Are you ready for a new year?

I am trying. Really.

1. I went through my canned goods cubboard, threw out stuff that was too old or that I really wasn't going to use.
2. I made salmon patties and deviled eggs.
3. I listed 8 sets of books on Ebay.
4. I loaded up two laundry baskets of clothes and got them to the car. I never made it out of my slippers today. Didn't go anywhere.
5. I did trip over Mica and now she is hiding from me. I teased her out to do a physical check, make sure I didn't hurt her, but she is back hiding now.
6. I pulled a box of clothes out of the shed and sorted for spring to take to the consignment shop.
7. I talked to Matthew on Skype, hoping Jon would check in before his flight. He didn't. Sigh.
8. ---I drank 5 cans of Mt. Dew. Don't tell anyone, ok?----

Walgreens Deal

My couponing forums were talking about the SoyJoy bars going on sale, Buy 1 get one free, and I knew I had some coupons expiring soon, so here is my deal.

4 soyjoy- B1G1 Free, and 2 B1G1 Free coupons, =free
2 Detour bars, B1G1 free and 1 B1G1 free coupon =free
green plastic tray, 75% off Christmas=.49
Hershey dark mint kisses, 75% off Christmas =.62 each -$1.50 coupon=.36 total
Chapstick Natural 2.99- 1 coupon and 1 Register reward = .99

I used a $2 register reward from last week and paid .98 out of pocket. I will be sending for a $2.99 rebate on the Chapstick.

Jean-Claude seems interested in the mints!

It is 70 degrees out there!

Not what you would expect between Christmas and New Years! It is going to drop back down into the 30's tonight and then waffle between 40-50 early next week. Craziness. Should dry out some and I might actually get some yard work done. Who would have thunk it?

Jean-Claude hates spiders

Mom's 75th birthday.

Mommy has a birthday.

I know. I am running a little behind here. Last week-end Jennifer, Denise and I took our Mom to Eureka Springs for her Birthday. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast and Saturday we went on a Sweet Treats tour of 11 B&B's to sample their Christmas Cookies. We each got two cookies and recipes at each stop. We walked to some, took the trolley to others, and finally drove to the last few. It wasn't quite what we envisioned, but it gave us a nice look at the town. We went to a Christmas Chorale that evening. Sunday, after an enormous and delicious breakfast, we headed for St. Elizabeths for Mass, only to find out that I had picked a non-existent Mass to attend. We walked down to the church and were able to go in as Mass ended.

It is a very cute church, entered through the Bell Tower. We proceeded to the downtown, where Mom and Jennifer had mineral baths and a eucalyptus steam before we all proceeded next door for our facials. Once again, not exactly what we were expecting, but relaxing anyway. We then went back to the B & B and parked the car and waited for our trustworthy Trolley Man to pick us up and take us back downtown to shop. I did most of the buying somehow. Not sure how that worked out. We had wonderful meals and and enjoyable time, though Denise and Mom worried a bit about the nasty weather coming in Monday morning. We made it home fine and I had no trouble till it came time to pull onto Mom's street. Kind of slid past it and had to take the next one. Slid a bit there also. I didn't hit anything though, and we were glad to park the car.

Jon was there to greet us. Mom wanted Mini-meatloafs and bread pudding for her birthday dinner, so we went shopping and Jeff and his family came over to celebrate. Jeff made the home-made ice cream.

Happy 75th Mom!!

Thor doesn't like that doggie in the mirror.

It is time for a break!

Thanksgiving break!

I listed a few more auctions and played with the kitties. Packed up some books to take to the post office on my way out of town tomorrow. I am going to see my Mommy!

Meat loaf and pineapple upside down cake.

Ok, I was in a mood. A kitchen mood. I made my mini meatloafs and an upside down cake. I will be taking it in to work tomorrow. The meatloaf are in the freezer, except for the one for tomorrows lunch. I am heading over to Karen's tonight, then work tomorrow and I am done till Dec. 1st!

I will be heading to Mom's on Tuesday, and we will be working on her blogging and photo uploading skills so that she can keep us updated on her trip to Italy with Brian. I don't know what else she has in store for me. Always something though. Sometime, in the not too distant future, I will be there when she needs me.

