Well gee, just when I thought the house situation couldn't get more stressful, it seems there may be another offer coming in on our dream house! If so we'll have 48 hours to remove our conditions (selling this and home inspection) or lose it. Agent for THAT house just called to see what was happening on our end. Nothing yet, though we called our agent for THIS house earlier, and the couple who put in the offer here Friday is meeting up with their agent today to decide. Holy stress! Think I need something stronger than Calgon to take me away. Yikes!

I am convinced things will work out for the best...whatever that will be. Taryn, there are advantages either way. But I am feeling the pressure even from a distance. BEST OF LUCK.

Brrrrrrrr! Today's the first day it's really felt like winter here. 30F now and headed down to 22F tonight. I got the banana winterized. It will be interesting to see if he makes it to spring. I was talking to the tropical guy at Goldner Walsh and he says he doesn't know of anyone who has successfully overwintered one outside in z5. Doesn't hurt to try, right? If it doesn't make it I'll just get a new one next year.

Boy Taryn, things just keep getting more intense don't they? I truly believe that these things work out the way they're supposed to in the end. Who knows, maybe there's a buyer out there willing to give you more for your current house and maybe there's another house out there for you that's even dreamier if this deal doesn't work out.

Marie, beautiful pictures. I especially like #2. It does look cold at your house.

V, glad those hot tamales came along and improved your day. Hope it keeps going up from there.

Gotta go. Bella's being a little hooligan, lol.

Eden

Getting cold here too. Temp has been between 64F and 67F all week, even at night. Just dropped to 54F and the wind picked up. Go ahead, throw a snowball at me :)

Taryn, if this doesn't work, there's a house you will love even MORE out there. I know this!

Did someone mention rodent?

As a family with a host of pocket pets here is the latest addition, little Peanut, an albino hampster, born to David's male (we were told) miniature hampster. The red eyes make him look rather evil but so far he has been a perfect pet.

{{gwi:187183}}

I guess I should qualify that none of our pet rodents have tails (a preference on my part). Peanut accompanies David on play dates and even sleepovers. The children did tell me they are now saving up for a ferret but here I draw the line!

Taryn - hang in there! DH did arrive in LA but not till 6.30AM the next morning so it was a short night.

Ruth and her DH found a house to rent in Rockville MD. It sounds perfect for them - I just hope fuel bills this winter won't be too much of a killer. Their new landlord has a 4 year old son and has been sending them info on schools and playgroups. I've noticed Ruth has had a huge surge of energy and enthusiasm since the decisions were made and our house is cleaner than ever!

GB - what lovely photos! I love watching chicadees at the feeder.

We're having meat loaf and salt potatoes for dinner tonight and the kitchen smells yummy. The cold weather called for a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal.

have a good evening

Mary

Wow, how strange with the cold weather with you guys. THis front has just blown through here, literally 'blown' with high wind gusts but the temp is 67! Cripes. If we don't get some mammoth T storms when the cold hits this tropical weather we'll be lucky.

V. I LOVE tamales! Lucky you! Sounds like your day has gotten better.

Taryn, Oh dear, just when you think you can't take anymore something else comes up. I agree with everyone else here that if the 'dream'house falls through there will be something else even better out there for you but I know that is difficult to contemplate when you had your heart set on it.

Mary, it sounds like Ruth's family is going to finally get settled after all the horrible upheaval. Good news. They must be really happy.~~ Peanut is really that, how tiny! ~~ I would not want a ferret. My friends had them for years and they smelled! Not their fault they just have a musky odor that I seriously don't care for.

Cynthia, that is way too strange that it is colder down there than here right now. I'm going to check out the weather channel and see what's up.

Doug doesn't know it yet but he is taking us out for dinner tonight. I just got home from shopping for, Ahem, undergarments and surprise of surprises I found a couple really good items that do the job. Incredible. But as I just walked in the door there is no dinner on the table or in the oven and I'm not feeling inspired at the moment.

Later
D

Thanks you guys. And Wendy too, who said the same yesterday. Geez, I said as much myself! The thing is,intellectually I know this is so, and it will work out for the best in the end, whether with this house or an as yet undiscovered gem. The problem is, emotionally we have convinced ourselves that this is the be all/end all of houses and are having a hard time just letting it happen. It would help if it wasn't taking so LONG to happen! I need to turn off my brain for a while, but can't find the off button! Maybe some merlot will temporarily short it out, no? Will postpone my tests until Friday. Cortisol would no doubt be unusually high anyway. Thanks again for being my sounding board everyone. Can't phone my mum or sis or bro or a friend without tying up the phone line we need open, so appreciate the vent!

Taryn

My mousers (no offence Peanut!):

{{gwi:187184}}

{{gwi:187185}}

{{gwi:187187}}

{{gwi:187188}}

Here is a link that might be useful: more recent kitty pics

A quick picture of what the little hooligan's up to this evening...

{{gwi:187189}}

Eden

Oh Bella is a cutie!

Fun to see everyone's cats and little Peanut.

Mary, so glad to read that your sister & family have found a home in Maryland. Being back together as a family should perk up everyone's spirits.

Taryn, sending good thoughts to you.

I was gone all day so accomplished little to nothing here. I should go build a fire so the 'home fires are burning' when DH comes home.

