Saturday, January 2, 2010

Neccked, you say ?!

Jane, I don't want to scare the dogs, now, do I. The best way to loose weight is to buy a full-length mirror !

Wonderful picture of four good-looking kids. That's bragable, Grandma.

We are expecting a storm through southern Ontario today but so far, so good. No snow at 6:54 a.m.

Discipline in all things. Discipline in cleaning up my studio; discipline in the foods I eat; discipline to drink as much water as I should (which I dislike and make herbal teas and drink them cold to get fluids); discipline in the matters of my mind. This is my goal for January. I feel the need of my mother's presence, who, when I needed a good boot to the backside, was always only too glad to apply it.

Rosey

Friday, January 1, 2010

HERE THEY ARE - FINALLY

Why oh why do I leave out a step when uploading an image and have to back track and figure it out all over again. Maybe I should just post a picture with each post for a few times to get the procedure into my head. Finally got the cropped image without the card greeting. They are all top notch students and have their grandmother thinking they are just about perfect. The picture was taken at new DSIL's house in CA when the two families got together for a get acquainted visit before the wedding. DSIL's very funny DB took the shot and it's a great one.

Now you can see what I mean when I identify DGD as age 14 going on 20.

Jane bound for the sack. Trying to get back into the habit of going to bed and getting up early enough to get the chores done along with some exercise and back to the wedding quilt. I'll try to post a wedding picture but lack the patience to do it now.

Jane

HERE I GO AGAIN

I just spent about half an hour posting a response to Rosey and adding a note about my DD#1 and her three wonderful kids. I had trouble uploading the picture of the Christmas card and ended up losing the whole thing so here goes again.

Yes Rosey, I accept the challenge. First weigh in naked tomorrow AM and in a week another. I say naked because we need to keep the weight of attire constant for a genuine measurement. I challenge as many of our friends here on the board to do likewise. Even if, like me, 5 pounds is just a start, it's an important morale building milestone. My big problem is portion control.

I'm going to post again along with the picture of my grands if I can remember how I managed to do it a few minutes ago.

Jane

I had nothing but soft and bubbly

today when I was out but the typos are really terrific in my post below...sorry about that.

Rosey

The Gauntlet

Well, Jane, shall we throw the gauntlet down as to who looses the first five pounds of 2010??!

I've just finished up my container of Very Very Vanilla Rice Dream Ice Cream desert topped with my 71% dark chocolate chipped over top. I've nearly finished my hummus and seaweed cracker...both of these items I don't need...the sweets in one; salt in the other. I'm planning on not eating them for awhile. I need to get back to less eating.

Marion, my how beautiful New Zealand is. And a picnic from the boot of the car. What could be better.

Doris, thank you. You've relieved my curiosity about Sherlock Holmes...so I guess I'll still with "It's Complicated" as being one of the better movies out right now. I cannot believe that 'they' are even suggesting that George Clooney might be up for an Oscar for his performance in "Up in the Air"...what nonsense. The only good thing about that movie was looking at him. He could have put his shoes under my bed any day when I was younger but I wonder at his track record...all these women, not one sticking it out with him, does he discard them or are they a beard for a different kind of whatever. Just wondering.

So, I'll waddle back to the kitchen. A party next door, our one big event for the year, this afternoon produced some eye candy for me...the skinniest, attractive older woman..well, in her fifties...from the city. I looked at what these city women were wearing (I was one myself once but never that thin or glamorous) and thought...well, I'm quite the country bumpkin but I was wearing my Gudrun Sjoden cambric lined pants and my Gudrun Sjoden double lined polka dot sox. And, they never even asked. There I was, my clothes from Sweden, all the way to the country in Canada and they didn't even notice...lol. Don't think they were even remotely interested either. These women were very sophisticated looking.

So there you are. I can't get into most of my pants, Jane...so, how about it? Do you think we can be honest with each other here??