I am really looking forward to the girls week-end in Eureka Springs for her 75th birthday! Jennifer has her plane tickets and is getting into Springfield at 10 pm. Friday night. Saturday morning we pick-up Denise and head south. 12-6 pm there is a cookie tour of 12 bed and breakfasts, and then there is a Christmas choral concert that evening. Sunday we have church at the only Catholic Church in the country that you enter through the Bell Tower. (Eureka Springs is very hilly) Afternoon we turn into spa nuts, facials and whatever. We will check out the lights Sunday night and do some shopping Monday before we leave town. We will be back in Springfield for birthday cake and ice cream!

Keeping in touch

I spent another 2.5 hours in the dentist chair today while they sawed/drilled off two more crowns and cleaned out the decay and all that other stuff they do. I have a temporary crown on and will be wearing it through Thanksgiving, dang it. One more visit to seat the new crowns and I am done! Till my February cleaning appointment anyway.

I just got an email today from my cousin, Debra Van de Taeye who just joined Facebook. Shortly thereafter I got one from Gene Ciancio, her Uncle. Haven't seen him in years. I remember when I was in grade school he was Mr. Cool. He still is. His profile picture is him in the water being kissed by two dolphins.

I am really enjoying checking Facebook daily and seeing what my nieces and nephews and in-laws and out-laws are doing. Even Brian. Where are you, #7?

Cats and Dogs and Laser pointers

Just before I left for Matt's by way of Mom's last week, I had picked up a laser thingy to play with the cats. Jean-Claude and Mica love it and will go up the wall after it. Sassy looks at them like they are crazy, but I figure it is a great way for them to get some exercize. I took it with me on the trip.

Mom's Honey was just like my babies, she loved to chase the little red light. Gabriel didn't get it.

Matt's cat Bubba didn't get it. Adam and Megan's cat Jester did. And you know who else did?

Thor. He wasn't what you would call fast. Or coordinated. He has a tendency to fall over. But he got it. He was going to get it. He wanted to get it. Dang it.

Visiting with Matthew and family

Thor, the puppy, is 4 months old and weighs 60 pounds. Gabriel made sure he knew who was the boss of him. Gabriel would lift up his lip and show his monster teeth, but every time he crinkled up his nose he had to sneeze. Kind of took the fearsomeness out of it. Every now and then he would yip and charge at Thor, just to back him up some. Mom told him he was being UGLY! I tried to put the video below, but if it doesn't show up for you, click here.

c'dale library book sale

I went to the Carbondale Library book sale this morning. I bought a couple of bags of books, and may go back tomorrow for the 1/2 price sale. I found a nice Reader's Digest edition of Carl Sandburg's Lincoln, illustrated and with its dust jacket. That will be winding its way to Brian. I have a big stack of Barbara Cartland books up for auction..... right now. They are mostly Regency romances..... which I normally love.... but she writes with a lot of ..... breathless brainless babes..... they can't ever finish a sentence and it drives me crazy.....really.....what does anyone need commas for?

Three hour tour of the Dentist Chair

Yup, three hours. Two simple little fillings first, then he attacked my upper back crowns on the right side. Drilled through stinky porcelain and metal. Yucky. Then drilled out some decay. Unfortunately for us, it went up under the gum line, and my gums went bonkers bleeding. He was afraid we weren't going to get the impressions for the new crowns, but the assistant went to town on my gums and finally got the bleeding stopped.
Did I ever tell you how much I hate going to the Dentist? It's not the Dentist himself. It's that dang drill! I hate it. Even more now that I know what it smells like going through crown material. I still have two more to take off on the left side. Someday, far away. And then you have to pay them for making you miserable. Where is the justice in that?

Don't freeze potato salad!

Don't. When you thaw it to eat, the potatoes are yucky. How do they freeze french fries and shredded potatoes? What magic thing do they do to them, and what chemicals are involved? Do I really want to know?

However, the bread pudding was a big hit. They want more, please.