Oh EP, asked DD about what a patient should expect from a thorough teeth cleaning and she said that the hygienist should go over every tooth completely. Not just checking between some teeth and in some areas. Expect that they will go over the entire tooth surface to find/remove the calculus. She also said that studies show polishing isn't necessary for many patients and is sometimes damaging to the enamel (hope I remembered that correctly).....but that we expect it and don't feel that our teeth are 'clean' without having them polished, so polishing continues. If you have any specific question I can ask her for you, let me know and I'll be happy to quiz her. ;o)

T.

Bella is a total "party animal", isn't she? Rock on, girlfriend!

;)

Listen to this! I wonder if it would keep mice away from the kitchen....
There are other nifty ones too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Serenity

Hi all! I guess the cold moves in here for tomorrow. Right now it's 51 F and raining though. So far this hasn't been a November too tough to take. Eden, Musa basjoo is supposedly fully hardy to zone 7 without protection so a few nights in the 20s won't hurt it. We plan to winterize ours next weekend but it's planted in what I think is a zone 7 microclimate so I'm hopeful.

Our trip to NYC yesterday was fun. It's always an experience to stroll the streets of Manhattan. The Christmas show at RCMC was a bit hokey fanokey for me but if you have kids they would probably enjoy it. The very first part was a 3D segement of santa in his sleigh flying through the streets of NYC. That part was cool-you had to wear the cut out cardboard 3D glasses. The Rockette line dance numbers were good too but they lost me with the dancing bears and toy soldiers. We ate lunch at the Waldorf and Glen Campbell was a few tables over-probably in town for the country music awards last night. The years have not been kind to that man. In fact I barely recognized him. I guess he has a drinking issue. We left at 7:30 AM and didn't get home until almost 8:30 so it was a long day. I have a renewed appreciation for our drivers who can navigate a 55 passenger motorcoach through the streets of NYC-egads, I wouldn't even want to take a car in there!

At any rate, work is busy, I'm trying to maintain a workout schedule at night and I have to get everything ready for Thanksgiving next week so my idyll time may be limited but I enjoy reading about what everyone else is up to. Keep the pictures coming too.

Well, the swordfish is ready to come off the grill.

Later,

Sue

Cold and windy here today. Over the past 48 hours we had a total of 44mm (1.7") of rain so things aren't going to be going into winter too dry this year! We've almost matched the total for all of November last year and we had more than double last October's rain this year. I wonder what winter will bring - at the rate precipitation is going since October, it looks like we're gearing up for a snowy winter!

V - you sure got off to a bad start this morning! I hope the noontime improvement carried the rest of the day!

Taryn - what can I say that hasn't already been said?! Hang tough!

Martie - I keep forgetting to say good luck with the new job!

GB - I liked the 'high water' shot, although I'm sure it wouldn't be my favorite if that water was near my yard! Your forecast sounds more dire than ours - just chance of flurries here but tonight is the first below freezing temperatures that have been forecast.

T - that's reassuring to know re polishing. I never have polishing done when I go to the hygenist (3x a year...) because I feel that all that abrasion must wear away enamel and, if the hygenist is doing their job right, I don't feel there should be polishing required.

All the kitty shots on the thread have made me wish the cat allergy "I grew into in my 30s would go away. I miss my kitties...:-( Peanut is cute but I'm not 'into' rodents - would have no problems disposing of any wild life of that kind that ventured indoors....

We made the Christmas plum pudding today. We also tried those cookies Deanne. They didn't turn out all that great for me for some reason. I used oatmeal because I didn't have/wasn't sure what 5 grain cereal was. Was there supposed to be salt in the recipe? I added some after the first batch and that helped a bit. I used maple syrup and didn't need to add any milk because the dough seemed quite wet - is it supposed to be? Are the cookies supposed to spread out and be thin or stay as sort of mounds? I think I'd have to experiment a bit to make them work for me. And I think I'd end up using some canola oil in the recipe - there's no getting around the fact that fat makes things taste better! (That's according to DH, the food scientist:-)

GB, I'll see your wail and raise you a howl. Here's our current weather forecast: Tonight: Snow showers and flurries ending. Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds diminishing after midnight. Low 14F. Winds WNW at 25 to 35 mph. Tomorrow: Plentiful sunshine. Cold. High 29F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.

It's incredible how bitter cold it is right now, with the strong winds making it feel much colder. Even though the weather was worse than over the weekend, I broke down and hauled the pots in from the deck tonight. The forecast low is just too low to leave them out one more night!

The tamales were wonderful, and I brought more home for DD and I to have for dinner. The dishwasher is all better - all I had to do was to run the garbage disposal thoroughly and it was fine.

Taryn, what more can I say? It will work out for the best in the end but it will take a little bit of stress to get to that end. Here's hoping that the outcome will be what's best for the family.

Eden, methinks you spoil that little sweetie-pie!

Okay, one last project to tackle before bed - the last remnants of the coffee disaster. Then I will need to climb into bed with an extra blanket and maybe a dog. I have a small one on my hip right now but I will need a larger one tonight.

