Surprises, Birthdays, Hats, and Rainbows...

Love this pic of a rainbow

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. Lots has been going on here at the home front. Mostly it's everyday "fun" stuff like doctor appts., dental visits, grocery shopping, snow shoveling. (I really hope you can hear my voice dripping with sarcasm. None of this stuff is really viewed as fun.) We manage and it's not all bad. I really enjoy the "gas" at the dentist. (grin) 

The new laptop is great. It's been a little easier to get into using the windows 8 then I thought it would be. I just got brave and click on stuff till I figure out what it is and what it does.. and where it goes..  LOL  I can always back out of scary stuff.. or click No when it asks me if I really want to do that.  

Birthday dinner Celebration... 

We got a surprise visit from our youngest daughter yesterday. She had a coupon for a free Birthday dinner at BD's Mongolian Barbeque. She asked if we'd like to go with her. I've been wanting to try it out. For any of you who don't know, you get a bowl. You then choose a meat, a bunch of veggies, some kind of sauce, (this part was scary for me cause I only recognized terryaki) and spices if you want. Then a guy takes your bowl, dumps it on what looks to be a huge cast iron grinding wheel and cooks it. They use some cool chopping sword looking things. They sing, dance and pretty much show off their culinary talents. 

Hubby and our Sue in her attractive Birthday hat... 

Our waiter let the cooking crew know that it was our Sue's Birthday. One of the guys made her this attractive hat. It was all the rage. We all wanted one. I'm planning on getting one next year. I picked up the form to fill out and get a free birthday dinner. I'm doing that today. 

I have known my husband for 33 years now. I've been married to him for almost 30 of those years. I thought I knew everything about him. Really I've talked to him every day for 33 years. I can tell some of his stories better then he can. I am still reeling from the shock of something new he did yesterday at the celebration dinner. 

First you need to know that he wasn't going to eat anything. he was just going to watch us and see how it went. He changed his mind as soon as we grabbed our bowls. He got his food and headed back to the table. When I got back to the table (mine took longer as your food is cooked in order) he pulled out a set of chopsticks he had gotten while waiting and started eating. I sat there in stunned amazement as did Sue. I never knew he could eat with chopsticks. He was really eating with them. He wasn't doing my "stab it and try to get it to your mouth" eating with chopsticks.. Noooo  he was really eating with them. Just like he did it every day. I was in shock. I told him I never knew he could eat with chopsticks. He laughed. He said " you don't live in an Asian country for a year and not learn how to eat with chopsticks".   I asked if there were any other things I didn't know about him. He just grinned.  That was a little scary. 

We continued our meal. The two hooligans made me try to eat with chopsticks. I know they did it so they could laugh in my face. Sue picked hers up and ate with them too. I'm so jealous. I'm signing up for chopstick lessons as soon as I can find a place. I'm not confident I'll master the technique, but I'm hoping to at least be able to grab something with them. 

I love the colors. 

Lastly I wanted to add a bit about the rainbow pictures I took last week. The sky was still a bit dark from a rain storm that had hit North of us. Suddenly the sun appeared and so did the rainbow. I was so thrilled at how bright the colors were. It was beautiful. I love seeing rainbows. It reminds me of God's promise to us to Never destroy the earth with a flood again. 

The past couple of weeks has been challenging at some points and fun at others. About the time I think my life is terribly boring God reminds me of His Love, His watch care, His promises. He gives me a day full of Surprises, Birthdays, Hats, and Rainbows. 

New Laptop + Windows 8 = 1 Confused Me

I'm so excited !!!  I got a New Laptop for my birthday. A doubly sweet Joy since I have 1. never owned a Laptop, and 2. Never had a new computer. I am overjoyed and totally confused.

I had fully intended to buy a refurbished laptop to make sure I got a Windows 7 operating system and to get the little extras I have always wanted. I just happened to pop in to Staples with a friend and decided to mosey over and check out the laptops.

A hawk eyed employee saw that I was staring longingly at the pretty 17.3 Toshiba. He pounced. He quickly popped up behind me exclaiming in a loud voice " Hey if I took $75 dollars off the price today would you buy it"..   My first instinct was to scream back "YES" I really had to fight off the urge to say that. In a totally calm and cool voice, I very nonchalantly said " I'll have to go home and so some research on it first" . He looked a little disappointed, but then had me follow him to the front checkout where he handed me a coupon good "for a couple of days".