Deal of the Week- Walgreens Oct

This week Walgreens has their Softsoap Body wash on sale for $3.49 each. There is a coupon in the easy saver October book for $1.00 off. There is also a Catalina deal where you get $10 in register rewards ( coupon that you can use on anything else in the store) when you buy 5. Soooo
5 X 2.49 =12.45, and you get $10 back, making them .50 each. Good deal!

Food Planning

I spent yesterday at the Graham's, trying to make the most of the food that people had dropped off and that the church had sent home after the funeral lunch. I froze quite a bit of the ham in six slice packages, and used the cold lentil salad to make a lentil soup in the crockpot. I added chicken broth, some chopped up ham, some steamed rice left over from a chinese takeout, some corn and some chopped tomato. A little garlic, cumin and red pepper to spice it up. I froze that in 2 cup servings in freezer bags, laid flat. They freeze fast and thaw quickly. There were 3 large left over baked potatoes so I used a can of condensed chicken soup and peeled and sliced the potatoes with some chopped ham for a scalloped potato casserole, and we had that last night. I took some of the dinner rolls and made bread pudding. YUM.

There was some left over spaghetti and some meat sauce, so I mixed up enough for lunch today and am going to make a spaghetti pie with the rest. I froze some cooked squash, I don't know what I will do with that yet. I actually had fun trying to get the best use of the food. Some of the salads we passed around to other people, but I flash froze some scoops of mustard potato salad, then packaged them up in bags. It will be interesting to see how they thaw. There is still alot of bread.

Dr. Jack Graham

Karen and I have been friends since 1981, when we happened to work on the same floor of Woody Hall. Whenever I couldn't make it home for the holidays, her parents gave me an open invitation to spend time with them, and I often did. When Karen was seriously ill 20 months ago, I spent a lot of time at her home, becoming closer to her parents.



The last year has seen several surgeries for Jack, and before this last one they checked out his heart, to make sure he could make it. Nothing is ever certain, but the hernia was going to block his colon, causing a painful death, so they went ahead. Early this morning Jack lost his fight. His only brother Bill, and his daughter Karen were with him.
He will be sorely missed.

Former dean of students, higher education professor dies at 83
Jack Graham remembered as "mentor and grandfather"Barton Lorimor
A handful of the hundreds of lives Jack Graham touched through the last 50 years at SIUC remembered him as a mentor, friend and gentleman Monday.
Graham, a retired professor of higher education and former dean of students, died just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday at the Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, said university spokesman Rod Sievers. Graham was 83.
Karen Graham, Jack's daughter, said her father had a stint put into his heart in March. Though it is generally not recommended, Karen Graham said her father's doctors thought he was able to undergo a hernia repair Friday.
Jack Graham succumbed to heart complications triggered by that procedure, Karen said.
His death came as a shock to those at his old stomping grounds in the College of Education and Human Services, said Brad Colwell, associate dean of the college. Colwell said Graham frequently visited his office to offer his time to assist the college in any way, report the whereabouts of former higher education students and contribute to the department's alumni newsletter."He was almost like a mentor," Colwell said. "He was a colleague, but he also felt like your grandfather at times."
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Larry Dietz said Graham was there for him when he first arrived on campus in 1996.He said a photograph of Graham hangs in a third-floor hallway of Anthony Hall for his time as dean of students for both campuses in Carbondale and Edwardsville. Graham held the position from 1965 to 1967.
Karen Graham said her father's life was SIU, which is why he served as the dean of students and head of the higher education graduate program without a pay raise." I'd like to know if anyone else did that," she said. Karen Graham said her father did it at the request of then-University President Delyte Morris.
Dietz said he knew Jack Graham outside of the university as an active member in the Carbondale Rotary Club, he said. But the change of scenery did not mean Graham had a different persona, he said."I would characterize him as a gentleman scholar," Dietz said. "I think if you look at this philosophically, I am a better person because of my interaction with Dr. Graham. I know there are several others that would say the same."
One of Graham's former students in the higher education doctoral program, Nancy Pei, said she was one of those people. Pei, a retired director of Student Development, said Graham's involvement with international students allowed him to bring more experiences with him to the classroom than her other professors.
Interim Chancellor Sam Goldman said in a written statement that Graham was a valued member of the SIUC community for more than half a century, even after his 1991 retirement." Jack was instrumental in the creation and growth of SIU's programs in education and higher education," Goldman said. "His contributions, wisdom, insight and advice will be missed by many."
His wife, Sophie Graham of Carbondale, survives him, along with two children, Karen Graham of Carbondale and Mark Graham of Peoria.Memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Carbondale or the United Missions to Nepal.
Graham's visitation will be at the Meredith Funeral Home, 300 S. University Ave., Carbondale, at 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday. Funeral services are set for 11 a.m. Friday at the First United Methodist Church of Carbondale.
Daily Egyptian reporter Barton Lorimor can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 263 or barton.lorimor@siude.com.