Before I forget, did anyone else hear the NPR piece about lobotomies this afternoon? It was an absolutely stunning piece of radio. I should have been leaving the office and literally sat in my chair with my mouth hanging open for probably twenty minutes. The link to the website info is below but it was quite powerful to hear this story in the man's own voice.

V.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Lobotomy

T... thanks for the input. I just wondered.. I've always had my teeth cleaned thoroughly by my dentist. Never by a hygienist. I decided to change to a nearer dentist to save driving time. I specifically asked for a 'thorough cleaning' and expected the dentist would be doing it. Was surprised that a hygienist appeared, gave my teeth a polishing with an instrument. The dentist came in looked in my mouth gave me a toothbrush and some toothpaste. I didn't know what to think. Didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings. Paid my bill and left. Wrote note to dentist in that it was not what I had expected and was very diappointed in the service. Hand delivered the note the next day. He kindly voided and returned my check. I made appointment with previous dentist even tho is is a 50 mile round trip. If I ever change services again I will enquire what is regarded by them as a 'thorough cleaning'.. but at this point in time it is preferable to me to drive the extra distance.
V.. that is a lot of tamales. I used to make about 12 dozen at a time now only make about half that. I used to send them to Partner's office during the holidays and they were appreciated. When we first moved here I continued the tradition and gave them to all the neighbors for the first couple of years that we were here. It is usually a 2 day job and time consuming so we haven't made any for a while.. but been thinking about it.
Getting cold here. The petunias and luecantha finally got frosted. They've been beautiful for a long time. Thinking of everyone and keeping up with your input. EP

Oh V, that is hard stuff for me to read, but interesting historically. I know two people who were asked to be lobotomized and refused. One woman friend was in fact encouraged to have the procedure done by here husband, a pathologist. We all would like quck simple solutions for serious problems I guess. We rely now on medicines in a similar fashion at times. Doctors have told us not to be concerned about medication for our son's heart problems, that the medicine has been tested "for years". When asked how many years, the reply was THREE. It just seemed to us that three years is not enough to determine side effects on a 12 year old- or anyone. Another doctor, about 15 years later, determined that the first one had misdiagnosed our son's problem and proposed a great new surgical procedure. Again, it was a sure thing, just invented 5 years before. Honestly....we must do our own investigating these days and the web is a great place to begin. It sure helps if the doctor is trusted, has lots of experience and has good contacts and communication skills as well. Mind you, would I try an experimental drug or procedure? It all depends I guess. My friend who is a survivor of pancreatic cancer has followed a new mainly dietary routine. It has been very time consuming and difficult, but for him and us, ever so worth it!

Hard to read but really, really hard to listen to so much pain! I should have been attempting sleep half an hour ago but after reading V's link, downloaded and listened to it all. (Insert major sniffles here). See why I don't follow the news?

Very scary to think such a procedure had a green light for years. Shane is nearly as old as Dully was when he was subjected to this horrible procedure, and he was just a normal boy! Very, very sad that his own stepmother brought this on him.

How many unsafe or unproven and/or horribly painful cultural procedures/drugs (thalidomide, fen/phen, Vioxx, Celebrex and so many more unspoken ones) have victims, and their families that still suffer today?

I'm a great believer in being responsible for my own health and finding the best preventions and treatments there are out there. I'm very fortunate to have an MD that is open minded enough to hear me out, but his hands are tied with red tape in so many instances. He saw me before and after acupuncture and knows it can work wonders, but is unable to prescribe it for his patients. I am happy to have access to a successful treatment that has been working for thousands of years, though think how many more could be helped, so much suffering ended if insurance would pay for it. They've been trying for years to get board certification across Ontario which is what it will require. My MD knows the blood tests we're about to do again have previously not been too conclusive, but has little else to offer. If he writes me a prescription for the much more accurate saliva tests I'm having to pay for myself through an American lab, I MAY get some of that money back. I have to convince him, and maybe I'll get it back. Then maybe if the results are there that the blood tests don't show, he'll be convinced they are worth doing. Maybe others will benefit at some point in the future. It is not "in the system" currently. Sharing life stories is a good thing, even when the stories are bad. Keep your eyes open and always ask lots of questions is all I can say. Thanks V, for a much-needed change of perspective. Selling a house is stressful but no permanent damage, well maybe other than that raccoon look...

T

I am basically an NPR junkie. Morning Edition every day, and usually the Diane Reem Show (sp?) and The World, sometimes Evening Edition. I happend to hear "My Lobotomy", too. I was washing dishes and stood in the living room, patting a cat, absolutely transfixed. I had the same thoughts as you... what routine things are happening now that will be revealed as unwarranted in the future. The gall of a physician to presume the natural tendancies of a 12 year old would require such a procedure... . I, too, pondered it over the rest of the evening.

It was raining here at 2AM, as I lay in my feline straightjacket thinking about lobotomies... . The helpmeet refers to Vera as a "barnicle", but I've decided she is more like a tugboat. She curls up in snug little ball, propped right up on your thigh. And she pushes... easy, relentlessly, adorably, all night long. I think I may have stumbled on the answer, though. I filled a hot water bottle and put it under the covers. She nestled right up to it!, tonight I will move it bit farther away from my person. ;)

When I was a kid, I wanted a Hamster or a Guinea Pig so much. Mum was adamant, NO! A friend of mine has a couple of rats and they're great; very affectionate, really. They love hanging out on your shoulder and cuddling under your neck. Birds are really cool, too. Those piercing red eyes made me chuckle... especially when described as "evil"...

