Currently...

... cozy and warm, snuggled under a throw with the laptop, fuzzy socks in place, and Oliver perched behind my head keeping watch over things. I have survived Monday. It was so terribly hard to get up and go to work like a good, responsible adult this morning after 5 lovely days off.

... 32 degrees, cloudy, and still. The calm before the storm as we await the arrival of the season's first snow storm. The white stuff is to blow in around 3:00 tomorrow morning and keep falling until after lunch. Anticipated snowfall 3-5 inches.

... waiting for my next book club read to arrive. We chose something shorter to appease our youngest member...and to give ourselves a break through the holidays. It will be a re-read for me, S.E. Hinton's That Was Then, This Is Now.

... half watching old episodes of Murder, She Wrote on Prime.

... I'm in full-blown Christmas music mode. I choose it at home and in the car. At work it's all there is until the 26th.

... procrastinating like a pro. The tree is up, but I'm putting off decorating it until tomorrow. Stacks of boxes are staring at me. I can hear the judgmental tsk, tsk from within.

... trying not to think about tomorrow's appointment with my gyno. I've had a few small issues and called last week. I was immediately scheduled for an ultrasound. Tomorrow I find out if they saw anything and possibly have to face an on-sight biopsy. It is anything but calming that Tim insists on meeting me there.

... celebrating that the big Poplar tree that overshadowed the pool and most of the backyard (and loomed over part of the house and shed) is finally gone. The company we spoke to after the fiasco last month showed up at 8:00 the day after Thanksgiving and the tree was down by 10:00.

... giggling at

Saturday 9: Thank You Girl

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Who were you talking to the last time you said, "thank you?"  My husband. I thanked him for several things after he got home from work and before he went to bed.

2) Paul McCartney recalls that "Thank You Girl" was inspired by all the female fans who had written them fan letters, pledging undying love. Have you ever written a fan letter? If yes, did you receive a response?  I do remember writing to Donny Osmond. I think I got a form letter back and a photo with a fake autograph.

3) Recording engineer Geoff Emerick remembered that John Lennon was easily winded while recording this song. John had a bad cold and went back to bed when they were done for the day. We're in cold/flu season right now. How are you feeling?  Good, but I am just getting over a mild bug that had me feeling congested for most of the week.

4) "Thank You Girl" is this week's song because November 27 was Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for this year?  For starters, I'm thankful I wasn't sick for Thanksgiving this year. Last year I was down with a nasty intestinal thing. In addition to that, I'm thankful for my family and friends, my job, the fun and success my daughter and I have had making crafts and selling them, and all the work we've been having done on the house (new porch, new shower, and the big tree in the back was finally cut down today). 

5) While the big meal is referred to as Thanksgiving dinner, most Americans enjoy it earlier than they usually serve dinner. 3:00 PM is the most popular time for the holiday feast. When did you have dinner on Thursday?  We were supposed to eat at 1:00, but it ended up being 2:00 before we sat down because the turkey took longer to cook than expected.

6) Cranberry sauce has been a Thanksgiving staple since the late 1800s. Was it on your menu this year?  My mom always makes...I'm not sure what it is, but it has chopped cranberries and oranges in it. Mom and John are the only ones that eat it. The rest of the family hates cranberries. I'm not a big fan, but I do like a little of the jellied stuff on a sandwich of leftovers.

7) The Thanksgiving Turducken is said to have originated in New Orleans. Chef Paul Prudhomme is often cited as the first to stuff a deboned chicken into a deboned duck into a deboned turkey. Prudhomme's recipe has more than 85 individual steps and takes a full day to prepare. Did you face any challenges while cooking your Thursday dinner?  Only that the turkey cooked a lot longer than I'd anticipated before the little timer button popped.

8) Leftovers are popular after Thanksgiving, especially turkey sandwiches. Some cooks recommend serving cold, sliced turkey on wheat bread, but white bread, pitas and flatbread are also popular. When you head into the kitchen to make a sandwich, what's your go-to bread?  Potato bread or potato rolls.