Alzheimer's sucks

And that is all I have to say about that.

Dental visits in my future

I got my new crown yesterday and then had a consultation to go over what other work needed to be done. $3307 worth. After my insurance pays. Yep. I went back in today and had two fillings done. Next week I get two more. Then we are looking at the expensive stuff. Two crowns on both sides of the top back, four in all, have to come off, teeth filled, and new crowns put back on. Hopefully none of them will need root canals, because only one of them has had one in the past. As you can guess, I am really looking forward to this. No trips to anywhere in my near future. Just another reason to jack up the EBAY sales for this shopping season. I did just send out two suits today, from the store, so it is time to get the auctions going. Wish me luck!

Mason dances and drums, sort of.

Mason and Gwyn watching the Wiggles. This really reminds me of videos we have of Adam and Sarah or Joel and Sarah watching TV. Mason has this drumming thing going on. This is not sped up, but real time. Watch how fast he moves!

Honey the Calico Cat

Mom and I took Gabriel for a walk Sunday, before Mason's party. We hadn't gotten far before I saw a pretty calico cat headed our way. I called to her and she sauntered right up to me. Mom picked up Gabriel because he usually wants to eat cats that are out and about. She followed us for awhile, galloping ahead and then waiting for us. We finally left her behind, but she showed up on our way back to the house. Mom called a neighbor, to see if she belonged to the house with a dozen cats, and was told that they were trying to get rid of her. Uh oh.

I went out a little later and she came up and we sat on the porch, communing a bit. Mom looked outside and said "Bring her in." I did. She started exploring the house and Gabriel just trailed behind wherever she went. She mostly ignored him. Finally Mom sent me out for the fixin's, litter box, litter, food and flea treatment. When I got back we set her up in the laundry room and closed the sliding door and left for Jeff's.

Mom told everyone she had a new cat, so of course James and Denise had to stop by to meet her after the party. When we get home, the laundry door has been opened about 4 inches and no little cat is to be found. I figured if she didn't come running to meet us, it was because she had gone out the doggy door. I went a couple of house down and sure enough she comes running out to meet me!

The laundry door does have a latch, so Mom will just have to be sure it is secure before she leaves, because she definitely doesn't want her outside anymore. She is one smart cookie. She and Gabriel share Moms lap. She has swiped at him when he is too excited, but I trimmed her claws so no real harm done. He keeps coming back for more.

She is very oriental looking with long legs and a pointy face. She talks whenever people are out of sight, calling for company. Very sweet.

Mason and Granny

Mom was convinced that Mason didn't like her, and he did tend to get that "I am going to cry if you get any closer!" face on when she was talking to him, but I got video proof that he did warm up. Sorry it is sideways. Anyone know how to fix that?

Springfield

I got here late Friday night. I hit a few yardsales yesterday morning while Mom stayed home to wait for her lawn guy. When I got back we went to pay for this months meals at the church. Then we got on the computer and got her tickets to NY and back for the Rome trip at Christmas, and made reservations for Mom and Brian at St Peter's apartment in Rome. We still have to get the one for down south. We planted the plants I brought for her garden and were just finishing up when it started to sprinkle. Denise and James invited us for dinner at 5, Mom went to church first and then we played a hand of Dummy Rummy before heading to Jeff's to see Mason. He had had his bath and was snuggled up in Vicki's arms. Didn't want anything to do with the rest of us, but I did get some pictures.