I got home and rushed to look up all the stats on the model I had been admiring. I sent the URL of the page to a few Tech friends who all said it looked great and was a great price. I finally got up the nerve to ask hubby if I could buy it. I've done this numerous times before and the answer has always been an emphatic NO. I prayed about it and asked again. He said " YES"  LOL  I had to ask him twice since I was sure I was just hallucinating. He really said yes. I got up the next morning and hurried down to the Store to get my Laptop. I glanced at the sample machine and realized it was Windows 8.. It looked kind of cool. The Salesman said "hey I think I need to show you one thing. There isn't an x to click to close out of stuff. You have to move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen. When it turns into a hand, you have to left click hold and drag it to the bottom of the screen then release."  I was very thankful he said that.
My friend Cindy showed me how to turn it on. I had to find a youTube video to figure out how to shut it down.

I have spent 2 days watching instructional video's on YouTube. I am totally confused. Some of the videos I've watched twice. LOL  I feel a little more familiar with it now. I've made pages of notes. I was thrilled to find a series of video's that also showed me how to use a program to return the traditional start button and programs to the old familiar way I've always known them.

I really like the start page, the rolling tiles, the apps.. They have made this Operating System one that will work the same on any device you own, laptop, desktop, tablet, and phone. I really do think I'll like it once I can figure it all out and I'm comfortable with it. Right now it feels really scary and confusing. Kind of the same way I felt when I got my first desktop. Thinking I would probably blow it up in the first 20 minutes.

I'm excited to get a router and the Wi-Fi. I'm looking forward to taking my computer around the house and on vacation. Even into the backyard and the lawn chair. I'll keep the old desktop till she finally goes. She is on her last leg. I can't get her to reboot if I turn her off. I'm hoping she will keep chugging along for a while till I get use to the new system and how it works.

So today I'm ready to learn some new things. I'm confused and my head is spinning a bit but it's still exciting.
I can't wait to venture out into "app world".. I think I'm going to like it.  

Oh My Time To Ketch-up....

Wow.. It's almost the end and Feb. and I haven't blogged a single thing since Jan. 10th. Yep, you guessed it, My life is really boring. I will Ketch you Up   :-) 

 1. This has been the weirdest winter I can remember. 6 inches of snow one day, 3 days later so warm it all melts. We really haven't had much in the way of snow here, but it's been a lot colder. 

2. The squirrels are doing well. They have a routine set up. They come in for breakfast about 9 ish. The birds stop by on and off throughout the day. Scrappy and Scruffy squirrel have grown back all their fur. They're still a little skinny, but seem to be doing great. Tank (the humongous squirrel) seems to have lost a little bit of weight, I'm guessing he is trying to get in shape for the coming spring. 

3. Husband is having a bit of a time with his Diabetes. His sugar has started running high. He's been following the Diabetic exchange diet closely and has upped his dosage of insulin and started taking two shots a day. It looks like he will have to change to regular insulin and take more shots. He was hoping to avoid that. We'll just have to see what the Dr. says next week. 

4. Husband had a "pimple gone bad" aka: a pre-cancerous place on his lip. We were very happy to discover it was NOT cancer. the treatment was done and he's good to go. 

5. We are planning the garden. I'm hoping to get a raised bed made for some carrots and onions. 

6. Our great grandson A. will be celebrating his first birthday March 4th. It doesn't seem possible that he will be one soon. Wow time flies. 

7. I am keeping up with the picture "out my kitchen window" taking the photo once a week works much better. 

8. I actually sat down and read a book this past week. Stephen King's "The Dome". I thought it was going to be a summer movie, but I see now that it will be premiering on CBS as a 13 week show called "Under the Dome"  you can read more info. here..  The book was good. I hope the show is good too. 

That's all the excitement I can think of now. I'm ready for Spring. I heard from a friend in Ky. that the Easter flowers are starting to bloom. I'm ready to see some green and those bright beautiful flowers of spring. 

I'm ready for warm breezes and sitting outside in the swing. I'm ready to open windows and air out the house. I'm ready spring. I know it's only Feb. but I don't mind if you hurry your entrance up a bit. 

I'm Thinking...

I'm Thinking... I'm Thinking that the "photo a day" thing is cool, but not very practical for me. Two Old older people are just not that exciting. When I caught myself taking photos of my Chili cooking in the pot I knew something had to change. 

I really like Cousin Sharyn's way of taking photos and making a week with them. So I'm thinking I can do a few photos a week and make a month page out of them. Wow I'm smart. So all those photos I take every day can be weeded down into a couple or a few from each week and then the best most interesting ones *COUGH *COUGH uh the ones that strike my fancy, can be put in a cute little scrapbook. Voila. a wonderful way to make memories of the Year. 