Sue, I haven't been to NYC in YEARS. And I've never seen the Rockettes, but would love to; I laughed at being lost with the dancing bears and soldiers. I've suggested foing to NYC for a weekend, but the helpmeet always looks at me as though I have rocks in my head. I think it would be a blast; Museums, "sites", "a show", but he just can't "catch the fever". As a kid I always wanted to take dancing lessons, but never did. Both Mum and my late aunt (for whom I'm named) took dance for many years. Betty actually auditioned for the Rockettes in the '40s, but she wasn't tall enough; my grandmother and her sisters were HORRIFIED and quickly put the kibosh on Betty's aspirations to pursue dance. Instead, she went to secretarial school. She worked for the Dean of Admissions at a well known college in Boston for over 50 years. Until the last months of her life she took fitness classes and was always as slim and flexible as a reed; she was nearly 85.

I was thinking about Glenn Campbell, too. I heard "Rhinestone Cowboy" the other day (great tune) and was thinking we should have a greatest hits album of his stuff in our musical "liberry"; he's very talented. Remember his TV show? He did some serious "large livin'" in the '70s, I guess, but he's not alone in that regard. It catches up with with them, I guess.

Well, off to the salt mines; could be an early one if the crunch for "real estate" in the shop becomes too challenging. I'll groan when I see the paycheck, but free time carries a hefty pricetag. I'm bracing for wind and chilly temps, too.

Morning,

Well it cooled off last night from 67 degrees at 5:30 to 40 degrees this AM. We had some deluges overnight but no T Storms which is what I was worried about with such warm and tropical air.~~ Im now in a panic because I canÂt believe Thanksgiving is next week! Good heavens where oh where does the time fly. ~~ We had a bit of unexpected good news yesterday. The property tax bill came in our taxes went down by a couple hundred dollars. Incredible. The re-assessment came in at 50K more and I was dreading the bill but they lowered the tax rate so we came out OK.

Eden, that is such a cute pic of Bella! She isnÂt spoiled or anything is she? LOL

Bug, that purring link is neat. There really isnÂt a more contented sound to be had is there. IÂm going to send it to DD. She brought the new GKitties over again last night and Rahjii and LukeÂs noses are way out of joint. The gray kitty has the most enormous feet and as it turns out DDÂs vet thinks based on his size and age this cat will mature out at 18 to 20 pounds. Holy moly! That is a lot of cat.

Sue, glad to hear you had a great time in NYC. IÂve not been for years since a friend and I went in to see CATS.

Woody IÂm really bummed out that the cookies didnÂt turn out OK for you. Yes there was ¼ tsp of salt called for in the recipe but it said that was optional so I didnÂt use it. IÂm posting the original recipe without any changes and there is a link to the 5 Grain Cereal on the bottom.

3 cups uncooked 5 Grain Cereal
1 ½ Cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 cup honey or maple syrup
¾ cup softened margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
½ cup raisins or chopped dates (optional)
Heat oven to 375F. Lightly coat cookie sheet with vegetable oil. Combine dry ingredients, mix well. Mix honey, margarine and vanilla until smooth. Add egg. Blend dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Stir in (optional)raisins, nuts. Place rounded spoonfuls of blended ingredients onto cookie wheat. Bake approximately 10 minutes. Cool

My cookies stayed as mounded shapes on the cookie sheets. My dough was way too dry which is why I had to add the milk and extra eggbeater. But IÂd substituted the Splenda for the honey. The texture of the five grain cereal has more Âtooth than just oatmeal. Sorry!

Taryn, love your mousers!

OK IÂve got to get ready to get to the gym. IÂve got another hour session with Steve the trainer this morning and will be a hurting puppy later on. LOL

Have a great day everyone,
Deanne

Good Morning, It's really cold here. We've had a few snow flurries but they haven't amounted to much. I'm so glad we've got the garden cleanup pretty much finished. Looking at the 15 day forecast it doesn't look like the weather will be conducive to working outside for quite a while. I do have to remember to go out and mound my roses once the ground freezes. Bella spent the night last night and is sitting next to me talking away. She's gotten very vocal lately and I hear alot of bababa's and lalala's. Megan got called for jury duty today and had to be there early this morning.

We've seen the Radio City Music Show at the Fox Theatre in Detroit when the kids were younger. It's a good thing to do as a special holiday outing as a family. We'll probably take Bella to see it when she's older too but it's not something I would go to just for my own enjoyment.

I saw Glen Campbell being interviewed on tv last night. I agree that the years haven't been kind to him and I've also heard that he's done some hard living. I used to have his autograph around here somewhere. Back in the early 70s I had a boyfriend that worked at one of the country clubs around here and GC was there playing golf.

Deanne, what's the amount for the baking soda in the recipe? You've got two there and I'm thinking one might be baking powder? I'd like to try these. My mom and dad will be down again for Thanksgiving weekend and these sound like cookies my dad would love.

Bella's wanting breakfast so gotta run. Stay warm everyone.