9) The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season and sales. Black Friday got its name in Philadelphia back in the 1950s to describe the traffic clogging both highways and side streets as consumers raced out in search of bargains. When is the last time you were stuck in traffic?  I don't have any idea. We don't really have traffic jams around here.

 Thanks to Sam for the music and questions!

Play along here.

Ten Things Tuesday

1. Today was my last day of work. I'm off. I'm free...until next Monday.

2. Today's high temperature was 55 degrees and it rained all day.

3. The high temperature on Thanksgiving is supposed to be 33 degrees.

4. I'm watching my favorite holiday comedy tonight, Home for the Holidays.

5. Tomorrow I'm cleaning and cooking as many of the side dishes for Thanksgiving as I can. I am determined to have a relaxed holiday and enjoy the time with family rather than being a slave to the kitchen.

6. The missing remote for the electric fireplace was found...in a bag of books donated to a friend's church store.

7. The new shower is amazing!

8. Our son-in-law's father has been sick for at least 3 weeks. His wife finally took him to the doctor's today. So far it looks like he has pneumonia and maybe something wrong with his heart. Why are men so stubborn about going to the doctor?

9. This is my favorite time of year. My favorite holiday.

10. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

Saturday 9: Lady in Red

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) Is red a color you often wear?  I used to wear it quite a bit, but not so much these days.

 

2) In this song, Chris De Burgh is thrilled to be dancing with the woman he loves. Do you recall what was playing the last time you stepped onto the dance floor?  Unless you count the daily "get up and move" times with the clients at work, I don't even remember when I last danced "for real."

 

3) Chris says he wrote this song about the first time he saw his future wife, who wore a red dress when she came to see his band perform. Tell us about a memorable concert going experience.  That would be when I had VIP tickets to see Toby Keith. Our seats were the middle of the front row and the stage was about 6 inches from my face when I stood up so Toby was right there. Those tickets also came with the chance to meet Toby and get your photo taken with him.

4) Chris' father worked as a diplomat for the United Kingdom. Former US ambassador Robert D. Blackwill believes a diplomat should possess strong writing/speaking skills, meticulous attention to detail, historical knowledge, and stamina. Do you have any of those attributes?  I'd say writing for sure, some historical knowledge, but speaking and attention to detail...not so much.

 

5) Chris' family owns Bargy Castle, a 15th century fortress in County Wexford, Ireland. Bargy Castle has been converted into a hotel. What's the last hotel you stayed in?  I don't remember. If a stay is more than a day or two we usually rent a house.

 

6) Chris is a wine connoisseur who sold a collection of vintage reds for over $500,000. If you suddenly came into $500,000, what would you do with it?  Pay off bills, get any work done on the house that needs done, and put the rest away for retirement.

 

7) In 1986, when this song was popular, singer/actress Lady Gaga was born in Manhattan. Have you been to New York City?  No

 
8) Also in 1986, NHL Hall of Famer Jacques Plante died. Are you a hockey fan?  No, but my mom is a HUGE one.

 

9) Random question – You just slid behind the wheel and are about to embark on a long road trip. Which of these famous Williams would you choose as your navigator: Willie Nelson, Bill Murray, or William, Prince of Wales?  Probably Bill Murray. Willie's rather old and I think I've heard not in the best health these days and I couldn't care less about the royals.

  

Currently

Long time no see. Sorry about that. This time of year is just so busy and this year seems to be busier than ever as we tackle long overdue projects around the house.

We thought we'd found someone to finally take down the big Poplar tree that overhangs the pool. He was a young guy who had posted in a community group on Facebook. I messaged him. He got right back to me and came to the house right away to meet with Tim. We agreed to hire him (no contract) as all the comments on his posts were positive. Then the problems began. 