Rosey

New year's day

Welp… here I am again, 3 days in a row. A record. (LOL) Happy New Year to everyone. I loved the DUG photos from New Zealand. How nice to see sunny skies and warm weather. It gives me hope that our summer will return. ;o)
It’s brutally cold here. 23° F right now, with wind chill factor of 12°, and Sophie just does not understand why I won’t take her for a 2 mile walk in it. Ha!

AT THE MOOOVIES --- DH and I went to the movies last night with friends and saw the Sherlock Holmes movie with Robt. Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Don’t waste your money or time. Their target audience is not my/our generation (50+). Entirely too much violence, to put it mildly, and overdone special effects. Even the three men in our group agreed. Can we just have a good old fashioned movie, please?

Jean in VT – moving your sewing room…..Ack. I’ve been threatening to do the same for a few years, and I finally need more space. The move is on the same level in the house, but so… much … stuff …. Once I get the furniture layout worked out, I’ll proceed.

Hugs to everyone, and keep warm!

New Years Day...


And here we are enjoying our picnic ! It was hot and windy up on the hills, but we had sweeping views of the Canterbury Plains and it was a good place to be. Our friends (centre and left..) hadn't been up there for years, although the Summit Road is only half an hour from where they live ! We had a good day and returned home feeling tired and windswept !
Had an unexpected visit from other friends this evening. They were out and about and decided to check on us. We exchange Christmas cards each year but rarely take the opportunity to visit, so it was good to see them both. The husband worked for us on the farm, when he was a fresh faced boy...he tells us that he is now 54 ! How can that be ?
Time for bed.
All the best.
Marion.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

NEAR BEDTIME

Here it is, 8:30 PM and I'm beginning to think about heading for the sack when I finish posting here. I'm already in my jammies. Gad what a wild New Year's Eve I'm having. With the exception of last year when DB and I got involved in a long chatty telephone call, I can't remember the last time I saw the new year in. I'm just thankful to wake up to discover that I'm still here after so many New Year Days. Rosey, I hear you about the sloppy kisses. That's one reason why I've never cared for New Year parties. It's just a license for the more obnoxious members of the opposite sex to behave abominably toward the ladies and we have been dumb enough allow it. A peck on the cheek conveys good will and that's plenty.

I doubt if any of you have much on me in the dog hair department. Of course, with three Aussies you probably win the sweepstakes Rosey. I keep Shadow's coat trimmed fairly close. It doesn't make her stop shedding but the vegetable matter and such that attaches itself to a long coat is at least diminished thereby. Since she's indoors most of the time she doesn't need much to keep warm. We had a spaniel mix years ago in FL (Brittany/English springer) when the kids were little. She had a very soft puppy type coat all her life and I swore to others that there was dog hair on my soul. Once, while setting the table for dinner guests I pulled the butter dish out of the fridge and lo and behold there were several dog hairs in the butter. Her hair would just float around in the air when she shook or there was the slightest breeze. She was my special friend though so I never complained about it.

Glad to hear you NZ dugs survived and we in the northern hemisphere will too if our luck holds. I still wonder why we never hear from Tenneh on the MT.

I have a mail order prescription plan through Honeywell, where DH worked. It is administered by Medco and I haven't had any of the hassles you ladies refer to. They notify me on line when it's time to refill and I just push a button and my credit card is charged the co-pay and the meds arrive in 3-4 days barring blizzards and Christmas. All my scrips are for 90 days' dosage per refill and at the end of 4 refills I get another written scrip from doc and mail it in. My doc says their faxes seem to get lost in the shuffle (not just Medco) and she got tired of having to deal with the snafus frantic patients call about hence the written scrips. She reviews all the meds twice a year with me to see what will run out withing 6 months and writes the new ones on the spot. That's the only thing I like about the medical care I'm getting these days. I'll vent about that another time. Lack of primary physicians is the problem and all the congressional thrashing around and $$ that we don't have that are soon to be committed Congress has done, no effort to to encourage an increase in the number of med students who opt for primary care has been offered as far as I know.