Mason

Mom just called to let me know that Jeff had just picked up Mason, and that he had talked to Joel and they had not finished checking out so they haven't left Alaska yet. Dang. I can go and meet the kid, but I won't be able to stick around long enough to meet with Joel and Rachel. I was really looking forward to meeting her. I do plan on getting some Mason video while I am there. I wonder how he is doing without his Mom or Dad? I will find out on Saturday!

I just dug up some Peonies, dark pink and light pink, some Dame's Rocket and some Blackberry Lilies for Mom.

Hot Flash

It's been happening. A lot, lately. They don't last long, and it is like a wave of heat moving up my face. If I can get in front of a fan for a few minutes, I'm fine. I don't seem to be breaking out in a sweat anywhere else but my face and head. It's very strange. I know I am supposed to be thinking of it as power surges. Humph. No night sweats yet. Hope I get to skip that symptom. Gosh that word looks funny when you spell it out. SYMPTOM. Weird.

Groceries and menu planning

Now that I have my refrigerator, I had to go shopping! I wrote up a menu, sort of, first. Then I went to Sam's, but I was smart, I stopped at Taco Bell and had a taco first!
I bought a box of frozen salmon fillets, a bag of chicken breasts, a bag of cheese ravioli and a bag of sliced frozen strawberries and some fresh blueberries. I still have a big bag of walnuts and two bags of raisins, and my canned chicken from Sam's for my Chicken Salad.
I bought some Laura's boneless petite sirloin steak yesterday at Kroger and it is in the crockpot now, with some beef stock. I know that will horrify some, but I need it very tender and completely cooked. It will fall apart when I pull it out for dinner, and I will eat the last of it tomorrow. I also bought some of Laura's ground round, which I will make sloppy joe mix out of.
I will be eating Chicken Salad for lunch this week, and the Sirloin on Mon and Tue, Salmon on Wednesday, Sloppy Joe on Thursday, and then I am heading for Mom's on Friday afternoon. We will see what she feeds me! I am really looking forward to meeting Rachel and Mason and seeing Joel again. I hope Gwyn will be up so I can see them interact together. I will try to get some video to post.

Chicken Salad a la Kate
13 oz can of Sam's Premium Chunk Chicken Breast 98% fat free
1 Cup of Walnut pieces
1 Cup of raisins
Can of drained mandarin oranges
Poppyseed dressing to moisten
Mix it all up and serve on fresh Spinach.

I love this stuff!

I have a refrigerator!

They had to take my back door off the hinges to get it in, but it is here! He said all these old houses in Herrin have tiny doors, but one of my fall projects is replacing it with 36" door. I went sh0pping to fill it up. Most of the stuff is in the freezer while the unit cools down. Yeah!

dig the glasses

10 off 40 Walgreens deal

I got an email coupon yesterday for $10 off a $40 purchase at Walgreens this Friday and Saturday. The new September rebates start today, so this was my deal. I bought

2 Dryel starter kits, on sale for 7.99 each

1 Nivea body wash 4.99

1 Walgreens antacid sale for 7.99

1 Loreal anti wrinkle serum 12.36 on sale.

Total was $41.32

-10 coupon

- 2 $4 coupons Dryel

-$3 Loreal

-$1 Nivea

= 18.38 oop with tax

I will get back the 12.36 Loreal rebate,

4.99 Nivea rebate and

7.99 Walgreens antacid rebate=

$25.34 plus 10% for having it put on my Walgreens gift card,

=$27.80-18.38=$9.42 profit, and I use the Dryel all the time for my Ebay non-washables.

You can see how much others saved at Money Saving Mom Super Savings Saturday!

No refrigerator

I waited and waited for a call last night to schedule the delivery of my refrigerator, but it never came.

After I opened up the building at work this morning I got out my receipt to find a phone number for the delivery and walked out on the landing to call, since I can't get a signal in my huge concrete monstrosity of a building. I tried right before 8 and no one answered, and no machine picked up, so I figured I would call later.

No sooner had I got back inside then 2 text messages from Karen popped up and a notice that I had a voicemail. I read the texts and assumed that the message was from Karen, so called it to listen.