Eden

Better feed that cute 'lil hooligan Eden, lol, so she can plan her (your) busy day, lol!

Today's weather: "FLURRIES. WIND WEST 30 KM/H GUSTING TO 50. HIGH 1." Translation: "FLURRIES. WIND WEST 18.6 MI/H GUSTING TO 31. HIGH 33.8." BRRRRRR!!! Oh yay, it's winter! I can tell even without the white stuff. Side panel door froze shut on the the Aerostar so kids had to climb over the front passenger seat and around the stick shift to get to the back seat. And Shane's already lost the first hat of the season, after I made sure they all had warm fitting winter attire a few weeks ago. Yup, it's winter!

Got it out of the gardens, but guess I'd best get this stuff into the shed huh? Debatable whether I cut back the kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate, amaranthus and castors or let mother nature do most of that for me.

But first, a nap. Awoke at 5:00am and that was it. Ebay listings are nearly done, the kids are thankfully back in school again so it's quiet here. I would LOVE to be awakened by the jangle of the all important phone call...

Enjoy the day,

Taryn

Good morning!

I have a cup of coffee
{{gwi:187191}}
and here is one for you, too.
{{gwi:187172}}

There you go! :oD

I'm going to head to a quilt show this morning and am excited to see what quilts are there and what new tools, toys and fabrics that the vendors will have to dazzle (and tempt) me. Credit card & checkbook are being left at home......My new motto and lifestyle is **If I don't have the cash, I can't have it** . Not as much fun as getting what I want 'now' but much wiser. Being wise isn't as much fun as buying.......but no credit card bill is wonderful.

EP, I'll mention to DD about your experience and find out her thoughts on it. She hasn't been out of school all that long so she may not have anything to offer, but I'll ask.

V, I too, was bothered greatly about the lobotomies and the story link you shared. I wonder how many of the current (and accepted) procedures will be found to be barbaric?

Okay, you have your coffee and I need more.

Taryn, hope you get that *YES!* phone call today.

T.

I DO NOT enjoy dealing with the IRS over Mom's taxes. That will occupy me for a few weeks/months now....

I DO NOT enjoy the wind and cold and s**w.

I DO NOT enjoy all sorts of mundane clean-up around the house, but it is better than the other two items mentioned.

I do enjoy photos though and good news, so keep them rolling my way!

Marian? Yoo Hoo! Can you see anything yet?
Hi to everyone!

'Bug

Uh oh, trouble here. The water heater's started leaking this morning. Plumber can't come replace it until tomorrow so Brad's going to do it himself (I hope). He's at Home Depot buying a new one now and he's not a happy camper. No water here, not a good thing...

Eden

Deanne - ditto Eden's question re baking soda repeat... Thanks for the link - I was wondering if the 5 grain cereal was something like Red River Cereal.... I'll have to try substituting that instead and try incorporating canola oil into the recipe for some relatively healthy (if there is such a thing...) fat. I think I'd jazz up the spicing a bit by adding some allspice and nutmeg - my favorite spices in combination with cinnamon. I think I'd be inclined to go with some dates with darker raisins. This could be fun - we can all experiment and come up with our own variations! That's what I did with our mincemeat recipe - saw one to start with and substituted things I thought would suit our tastes better. It's fun to customize recipes I think.

Taryn - no white stuff here other than a few flakes fluttering down now and then but it is COLD this morning! I've decided I like the look of north alley logs so much that I'm adding them to where the weeoland/shade beds meet the back lawn on the south side of the yard so we were out measuring to see how many we need. We didn't stay out there long!

Good day to make lasagna for supper I think!

Eden, Whoops, that 1/4 tsp should be salt! Woody had specifically asked about salt then I made a typo. Jeesh. And the salt is optional.

A quick update. Taryn, well sounds like you were right on. Steve gave me a real 'talking to' about not eating enough. When I told him I'd gained a few pounds eating 1,800 calories per day he said it is completely normal to gain a few ANY time you change diet or exercise routines. That I hadn't given it enough time. So my 'task' for the next few days is to pay very strict attention to my hunger and eat ONLY when I am hungry but eat EVERY time I feel hungry (that is the important part)and stop eating before I get full. He said I should never let myself get that hungry with the kind of workout schedule I'm keeping. It is probably messing me up being way too calorie deprived all the time. So I thought you'd enjoy hearing your were right. Hmph... So I'm going to keep track of my calorie counts doing it this way and it should give me my maintenance amounts. Should be interesting.

OK Im off to Tilton, I went to wear one of my cotton Turtle Necks and it was ENORMOUS on me. 90% of my winter clothes from last year are too big and I'd like to have a few tops that fit. Also, almost all my wool blazers and my winter coats are too big. I'll have to check out the Wilson's leather outlet while I'm up there.

Later,
D

Eden, I was mopping up water from the newly painted basement floor last night. We've had so much rain. I know it comes from one of the window wells, down through a wall and into the basement. Just what to do about it is a mystery...so I continue mopping. At least it is easier now with the painted floor than with the raw cement.
DH fixed the water heater leaks twice...but I see a new one in our futur. Also a new furnace. It never ends does it!
Outdoors it is VERY white, low visibility.