Alright, ladies. Listen up! Jane is going to get rid of 35 pounds this year if I have to resort to liposuction. I've been fooling with Weight Watchers for months now and just managing to hold my own. I went to the store today and bought asparagus, romaine, baby spinach, organic carrots, green and red peppers, crook neck and zucchini squash, some Chilean blue berries, FL strawberries (it's early for FL strawberries but that's what the label said and they had good color which is lacking in the CA berries which always lack flavor) grapes and bananas all for salads or just picking. There is a butternut squash in the fridge as well. Unfortunately the local fresh fish guy managed to tear a retina when something he was doing with wood splintered so his little shop which normally opens part time 3 days a week is shut down until the ophthalmologist lets him get up and move around. His stuff is wonderful and very pricey but worth every penny. The customers get an email on each Wednesday listing what he will have Th, F and Sat. You can call ahead and have him set something aside.

It's time for me to retire with the local weekly newspaper which isn't worth wrapping fish in and after perusing that for ten minutes or so I will nod off. Restless leg's been a problem recently so I have to make sure I take the medication by 5. It takes a few hours it seems to me to kick in effectively. Otherwise I'm up taking some more than I can't haul myself out of bed at a reasonable time in the morning.

Love to all, and to all - goodnight.
Jane

Happy New Year everyone! In years past I used to post that I was spending New Year's Day cleaning up my sewing room, which at one time prompted a spurt of copy-cat (smile) cleaning across the board. Well, this year I am moving my sewing room, which is an event that, had I realized the extent of the job, should have put terror in my bones. Instead, blissfully thinking of how I will finally get out of my closet-sized room in the basement into a lovely room on the first floor with a huge closet now that DS has moved out, I've been gleefully anticipating this--until I started moving my stash upstairs. Yikes! How did I ever cram that much fabric into such a tiny room?? I have lost track of the number of trips I have made up the stairs, and I'm not finished yet.

Add to that the fact that DS has not taken his large computer desk yet and another large item from the closet, and I can't quite set up my new sewing room yet. But I'm getting there!! I hope to spend New Year's Day cleaning and organizing (read: playing with fabric). I can hardly wait to have some space to sew! I have spent almost no time in my sewing room this past year between having to work fulltime and having so little room to move in there. My hope is that 2010 will see me doing a lot more sewing/quilting once my room is only steps away from the kitchen. Hmmm...that sounds like a good New Year's resolution to me, to sew more. It sure beats losing weight, which is another one I keep "meaning" to make...

Again, Happy New Year, and may all your seams be straight.

Jean in VT, where we may get up to a foot of snow over the course of this 3-day weekend

Here's to a happy 2010....

I see that Bee has beaten me to it. ! It's a lovely sunny morning here and we are off for a picnic lunch with friends, on the hills around Christchurch.. a good way to start the year. For the first time for many years we did manage to stay awake until midnight ! We were with friends and it was a glorious evening , warm temperatures, no wind , clear sky and full moon... We were sitting outside until the midnight hour..

We enjoyed our stay with the family in Auckland and returned late on Tuesday night. They arrived down here yesterday and will be staying at a beach house, an hour away from here. It's nice to have them back in the South Island, if only for two weeks....

It's a time to reflect over the happenings of the last year and the hopes for this new one... A lot of us are at the age when we it would be wise to make the most of each day.. if I made resolutions, that would be mine !

All the best.
Marion.

Happy New Year!