He put us off for a month. Ok. Things happen. When he finally said he'd come he needed to "talk to his crew to see when they were available." Um, aren't you the boss? But, ok. The day he was to take the tree down he "forgot he had an appointment" at the same time he said they'd be here. Then his guys showed up and he dropped off a trailer and a chainsaw...and left. He wasn't here all day. The two guys on his "crew" turned out to be young guys with zero experience that he'd found on Facebook and hired that morning. They cut the two bottom branches off the tree in 8 hours.

Our daughter was here keeping an eye on things and called both Tim and I. Tim left work early and got home just before me. The kid had finally come back after I messaged him to ask what the heck was going on. The meeting was not good. Tim and our daughter stood their ground with Tim firing him, but they remained calm. The kid, on the other hand, started ranting and yelling and stormed off yelling that he'd see us in court. Our thought? Go ahead, you don't have a leg to stand on.

He immediately blocked me on Facebook and since then we've learned that if you go back a few years there are customers who claim he stole from them while on the job and he was arrested for robbing the gas station just down the hill from us. Our daughter has heard he is bad-mouthing us to all the tree services he knows telling them not to do business with us and saying some pretty awful stuff about her and Tim. Apparently, he's saying he wants to post stuff on Facebook. He claims he knows our daughter from back in the day and is saying some nasty stuff. He's like 8 years younger than her. "Back in the day" he was literally a kid. He's a whack job and a half. We're not doing anything, however, unless we have actual proof of libel.

In the meantime, we've found a real tree service that is supposed to come this week and take the tree down. I don't know how it is where you are, but since Covid, it is impossible to get tree services or contractors to commit and/or show up in our area. Unless you are a huge, big money job they can't be bothered.

On a happier note, West Shore Homes is coming this Saturday to put in our new shower. I can't wait for that. I'm sure they will do a good job and they should...they are not cheap.

Anyway...

Reading... nothing really. I just found the book club book I'd misplaced, but I haven't had time to do much reading. Just a couple of pages here and there.

Watching... Hallmark, Lifetime, and Great American Country Christmas movies are playing in the background most evenings.

Listening... to the furnace run (it's going down to 27 degrees tonight), a dog barking down the street, and my arch nemesis...a rodent in the wall who has so far avoided all attempts to get rid of him. I may have to call a professional in (groaning at that thought after the whole tree thing).

Loving... my handsome kitty, Oliver, has been very affectionate and playful lately.

Thinking... about all I have left to do to get ready for the shower install on Saturday. I have to have the bathroom emptied out and everything removed from the adjoining walls...so one wall of the craft room and probably everything in the wall cabinets on one wall of the kitchen. Thank goodness they promise to be in and out in one day!

Feeling... surprisingly relaxed.

Celebrating... today is our 41st anniversary. We didn't do anything, however. We both had to work and we'd planned to go out for dinner, but Tim had a horrible day at work and didn't get home until 7:00. It's all good, just one of life's ups and downs and we had planned to make a big deal about it this year, anyway.

Then

And now.

Enjoying... that I've finally discovered I enjoy doing crafts.

Grateful... to my daughter and son-in-law for helping me clean out the craft room this past weekend and building the storage cabinet for all of our beading stuff.

Giggling...

Currently

I am...

Sitting here struggling to stay awake for a while longer so I won't find myself awake at 2:00 in the morning. Once my internal clock adjusts to the time change I will be in my glory. I have always loved this time of year when the darkness brings everyone inside, meals are hearty and comforting, lights take on a warm glow in windows making everything cozy.

Reading... still This Tender Land. If I could find it. The last two weeks have been very busy and I haven't had much time to read. None at all this past week to be truthful. I have looked everywhere and have only one place left to look...in the cart we use for craft shows. I took the book with me for down times so it's possible it got thrown in there during the clean up.

Watching... the Hallmark Christmas movies have begun.

Listening... to nothing much. After a week of listening to the consumers at work practice their songs for the Halloween talent show and then the actual talent show, quiet is much appreciated.