Deanne, I thought Taryn was right...and let's hope this is effective sooner rather than later. Always feeling hungry doesn't seem right at all. Good luck on the shopping! By the way, any Linde Armstrong seeds left?

And now, some words of wisdom from a book my kitties have been reading:

To make sure your human understands that you are alpha cat, head of the family and pack leader, institute a status-reduction programme immediately. Your human must learn that you have first right to all chairs, beds and doorways. You expect to be fed first and go through doors before it does. A happy human knows its place in the pecking order - well below that of the cat.

Remember. Humans have the mental age of a one-week-old blind kitten. They cannot express themselves in body language because they have no tail and no whiskers; their hair can't stand up and their ears are completely inflexible. They can learn only a few words from the huge body-language feline vocabulary.

'bug

Megan just called and I feel so bad for her. They wanted to put her on a jury that would last at least until December 15. There's no way she could do that. She and Bella would be in the poor house. Being a waitress she totally depends on her tips and would have no income except the $35 a day the court would pay her. She said she got really upset and sat there in the jury box crying with all the other jurors looking at her. The judge called a sidebar to talk to her and excused her from the jury but she has to call back every night for the next week and a half and could possibly have to go through this again. Things just aren't going well around here today.

Marie, lol on the kitty wisdom. So that explains why my cats are always giving me "that look."

Deanne, thanks for the clarification on the recipe. I'll let you know how it turns out. The way your trainer told you to diet is how I do it simply because it makes sense to me. When I want to loose weight I really pay attention to eating only when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm not. It works. It's amazing how much extra the average person eats just for enjoyment, out of boredom or stress or from habit if you start really paying attention. I'm not speaking about you though, I know you pay attention to every morsel that crosses your lips and are very careful. I think your trainer's right, you've put your body into starvation mode by eating too little.

Mary, such great news about Ruth's family finding a home of their own again. I'm really happy for them. Peanut is a cutey. We used to have gerbils, hamsters and guinea pigs when the kids were younger. Once had a "male" gerbil who lived a solitary life alone in his cage give birth to a litter of babies a few weeks after we brought him home from the pet store.

Boy, I wish someone would show up with some hot tamales here so my day could start to improve.

Later, Eden

I totally "bagged out" early today. I've spent the past 3 days working on a curtain job in fits and starts, all of it relating to a "work order" scribbled on a piece of paper; first the measurements were unclear; then the basic dsign was changed, then there was no information for siting grommets and other hardware... . All week long I've done repairs that were small and quick and I've cleaned/polished, mended curtains, while waiting for the requisite information to be collected/confirmed so I could finish the curtains. I've done it with a smile. Today, I asked about the hardware for the curtain job and was snapped at about disturbing her concentration and "just wait, will you?!". WRONG thing to say to me today. I cleaned the shop and then set the hardware. I then calmly said, "I'm going home now. I want to do things that remind me I am intelligent, capable, and creative. I do not wish to be snapped at because the work order I'm assigned is lacking pertinent information for the completion of the job. I do not wish to be treated like 10 yr. old any more today; moreover, I don't want to give in to irritation and say something unkind. I'll see you on Monday morning.". STUNNED silence. Then it occured to her that on the back of the paper with the job I just finished was a small item for a job I finished last week... . I finished that piece for her and then I left. Things will be fine, but every so often my patience is sorely tried.

I will sniff paint this afternoon. ;)

I signed the death warrant for another turkey today. And I ordered a cake from the lovely bakery next to the meat market. I want to buy a cake stand, too... (I am a sucker for lovely, genteel items like that!).

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:
Grammy and Spencer (as a baby)
{{gwi:187192}}

Polly
{{gwi:187193}}

"Pollykins"
{{gwi:187194}}

Daddy and "Pollyness"
{{gwi:187195}}

A little colour for Eden's day. I don't have any hot tamales.

{{gwi:187196}}

{{gwi:187197}}

'bug,

The purring is great! I don't think there's anything more restful to me.

The crabapple shot is amazing in its detail. You really have an artist's eye for the dazzling beauty of the smallest things. Beautiful! (would make a wonderful card for the holidaze).

Eden, I hope things perk up in your house soon. No water is not good at all, in a way it's worse than no heat.

I'm procrastinating now... still feeling peevish about work; aha! I'll listen to some more purring... :)

GB those picture are absolutely gorgeous.... Thanks

GB - wow, what photos -- how do you even "think" what to grab a close-up of? you're truly a "photo-artiste" as David called you, I believe.
It warms anyone's mood who looks at those photos! Thanks so much.
Hope it improves everyone else's day too looking at the great photos all posted here...
--Cindy

Thanks Marie, those are both just beautiful pictures. What an artistic eye you have. I always enjoy your photography so much.

This day is going so wrong it's starting to be amusing. Yesterday I called Brad's Dr. to have a prescription written. We have to be mail-order it in so the Drs. receptionist said we could pick it up today. His office is about 1/2 an hour away and since Brad's working on the water heater I volunteered to drive out and get it while Bella was taking her nap. When I got there, guess what, sign on the door said the office is closed today. The receptionist must have forgotten when I talked to her yesterday. Good news though, Brad put in a new valve so we now at least have cold water and I don't have to go to the neighbor's to use the bathroom anymore. I do realize this is all just silly little day to day annoying stuff and life in general is very good.