I'm just checking in on this drippy New Year's Eve to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year.
I have accomplished nothing quilty this year, so my goal is to spend at least an hour a week on quilting. My nephew did ask for a Bible cover, which I turned out in less than an hour, but it was not quilted.
Laura in Alabama

A Happy New Year

to all my friends and wishing you a great 2010. We made it to midnight because we knew we would get at least 2 phone calls from our dear ????? boys. I think they hope they will wake us up and on principle I won't let them win. I know my posts are very disjointed but this is the way I speak if I don't say things while I remember I completely forget until after I post .Doris re hair , I have to keep different clothes to wear out as I can never rely on my inside ones to be hair free. Put those fabric softeners in the dryer, make a real difference. As for carpets I have a very large rug which I can put on the deck and rub over with a sponge. Even then I swear I will give our lot away. The dog and cats are all brushed every day which helps a lot . Harry has to have blood tests every week and I always panic when the nurse wearing black , of course, kneels on the rug to take his blood.I feel I should go after her and brush her down. Fires in Perth. our news said 37 houses. This is one reason why we live in NZ. Last year we sent boxes of quilting bits and pieces to Aussie and I will start collecting again . We didn't send big pieces of fabric but all the little bits which take so long to collect plus rulers etc. I don't know what I would do if I was to lose all my fabric, it is part of me.I have made one NYR this year and that is to post every week . Hugs to all Bee in NZ

New Year's Eve

Well, I made it back,,, two days in a row!

Sara in FL - this is one reason I don't do mail-order meds. They can get lost in the mail, etc. Once, a local tenant's rent was late coming to us. She always mailed the rent check to our home, a mile away. That check took a couple weeks to arrive, even had a Wyoming postmark on it, before it came back to Tennessee.

Rosey P. - What can I say? When it rains, it pours. Dog hair is still the biggest shock to me with Sophie, after 16 years of a Shih Tzu and no hair anywhere. LOL I'm now keeping the lint-roller companies in business. I had forgotten how much hair one Aussie can put out, not to mention a 20-lb spaniel.

And One Other Thing...

For heaven's sakes, my clapper Santa Claus went off at 5:59 a.m. this morning and no-one was in the room to set it off...now doesn't that beat all. Here I am awake because of some darned Santa Claus in my living room beneath my bedroom waking up to "I wish you a Merry Christma, I wish you a Merry Christmas...."

Dosen't that beat all ! I'm going to stuff the Santa Claus. He gets turned off for another year.

Rosey

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Must be somethin' in the air, Sara

I've just been talking to my friend, Margaret, as I do everynight at 9 pm. She's a widow, we check in on each other every day. She is also a pharmacy tech in a Shopper's Drug Mart...our big pharma here in Canada. She calls the doctor's offices to confirm prescriptions, she gets the prescriptions out to patients with a driving service that isn't doing the job so she's swearing at them and the owner is hiding from Margaret because she's a terrier. She's tearing her hair out at that end of the pharmceutical business. Must be something in the air, Sara, driving everyone crazy in that business. She has been ranting and raving because customers were told to get their prescriptions filled by their doctors before the doctors went off for the week between Christmas and New Years, which many did not and are now yelling at the techs behind the counter saying they are going to report them because they can't fill their prescriptions and they NEED them...Tomorrow is Seniors Day at Shoppers...knickers are 20% off...stacks of Seniors diapers are lined up waiting for their monthly supply...and Margaret by 6 pm on New Year's Eve will be spending it flat out on her back, totally wiped. Just thought it might take your mind off the aggravations you're dealing with, Sara. I can't imagine customers yelling at the people working in a pharmacy but apparently they do.

And for heaven's sakes, I have mosquitoes flying around the house. And my vacuum cleaner went t*ts up...third motor in 15 years of having Australian Shepherds in the house. I have guests tomorrow and am down on my hands and knees vacuuming with one of those hand held jobbies that sucked the fringes of my rugs into the machine and wouldn't let go...like a darned terrier...and now the revolving bar with the hairs on it won't turn. And what else is happening around here besides the usual ups and downs with certain family members...oh yes, Ceilidh isn't well...that's my heart-dog, Aussie. Up two nights in a row with her having the trots...poor soul. She's on vet meds now and I will rejoice when I see one solid poop from her...and oh, yes, I have two couples coming for bed and breakfast tomorrow...New Year's Eve. They arrive at 1 pm.