It was the delivery lady calling at 7:30am, while I was still finishing off opening the building. She left a call back number, so I stepped outside again to call. She says "They will be delivering your refrigerator between 8 and 12 this morning. " I said I am sorry, but I am at work. I waited for your call last night to schedule and never heard from you. She says she called repeatedly and got no answer. (there are no missed calls from last night on my phone.) She then says they are loading up your refrigerator right now and you are first on the list so they should be there in 30 minutes. I tell her I am in Carbondale and even if I left immediately I am not sure I will be there in time. Silence on her end. I ask if they can come back later in the day. NO. I hang up and call my boss and say I am on my way in to the office to turn in my keys because I have to leave right now. He says ok, and I run inside to get my bag.

I can't find my car keys. I get all the way out to the car, which is parked in the parking garage, and my keys are not in my bag, nor are they in my ignition. Where are they? I run back into the building, hoping I left them in the drawer or on the desk, but not remembering handling them this morning. I call Karen before I get into the building, because she has a spare. She is waiting for a shot in her knee. I get back to my office, no keys. I call Karen's Dad, and ask him to bring me my spare, which Karen says is in her glove box, in her car in their garage, since she drove her Dad's car to her Doctors appointment. Are you still with me?

Karen's Uncle Dave is visiting, and is parked behind Karen's car, which is why she took her Dad's car. Her Dad looks in the glove box, finds a key, and Uncle Dave drives him to campus to give me the key. It is the wrong key. So they drive me to the office to turn in my keys and pager and paperwork, and we go back to their house to see if we can find the key or else let me take Karen's car to my house and deal with my car later. Jack goes inside to find the key to Karen's car and I get in to look for my key. I pull everything out of the glove box and find my key.

I get a call from the delivery man, he is at my house, where am I? OH, well let me call my boss and we can reschedule, he says. I am fuming. FUMING. Uncle Dave gives me a ride back to my car, and my keys are sitting on the front seat. What? Yes, on the front seat. Why today? I don't know. I thank Uncle Dave and lead him off of campus, and head home. I am not a happy camper. Miss delivery scheduler person calls me back. They don't deliver on Thursdays, they can deliver Friday morning or Saturday morning. I am not taking another day off of work for this so it is scheduled for Saturday morning.

And how was your morning?

Temporary

Had my dental appointment today and they put in a post for the crown. I have a temporary crown until Sept 15, but it looks pretty good. Still can't bite down on it till the permanent one is installed. With cement. Yeah, baby. I am doing some research for Brian and Mom's Trip to Rome at Christmas time. Found some interesting places. When we narrow it down some I will post them here.

My refrigerator comes home tomorrow. Yayyyyyy.

Jean-Claude wants the kittens

Birthday present

I celebrated my birthday a day early and went to a huge booksale event at the YMCA in southern St. Louis. Made 3 trips out to my car with bags of books. To top it off I had called Anne earlier in the day and went to her house on my way home. I stayed for dinner, which was delish and welcomed the opportunity to catch up a bit. I just saw her at the reunion last month, but we really didn't get much of a chance to talk. She has a very nice home on the golf course and I will surely be back some time to visit with her, her Mom, and Eli!

It is dead.

It didn't work. My refrigerator is dead. I went to Home Depot, Sears, Best Buy and Lowes this afternoon. I think I am getting a Energy Star bottom freezer from Sears. $800. I guess this will be my birthday present. A year ago I got two kittens. They were a lot of fun. They still are.

How fast can you spend money?

so the refrigerator guy was here today. Seems my capacitor had gone out, which caused my compressor to overheat which then shut everything down. He was able to get it running by replacing the starter with a hard start kit. A new compressor would cost as much as a refrigerator but he couldn't say how long this one will last, 2 hours or 2 years. I will just keep a thermometer in it and when it quits cooling again I will replace the refrigerator. Sigh. This visit only cost $125.
I have an appointment for Tuesday to start the crown on my tooth, and I am just thankful there are 3 paydays in this month!
I did get quite a few auctions listed Sunday and yesterday, so there is some extra money being generated. I am thinking about letting myself go up to the St. Louis YMCA book fair this week-end as a birthday present to myself. So there!