Chelone, good for you that you stood up and said what you needed to and went home. Hope all that purring has you in a zen kind of mood by now.

Hi Cindy!

Hi Nickey!

Marian?

Babs?

Bye for now, Eden

Hi, everyone. Quick stop by ..

I've so enjoyed looking at the pictures. Was there water in that toilet?? LOL. Darn, Marie???? I just got it that the 'bug part of you is 'photo-'. Ah, Duh.

Have been a domestic goddess for the last two days and have gotten quite a bit done. This place is beginning to feel like home. I've reached the boxes of "stuff" that made it through four purges and am popping things here and there. Taryn, I hope your turn is SOON!!! The twists our paths take .....

I feel for Megan, and am glad that a judge listened. Um, Why shouldn't Bella look so dazzling when she has all that Great Stuff??? LOL I'm sure I'd do the exact same thing if I were in your shoes, Eden.

Can't stick around -- next task is putting away tubers and roots without getting colors confused. Yea, Right :-)

Oh!! First cactus blooms are coming in. Then they'll die. (A well-known fact about me amongst friends is that I can't keep cactus alive to save my life so everything gets treated as an annual).

Martie

Hi ! Thanks for noticing ...Marie and Eden . I'm just 'coasting' .
I went out in the cold and shook down some more persimmons . I am wanting to try baking something with them , or making persimlets . I wonder if that would work ?

Good to see all the kitty pics .( The last thread kind of 'went to the dogs ' , lol .) That cute little red-eyed hampster is special , and the "little hooligan" is a sweetie ! All of Marie's pics are beautiful . Chelone , your kitty in the potty is a great shot , the others aren't too bad either . :-) EP's pic is lovely . ( I hope I haven't missed anyone's .)

Our low was 20F last night ....goodby to all outside vegetation ....three and a half months of wintery views . I will dwell on the inside plants . There is always something in bloom . One of the Thanksgiving cactus is right on cue , and others will be close behind . The Dendrobium blooms look just like they did when they first opened .

I must get some of the house grubbed out for the holiday .
I sure am not in the mood to do it .

Nolon cut off the dead trunk of the Hemlock tree . It was a double-trunked tree and one side died from the drought . I think the remaining side will be okay .... a little sparse , but should fill in . I pruned back some of the long lower branches , hoping that will cause it to put out new growth on the bare spots .

Hugs for those who need it ( espacially Taryn ). Congrats for all who deserve it .

Marian

Opps ! I missed mentioning Deanne's great moon shot , and Taryn's snow pic . It was cold enough here the past couple of days to have snowed , but none yet . We did get over 3 inches of much needed rain , but are still needing more .

No mice in the house , so far , at least I haven't seen any evidence , and the cats are showing no interest . They are staying close to the heating stove !

Marian

Paradise on the farm!!! UPS just dropped off 11 pounds of bavarian chocolate :) WOO HOO! Too yummy! Gotta make a trip to the grocery store, then I'm ready to turn the kitchen into a pie baking and chocolate dipping factory.

Chelone-we have our Thanksgiving at a local community center (none of us has a house THAT big, lol!) and they have dishes and stuff there. And, as a matter of fact, the "chilluns" do the dishes :) Several of my nieces and nephews do the clean-up. Of course, they're all grown up and have youngsters of their own now.

Aw, GB...I'm really sorry to hear you've got water on your newly painted floor. I was very impressed with your before and after pictures!

Mice have moved in on us, too. Can't live on a farm without mice, I guess, but YUK!!

Gotta run, just wanted to pop in and see what everyone's up to. Nice pictures, everybody! You guys are going to "picture" me into getting a cat if you're not careful!
Take care and have a good night, all!
Brenda

I have the first coat of gloss on the crown moulding at the top of the chimney and the first coat of gloss on the "apron" below the hearth, 2 more to go with sanding and "tack ragging" in between. The helpmeet took the cornice boards down tonight so I may drag behind them. I'm going to take some pictures tomorrow morning to help illustrate some basic concepts of drapery work for friends (looking forward to that, actually!). Then it's time to glaze and drag the wall. After that, the bank, and the collection of the 8 dining chairs. I feel weak, already.

I'm glad to learn Eden has cold water and can pee in her own home. :) But the trip to the doctor that ended in frustration would have really irritated me... but maybe that's residual irritation from a frazzled week speaking. Like you, Eden, I tend to see the humor in situations pretty quickly, it's easier to get through life if you don't take yourself TOO seriously.

Martie, I had a friend come to the house with her 4-5 year old daughter some years ago. The kid needed to pee and was showed the bathroom. We didn't hear anything for a long time, so my friend went to check on her... she didn't know which "toilet" to use, LOL! Was she ever surprised to learn that one of the "toilets" was actually a SINK "for washing your bum"; the look on her face was absolutely priceless. I'm so used to it I forget it's not "standard equipment" in most homes. ;)

I did not get the geraniums in today. I have them swaddled in blankets (the second floor windowboxes) and am hoping I'll get a reprieve from Jack Frost. I love having some flowers throughout the long, cold months. Only time will tell. I put off the transplanting in hopes I'd be able to locate more attractive plastic planters than the dreadful blue ones we've used for years now. I haven't found anything better and may have to "settle" for the sake of flowers... IF they survive the night.