I'm sure there will be fab. photos of all the graduation festivities. There should be some great photos of any vacations, visits, the garden, canning, Holidays, Birthday Celebrations, my clean back porch, etc. That will work for me. I even have a place this summer where I can put up a real table and sit and work on creating some things.

 I have a couple of scrapbooks I'd like to make for the grandkids that are graduating. I'm not sure I'll get them done before that, but hopefully I'll get them finished before they get married. I won't tell you how I'm still working planning on finishing Sue's Quilt for Graduation. *cough.. her son is one that is graduating so I'm not thinking I'll get to her quilt any time soon. As a matter of fact I think I may have sold, oh my Yes I did, sold the material and stuff. Well a nice new tied fleece blanket for her 50th Birthday will be just fine. If I shoot for her 50th I should probably most likely get it done. 

This Is Kind Of Fun..

Otis Jan. 4th. 

I didn't sleep well last night so I was up at 5:00 am. Unheard of if you are retired. I watched a couple of TV shows and laid back down around 7ish. I woke up it was almost 9:30.. horrifying. My wildlife crew were waiting for me. I'm usually out and have filled up the feeders and bowls by 8:30. 

Otis is a funny thing. He isn't as hungry as scruffy and scrappy. He decided this morning to take the peanuts and bury them in the snow. I tried to snap a few photos of that but with the digital and the time delay I just couldn't manage it. It was funny to see him bury each one in the snow, then sit and wipe off his face. I never realized until the last few weeks how much squirrels wipe their faces. They use both front paws/hands and rub from front to back several times. LOL Almost as though they are slicking back their hair. Hmmm maybe they are.. anyway. Otis spent his peanut time burying them. 

Scrappy Jan 4th

On the other hand, Scrappy, ate everything he found. If you look closely you will see that Scrappy is missing some fur. The fur around his back end is longer. Scruffy has no hair except for tufts here and there and his tail. At first we were concerned this was mange. Nasty and very contagious. When I realized that Scruffy was not the only squirrel with the condition it really made us concerned. I was hoping for a severe flea infestation, and only for the reason that with the cold the fleas would die and the squirrels would get back their coats and be normal looking again. The hair seems to be growing back well. So we are hoping Scruffy's is also. I've not seen him for a day or so. He is smaller then the other squirrels and they chase him constantly. I wish I could make him a little squirrel sweater so he would be warm. I know, I just think stuff like that sometimes. I'm hoping to see him later today. He shows up after the other squirrels leave. 

This is Tank.. 

As you can see Tank has ample fat supplies for this winter. He was the first squirrel I saw at our feeders. I haven't seen him lately. I think because he's so fat he can't waddle over here through the snow. I took this photo of him in Nov. I'm not worried about him a bit. He fits right in with this family for sure. 

I think I see Milo, Otis' brother/maybe sister, he is a tail waver. His tail waves a mile a minute. I'm sure it's some kind of communication system. I know squirrels will chatter at you when you tick them off, or irritate them. Milo seems to be irritated a lot. He may be the main guard squirrel. 

Hmmm I've been watching "Amish Mafia" I wonder if there is a Squirrel Mafia.. Tank is the head guy, then Milo and Otis are the security team. Leaving Scruffy and Scrappy to keep other intruding squirrels away from the peanuts. LOL  I'll leave that all for you to mull over. Squirrel Mafia or Not, I really enjoy watching all the birds and squirrels come in and enjoy the snack. I know Scruffy sits and eats till it's all gone. He is so hungry. I'm glad we decided to feed them this year. You may want to make one of your "photo A Day" ideas some of your local wildlife. Family pets, birds, livestock. all would make a great project for a week or a month of photos. It's great fun and relaxing to watch them too. Hope you have fun and relax today too.. 

I'm Going Try This.. Photo A Day

Out My Kitchen Window... Jan 1, 2013

I've been following my Cousin Sharyn's Blog for a couple of years now. She is a wonderfully creative mom. If you check out her blog you'll see that she not only scrapbooks, but she designs pages and cards and even has online classes from time to time. She also is a very talented photographer (exclusively for her own family these days) Each year she takes us through the latest scrapping/photo project. I have noticed the last couple of years she along with another one or two of my friends have done a "photo a day" project. I've decided to give it a whirl. 

Now if you are laughing, believe me I am rolling. I really can't imagine what in the world I could possibly photograph about my life that even my own family would want to sit and look through. Then I thought "I'd like to see what my year looks like in photos". that was all the encouragement I needed. 

The photo above is really "out my kitchen window".. I thought taking a weekly photo here would be kind of fun. I would love to see all the seasons through my kitchen window. I was going to try the photo a day thing out the window, but that would even bore me to tears. 

