sleep tonight might be a struggle.

    But I needed the nap.

Peace and Love

finally

 Just a wish mash of thoughts tonight

    I finally made it to Jonamac  Orchard today.

    I have gone several times every year for apples, cider, doughnuts, caramel apples....you name it.

    But something is weird with me this year.

    I had/have no desire to go, drink cider, or eat a caramel apple.  Don't get me started on the doughnuts tho, I bought a dozen but only 10 made it home. They were still warm!!!    They were  begging to be eaten!

    And the Halloween candy is virtually untouched.  That's 5 days and I have had only 1 Reese's PB cup.

    Christmas lights are on the bushes.  Garland tomorrow, hopefully.

    No nap today.

    Face timed with brother in law Bob and his wife Anita down in Florida.  It's his birthday.  Dry down there, ponds are shrinking, and gators are much more noticeable.

    Julia's dead deer its gone.

    Sixth grade teacher in Indiana gave  6 kids in their class nicotine gum.  All six got sick, one went to the hospital.  Result?  Board moved the kids to a different school.  Insane.

    I wrote a name down to use in my blog.  Don't know why.  Makes no sense.

    Right now I have sweat rolling down my face.  I took my temp but it is only 97.  I am getting hot flashes!  Damn, aging is a blast.

    I am also munching on a piece of apple pie from the orchard.  Nice suggestion, Linda.  Jackie enjoyed her apple thingy too.

Peace and Love

ready....set....

 Christmas lights are ready to go

    Out of all the lights I have, only 2 strings of 50 did not work.

    I was amazed it was only 2.

    And surprised.  When I put lights away last winter I made sure they were dry and working before going into the box.

    The electric gremlins must have gotten to them.

    I placed the lights on top of the bushes with a goal of stringing them tomorrow.  We'll see.

    In other news.....

    Julia got her first deer tonight!

    On Skare Road at the next street over.  Deer walked in front of her car and got hit.  Julia checked it and it was not moving or breathing.

    No damage to her car, but I told her to make a report to the sheriff and to insurance and then take the car in and have it checked.

    The deer ended up in a ditch.  She went to the house at the corner and told them, because they have dogs and Julia was not sure having a dead deer was good for dogs.

    She was going to make calls to see who picks up the an animal. 

    I always tell people, "Watch for deer."  But we were in Rockford.  I think she hit it coming to our house to take Beth for a ride.

    Jackie had an appointment in Rockford and everything went well.  I stopped to buy bird seed and then we went to Portillo's for supper.  I had to spend $ 1 to get a free  sandwich, so I got an Italian beef for free!  The fact it was free made it extra delicious.

    That's all I feel like sharing tonight.

    Hopefully sleep does not elude me, but for some reason I am anxious.

Peace and Love

slow boats

 I put Jackie's jewelry on a slow boat to China

    I can  tell you exactly what will happen.

    The product will not get there, we will not get a refund, and we are out some dough.

    What frustrates me is having  to send the crap back to China when it was shipped from Elk Grove Village, just about 90 miles away.  I should have just driven there and yelled nasty things.

    But, it is done.

    I had to fill out a customs form. 

    I botched the first one because I put the total of the items instead of listing each item separately.

    I botched the second one by writing the wrong numbers in the wrong spaces.

    Form 3?

    Finally, on form 4, I got all the information in the right spots.

    I am in a funk.

    We have a bowl of trick or treat candy left and I have only had 2 pieces!  2!  I did eat a full size candy bar at Emily's, but I just am not being called by the candy.

    Each fall we make a trip to the apple orchard for apples and cider.  I have not gone this year, at all.

    Julia did bring some apples and cider, and we appreciated that, but I have no desire to go myself.

    One positive thing I did:  Key fob on the van had a low battery.  I watched a YouTube video and changed it myself, thus avoiding a high charge from the dealership. It was fairly easy!  I have 2 key fobs, and I replaced both batteries.  I figure it is only a matter of time before the other one is low.

    And that is my life.

Peace and Love

hung over

 And it has nothing to do with alcohol

    Time changes bother me.  Especially the fall one.

    11:30 is now 10:30 to my body, and my body does not go to bed that early.

    Last night I finally drifted off to sleep, but I know it was not early.

    I watched the Bears' game today.  I went from, great they won, to darn they lost, to unbelievable in about a 3 minute span.  Talk about an exciting finale to the game!

    I went to Emily's tonight because her neighborhood did trick or treating today.  They set an hour for kids to roam and collect candy.

    With Emily having dogs, she felt more comfortable with someone else there.

    We. had a table out front and welcomed kids of all ages and costumes.

    She had more kids than we did!  

    Annie even came trick or treating since she was busy Friday night.

    I have 4 goals this week:   trimming a bush, getting out Christmas lights, and organizing 2 areas in the garage.  

    If the weather is warmer that will help with the lights. 

    Although I will be putting them on the bushes, I won't turn them on until after Thanksgiving.

    Now all I have to do tonight is finish this, put Jackie to bed, and take out the dog.

    I am hoping a cup of soothing tea that friend Nadine brought over will help me sleep.

    If not, like the old song goes...".playing solitaire till dawn with a deck of 51" might be on my mind, except I will be on the computer, which never loses cards.

Peace and Love

fun day

 We had a fun day today

    Jackie and I went to a Red Barn Theater production of Annie Jr. that starred our friend Sam!  It was a great show and Sam did a super job as Annie.

    There were about 20 kids in the cast.....it is children's theater.  I think ages were 11-18, but I am not super positive on that.

    The Red Barn is actually a red barn, retrofitted to be a theater.  It seats about 100 people and performances are free with a donation box for those wanting to give.  It's located in the country just east of Sycamore.

    Sam has been in a show there before, but we could not make that one.  I am glad we got to this one.

    Tonight friends came over and we munched and talked a lot about theater days, plays, and life in general.  We laughed, avoided politics for the most part, and caught glimpses of game 7 of the World Series.

    After folks left, we watched the last inning, but the Blue Jays could not pull it off.  Dang it!

    I am pretty tired, but it is only about 10:30.  Wait....folks left at 10:30.  

    What gives?

    Oh.....I changed clocks already.

    Fall back....spring ahead.

    It will take me weeks. to adjust.

Peace an Love