Root Canal

Not too bad. My appointment was at 1:15 and I was out of there by 2:30. Two shots of novacaine and I lost my nose. He told me it would come back, and it did. I remember now what I hate about the dentist. It's that darn drill. And feeling pieces of your teeth fly around till they get sucked up by the aide. Shivers. Now I have to wait two weeks for the appointment for the crown.

Oh, my refrigerator was 80 degrees inside this afternoon. It is now unplugged and everything is in the trash. Good thing tomorrow is pick-up day. This is an expensive week.

Teeth

Ok, Mom. I have a root canal tomorrow at 1:15, and then have to wait two weeks for the fitting for the crown. I have my antibiotic prescription filled. Now I just have to show up. Yuck.

Beautiful day for a yard sale!

So I got up this morning and hit a couple of church rummage sales before checking out the yard sales. Got quite a few paperback books and dropped off a 36 pound box of books for Brian at the post office. Then I came home and played in the blackberries for an hour, still worked up a sweat, dang it. We got down below 60 last night, and the high is supposed to be low 80's. I can handle that. Really. I am still using the freezer as a fridge, and will get a call in to the repairperson sometime this week. When I feel like it. Need to get some books photographed and up for auction tomorrow, but right now I am going to play with some cats.

Freezer!

is still out of whack. I have it turned up all the way and it still will not freeze icecubes, so I guess I am going to call the repairman. I emptied it and took out the back panel of the freezer compartment. The fan works fine, maybe too much. It could be that the auto-defrost is stuck in the on position, but even knowing that, I don't know what to do about it. Sigh. All the meat has been tossed and the veggies are about to go. Cheese will be okay in the refrigerator. I will take my berries over to Karen's. I am having fun, can you tell?

Cleaning out the refrigerator

You know it has been too long when you find an unopened container of sour cream that was best used by Nov. 12, 2004. My freezer has not been cold enough to freeze my blackberries for 2 weeks, and I found that the seal on the bottom of the door had pulled loose somehow. I pushed it back into it's slot and tightened everything down. I then decided to sort the freezer for items that may have thawed and needed to be tossed. Not so much, thank goodness. But once you get started, you have to finish, so I pulled everything out of the fridge and cleaned it out. Yikes. I am going to try very hard to only buy what I am going to use during the week. We will see how long that lasts!

Reunion

Wow. Just Wow. I am home and going to bed. Pics here.

Family Reunion

I am getting excited. Talked to my niece Jennifer Sunday and she and her sister are both bringing their men to the reunion. The last I heard both of my Oklahoma nephews are bringing their women, so we should have a crowd of young folks. I am sure they will be staying up way too late for me. Because I am old, that's why! No, I have to be at work at 6 am so I am accustomed to going to bed at 9 pm. Gotta work on that this week-end. Don't want to miss the fun!

It's Too Hot.

too hot to post. Check out Dennis and his new kitten, and click on "newer post" at the bottom till you catch up. Only three or four posts, but you get a good feel for Dennis, his younger sibling Chedwick, and their new kitten, Edward.

Show and Tell Friday -double swan vase

See more Show and Tell posts at Kelli's!

We are nearing the end of my Swan collection and I didn't know I had so many until I began photographing them for Show and Tell. I have a few odd balls left, some pictured below.

Painted beaks are rubbing off on this McCoy double vase, but I will like them just fine when they are yellow all over! The pair below is interesting, because the one on the right is an older Enesco, when it was still N. S. Co, and the one on the left is newer, made in Japan and was cast with a pieced neck seam. Some minor differences, but obviously a copy.
This little black swan is not marked, but i found a similar one that was marked and the ad read "A wonderful piece of 1940-50's California Pottery. Marked "Roselane 261" on the bottom. Approx 7 3/4" tall x 4" across body"

My dishes

All right, now that I have posted the pictures on my Wordless Wednesday post, I neeeeeed to talk about them. Most of the set is "Ferndale" on the Eggshell Nautilus blank, but some of them are "Cashmere" on the Eggshell Georgian Blank and some are .....something else, I will have to look it up! I love the square luncheon plates, and the gold edges and the soft colors and the creamy yellow border. I haven't collected any of the cups and saucers, not being a coffee drinker myself. I have picked up serving pieces that coordinate, but not in the actual ferndale pattern. Pretty pretty pretty.