Loving... the new porch. It's done and painted except for the floor. It's not the best photo, but you can see it in the picture below.

Thinking... I need to buy a few large storage totes to put the Halloween decorations away in. I've been promising pictures for a while, so here they are.

Child-sized skeletons swinging on the grands' swings.

The pumpkin twins. I gave them to our son-in-law
and said I didn't care what he did with them,
so there they are. Side by side and doing
the same thing. lol

This guy is having a great time and he has a mermaid
to keep him company. He just has to watch out 
for the crocodile swimming just out of frame.
The hand in his mouth tells the tale.

These two have been partying it up luau-style
all month. After some pretty heavy rain storms
and wind their lei's and grass skirts aren't 
looking so fresh, but I don't think they care.

Feeling... ready to move on from Halloween. We have a craft show this weekend, we're having a new shower put in on the 22nd, and then it's Thanksgiving. Whew, it's going to be a busy month!

Celebrating... that Mike, the blind man I took care of (and hope to again), is doing well through his chemo treatments. I finally made it down to see him at the nursing home this weekend and we had a good visit. I helped him make a video that I will show to all his friends at my work tomorrow. He did a great job on it and they will love hearing from him and getting to see him.

Enjoying... the last of this quiet weekend. I didn't have any plans and spent much of the weekend with only myself for company. It was a good time to rest and recharge.

Grateful... for God and work friends who keep me sane when our boss is frustrating all of us.

Giggling...

Saturday 9: Angie Baby

Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here.

 

1) This week's song is a spooky one about a young man who breaks into the bedroom of a troubled girl named Angie. Their encounter doesn't go well and he's never seen again. Though there's been gossip, no one knows for sure what happened to him. Does your town have any scary legends that have been passed down through the decades?  Not that I know of.

 

2) Songwriter Alan O'Day said he drew upon aspects of his own childhood to come up with "Angie Baby." He was an only child who often stayed home sick from school, with only Top 40 radio for company. What do you recall when you think about sick days as a kid?  Tomato soup with goldfish or Ritz crackers, ginger ale, staying in bed, and reruns on the TV.

 

3) Helen Reddy said she enjoyed hearing what her fans thought happened in "Angie Baby." Can you think of another song that is open to interpretation?  Mmm...maybe Hotel California?

 

4) When Helen and her husband/manager Jeff Wald heard "Angie Baby" the first time, they immediately agreed she should record it. She went into the studio that afternoon and in less than 10 days, disc jockeys were playing it and "Angie Baby" became an international hit. When were you glad you acted on impulse?  I guess the most notable time would be when I said yes to going out with my husband. At the time there were probably more reasons why I shouldn't than why I should.

 

Questions inspired by Halloween .... 

5) Though best known as a recording artist, Helen Reddy also acted on occasion and appeared as a singing nun in Airport 1975. A nun's habit is a popular Halloween costume. Will you/did you dress up this year?  A sort of scary clown ringmaster. Our party at work had a spooky carnival/circus theme this year.

6) In 2024, more Americans than ever dressed their dogs up for Halloween. Have you ever taken your pup with you trick-or-treating?  No, I never took them trick-or-treating, but I used to dress them up to greet trick-or-treaters and I took one dog in the Halloween parade with us.

7) According to the Guinness Book of Records, the award for highest number of jack-o-lanterns in one place went to Keene, NH, where in 2013 there were 30,581. Did you carve a pumpkin for Halloween this year?  No, I didn't.

 

8) In years gone by, the Irish celebrated Halloween not with pumpkins but by carving turnips, potatoes and beets. Are any of those foods in your kitchen right now?  Just the potatoes.
 

9) Some Elvis fans insist his ghost hovers in the trees over Graceland. Have you ever seen a ghost?  I've never seen one. I don't really believe in them as spirits of the dead.

Thanks to Sam at the Saturday 9 for the music and questions!