I have treated myself to one container of Very Very Vanilla Rice Dream Ice Cream; one 71% Dark chocolate Camino bar which I plan to chip up and place on top of the Vanilla Rice Dream and a container of garlic hummus and seaweek crackers..that plus a nice glass of cognac over ice...and no slobbery New Years kisses except from my dogs and I'm all set. That and a tummy full of gas and I'll see the New Year in in my sleep.

Rosey

Sorry to rant and rave so much

OK, I'm sorry to rant and rave so much about a business we are having trouble with.
Between the Dr's nurse who calls and says-This is Dr's so & so returning your call. And the pharmacy not doing what they said they would I was pulling my hair out.
DH spent an hour at Dr's office this morning, got nurse to talk to pharmacy, got a 5 day RX to fill locally and hopefully all is well for the next 5 days.
What I ment to say was, this is a private, for profit company, they have a failure to comunicate with Dr's office, and since it is a mail order it takes extra days. The insurance company (part of the Blue Cross family) wants their people to use this pharmacy to save $.
It's sort of like a computer. When it works it's fine. When it doesn't work you want to throw a brick at it.
I hope everyone has a great New Year's.
Sara in Fla.

New Year's Eve eve

I'll wish everyone a Happy New Year before I forget. Last week, on Xmas eve morning, I emailed my sister to make sure she was bringing the chocolate cake for Xmas dinner dessert. She emailed back that she hadn't made one yet, because they had not been invited. AAAAAaaaaccccck! I thought I had invited them already, just knew I had, and most likely dreamed it instead. Talk about your senior moments. (rolls eyes)

Our son and his wife were here for 5 nights/4 days, and we had a wonderful time with them last week. Sophie was okay with the Xmas tree and all the prezzies, and felt no need to guard us from them nor attack them. LOL She loves the deer antler that Santa brought her, and has been chewing on it every day.

Weather here is cold! It's really normal winter weather, but we Southerners get tired of it quickly. This coming weekend, lows are to be in the high teens or low twenties. The wind has been awful for the past week or two, and I don't know how much longer this is supposed to last.

Just saw on the news about the fires in Perth, Australia. How frightening. They didn't say if homes were involved. I hope not.

No other news, must get something done around the house today, so off I go.
Hugs to everyone!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Best of the Season!

I popped in to see how everyone is doing and got sidetracked by Sara's post. :)

We have been having a very nice holiday season here and I am hoping that you all can say the same. My sewing group met this morning and one of the ladies brought a little treat to help us celebrate -- home made blackberry liqueur served in tiny chocolate cups! Wow!

Now I just have to figure out a menu for my big family dinner on New Year's Day and then I can play/read/shop/sew or whatever until it is time to get ready for that annual event. Life is good!

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

Jean

Just Venting

Whoever thinks that govt. run health care in the US will be a good thing has't run into problems with private mail order RX companies. I have been trying to get my DH's scrips for him , phone calls to Dr. phone calls to parmacy, "We sent a fax" maybe they didn't get it. Call 800 numbers, waiting for return phone calls. Etc. Etc. The moral is don't every get sick, or need any meds.
The only good side is that in 30 days DH will not have to take all this med. since he has gotten the OK from the infectious disease Dr.
I don't take any med. for BP, but if I did the BP would sure be up now.
--The funny side of this-- if there is one. I bought myself a Journal for 2010 to write all my deep thoughs (?) in. It is called a Serenity Journal. Maybe I should read some of the headings-"Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardships as the pathway to peace" Argh! OK, maybe a little bubble bath, and then a little retail therapy would help.
Hope all of you are staying warm.
Sara in Fla.
P.S. JANE- I didn't notice the mop in the picture, had to go back a second time and look.
Love the pic. of the snow covered trees, I just don't want to experience it first hand. Burrrr.