This is my only real set of dishes Mo, so I am not heading down that dangerous path like MOM.

My Homer Laughlin "Ferndale" plates -Wordless Wednesday

Blackberries

A gallon of blackberries every day. That is todays crop. It's interesting that the flash makes them look somewhat red, because they aren't in natural light. I am picking blackberries every afternoon during the week and morning and evening on the week-ends. Do you want some blackberries? I have this compulsion to pick as many as I can. I do let the birds have the ones that are in the middle of the thicket and the ones too high to reach, but if I can reach them, I will pick them. I have to spray my arms, neck and legs with bug repellent, because they are swarming out there. It is hot, hot, and more hot. Why can't they ripen in October?

paper swan

I have to try this, someday.




Make A Swan Using Hundreds Of Paper Triangles Its A Perfect Gift - video powered by Metacafe

Walgreens and Planters Peanuts!

Great deal this week at Walgreens. They have their planters peanuts on sale 2 for $5. There is a Catalina deal where you get a $6.50 coupon if you buy 5. There are $3 coupons printables good on the peanuts when you buy 3 kraft items. There is also a monthly rebate of $5 when you buy $15 worth of selected Kraft products. So, I bought 5 peanuts, 3 jars and 2 cans, for $12.50. I then got 3 Triscuits and one Ritz Crackers, which I use with my Tuna Salad, and they were also 2 for $5. So $22.50, - 4x $3 = $10.50 + .23 tax =10.73 Out of Pocket. A coupon for $6.50 on my next purchase printed out and I will turn in the receipt for 5.50 in rebates so I am $1.26 ahead on the deal. I will take the peanuts to the reunion in a couple of weeks, because I'm not going to eat them all by myself, but the crackers will be gone by then!

Dirt

I had two loads of dirt brought in today, to the tune of $140, and then paid my neighbor Ryan $20 to spread it around. The roots to my two large maples that shade my house on the west were so far out of the ground that Ryan was hitting them with his mower. This has always been the low spot in my yard, the last spot to dry out after the spring rains. I won't be seeding it until September, so it will have plenty of time to settle in. My neighbors in the back have offered me the use of their tiller, so I plan on completely redoing my back garden, which was originally supposed to be an herb garden, laid out in a geometric shape. Somehow the blackberries, garlic, and walnut volunteers have taken it over. I want it back. I want to rebuild my compost thingy and go organic, but that isn't working with my fruit trees. The crabapples are all wormy and will take a lot of picking apart to get the good stuff for jelly. The peaches actually look better this year than they have ever looked, but they weren't sprayed, so will be buggy also. I have never had this many, and I think someone must have planted a peach tree nearby that is pollinating mine. I didn't get a single cherry this year, birds beat my to it. I am, however, making blackberry muffins to take to work tomorrow!

Jean-Claude watches YouTube

Show and tell Friday-Green swans

I am doing swans again for Show and Tell Friday at Kelli's!

OK, you tell me, is the little gal a swan or a pelican?

Doesn't matter, I like her anyway!

Wordless Wednesday-Daylilies + more

CVS deals of the week.

The face cleaning towelettes were supposed to give back $1 ECB all month, but they are giving back $2.99, which is their cost. There are also printable coupons for $2 off of a CVS skin cleaning product HERE making this a money maker. You can only use one coupon at a time, and there is a limit of 5 for this deal, so spread them out.







The Physician's Formula Mascara is $7.99 giving back $7.99 ECB's this week. You may have coupons for this also.

Bloomin' Sunday

Garlic and Lemon Balm by the back door above, Oregano in the front border below.

My wall of blackberries, with wild grapes growing that I can't get to, and below are the crab apples.

Show and Tell Friday- Nelson McCoy swan

I am doing swans again for Show and Tell Friday at Kelli's!

Another of my Favorite Swans, (I seem to have a lot of favorites!) this one is by Nelson McCoy and is my smallest McCoy swan. I really like the color of pink and the detail. She is more realistic than stylistic. Here is another picture, with two of the swans from last week for comparison.