Squirrel-Lee Jr. Jan 3, 2013

I was trying to think of a few things that might work for a daily photo. LOL Jan 2nd photo was of our "spit up bowl" and a bottle of Vernor's ginger ale. Hubby was sick. I'm not sure how interesting that really is, so I have spared you that photo..  LOL   Squirrel-Lee is one of about 6-8 squirrels that are feeding in our back yard this winter. I have placed a hanging bird feeder, suet feeder, and assorted Tupperware bowls around our back patio so I can watch the birds and squirrels eat. It's a great show. 

My computer faces a huge window (It use to be the back of the house, then hubby built a back porch on) directly at the back of the porch is another window, so I have a straight shot to looking out back. If I squirm around in my seat just right, I can see most of our back yard. kind of cool. Hubby was concerned about the lack of nuts and the extremely dry summer and our squirrel friends surviving the winter. SO we have purchased bird seed, squirrel feed, black oiler sunflower seeds, and peanuts. Each morning I fill all the feeders and pans and spend the day watching all our wild neighbors make their way to our patio for a snack, or Meal. 

I'm hoping the activity in the back yard will keep the "photo a day" interesting. I wish all this kind of stuff had been known to me when we had the kid at home. Now that would have been a hoot photographing her every day. Our days are not nearly as exciting as they once were. 

You may want to give this idea a whirl with your family. Cousin Sharyn has great ideas on her blog. She has 4 kids and a husband. plenty of fodder for photos. Lucky her. I'm following this bunch http://www.peasandcarrotsstudio.com/  I found them on Pinterest. They are sending emails to help make suggestions about what and when to photograph. They are on facebook too. I'm sure if you google Photo a day or something similar you can find a place to start too.. As for me. I'm hoping Scruffy stops by early tomorrow. He is our scruffy looking squirrel. A real cutie. I would love to hear his story. 

If you hang out with me drop by. I may need your picture to make my "photo" for that day.  :-) 

Celebrating The New Year With A Cheesecake Toast...

The girls and our Cheesecake toast to the New Year... 

The girls surprised us and came over to celebrate New Years day with us. Susan brought her Beau T. 

We met T. late last summer when they stopped by the "Hoard Sale". I would have liked to have heard that conversation. "Uh T. how about we stop by and meet my parents. They are having a huge Hoard Sale"  I have to give the man kudos he had guts enough to meet people who would need to have a Hoard sale. T. joined us for Christmas. He fits right in. I knew he would. When I asked for a photo of him and Sue he did a quick "let me fix my hair".. then did a head flippy thing. He's in. I'll say just between you and I. He is wonderful. Not wonderful because he's witty, or has a great personality or because he has a great sense of humor. Nope He's wonderful because he treats our daughter like a queen. I like that. I'm hoping there will be some fun things to write about T. as this year unfolds. 

This past year has been great and difficult for our girls and our family. Their Daddy was diagnosed with Prostrate cancer. Their mom was diagnosed with advanced and untreatable Uterine cancer and passed away 7 days later. We welcomed our first great grandson into the world as we watched our oldest become a new grandmother. She has taken to the role well. We have seen our oldest grandson become a wonderful father and provider. I've watched our granddaughter come into her own as she prepares to graduate this year. With a bit of longing I've wished for a bit more time with our grandchildren as children.. but when our Tim turned 18 I see that I'm getting more use to the thought of all our grands being adults. Our youngest grandson Matt is taller then me now. He's also driving. I'm gonna hang on to his teen years pretty hard. sorry dude. It's a grandma thing. 

So us women stood in the kitchen and toasted this year with slices of cheesecake in hand. 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming graduations Tim and Marisa I can't wait to mark those special days. Tim told me about his hopes after graduation to give time to Mission work overseas. Marisa is looking into Collages and possibly work in the medical field. We are looking forward to Jon coming up for a visit around graduation time. I'm hoping for a New Family photo it's been way to long since we've all been together at the same time, so that is definitely one of my plans. I'm hearing of engagements so I know there shall be weddings and births to celebrate. I'm hoping for a chance to visit our place in Ky. I am anxious to see our friends there, and I long to just sit on my front porch and look out over God's beautiful hills and quiet my soul. Ky. has a hold over my heart and I feel the need to be there and be quiet. 

So with cheesecake in hand we toasted the new year. We look forward to it and all it holds. We are all old enough now to know that it may hold a few tears and possibly some loss. But we also know it will hold joy and laughter. We all know that together as a family and with God, we can face anything. 

We wish you and your family a New Year full of Love, Joy, Laughter, and Family....