Eden, will it make you feel better if I tell you that my water heater is leaking too?

V.

It's almost time for my hot water heater to die. I have a note in my maintenance file to check out the 'on-demand' or 'instant' hot water heaters. I only bath or shower once a day and run wash maybe 3 times a week. It seems silly and wasteful to have 50 gallons of hot water available all the time. I've nixed timers, because I don't have a set schedule.

Cold here too! 27 degrees, so I cooked the turkey I picked up for Thanksgiving. By the time Thanksgiving comes it will be soup :)

GB, that crabapple (is that what it is?) is art. I especially like the little bits of snowdust in the air.

EP, I think you handled the cleaning issue well. That doesn't sound like a thorough cleaning to me either. I like T's explanation from her daughter. It makes sense.

Hi Bella :-)

Michelle, I feel for you on that drive home in the snow. Though there isn't a lot of snow in this area, we get icy conditions often, and I'd rather drive in snow. My longest snow drive was from Maynard Mass back to NH in 1986? 5 and a half hours and I had to pee and the car was overheating. It should have taken an hour and a half in rush hour conditions. Awful.

Love all the kitty pictures! Did I mis Sue's New York pictures: :-)

So I finally have a relatively easy week-end to do outdoor clean-up. Hope it warms up by then! Gutter people still haven't arrived... They were supposed to be here Monday. Then Tuesday or the next day....Guess I'll call them again tomorrow.

Good Night all ~ Cynthia

Still no hot water. In desperate need of a shower. The saga continues...

Eden

Good morning

I just watched Annie (12) leave for school. She looks so grown up now. She had on a simple outfit of black pants, furry boots and a turquoise top but she has so much more style than I ever had at that age. I delight in the young woman she's turning into but do so miss my little girl!

Heres hoping hot water returns soon for Eden, V's heater stops leaking, GB's floor dries, Chelone has a rejeuvinating day at home, Deanne no longer feel hungry, Marian enjoys her indoor blooms, Taryn has a last mintue offer and everyone has a good Friday. Must be time for Sue !

Mary

Morning all,

It's chily breezy and 31 degrees out here this morning. I can't type because my hands are too cold. It is amazing to me that I used to be comfortable with the furnace set at 62. Now I'm freezing at the same temps. Extra fat really does keep you warmer.~~So never assume you are so fit you can't get muscle pain. The charming exercise Steve had me do for the abductor and gluteus max have me so sore I can hardly walk this morning. He is so going to do that laugh of his when I tell him he is a terrible man.~~ Doug and I actually practiced our dance steps last night. Doug went and put on the shoes he wore for our lessons and we finished up with a couple very good turns. Woohoo! YOu can teach old dogs new tricks. LOL~~ Shopping was a blast yesterday and I now have a nice selection of winter tops that fit. This is a good thing. The best find of the day was a really neat sweater I found at the Liz Claiborn outlet that will go well with my hostess skirt. I'd been wondering what to wear with it now that it fits and pouff the solution jumped into my shopping bag.

Eden, that is just awful about not having any hot water. I'd be pretty cranky without my shower.~~ So sorry for Megan's difficulties. That must be so difficult for you and Brad to see her struggling like this. ~~ And that doctor's office being closed! I'd have been frothing at the mouth if I'd driven 1/2 hour to get something and the receptionist didn't tell me the office was going to be closed. I sure hope today is a better day.

Chelone, love your kitties!

Cynthia and all with water heater problems, Thank you for reminding me to talk to Doug about replacing ours before it springs a leak. We've had this one for a very long time now and I'd rather fork over the money for a new one than risk having it leave my studio in a foot of water. Have you seen those alarms that you can put on the floor around your water heater that are as loud as a smoke alarm? They have sensors that detect water and can alert you if the water heater springs a leak.

Brenda, 11 pounds of Bavarian chocolate??? Holy mackerel! Sounds divine. I order chocolate covered pecans from a place in Georgia that are to die for. Doug wanted to open up the box last night and I had to put my foot down and tell him not until Thanksgiving. He'd eat his way through half the box by next Thursday if it was opened. I also get pecan 'turtles' from them and their mixed nut selection that has macadamias in the mix. Yum! Hopefully my gallbladder won't explode on Thanksgiving. LOL

Marian, I can't believe it has been colder there than here. How strange you have had nights in the 20's. Is that unusual for you this time of the year?~~Right now I only have a very few orchids in bloom here. I have a very small phalaenopsis that throws 'babies' and it almost always has flowers on it. I should pot up one of those babies for you as it now has about eight of them on the plant. Won't be able to send it to you until spring but it will be getting established. I've given a couple of them away so far and my friend and sister really love the plant.

GB, those photographs are stunning! I hate snow this early but the pics are a real treat.

Woody, you'll have to let me know how the cookies turn out with the dates and extra spices. I quite like dates and was thinking I'd try a batch with them. I also want to make a batch with the dried cranberries. Canola oil would be a good substitue for the butter. I try to keep my fat grams under 30 a day which is difficult so I have to skip the fat even though it makes them taste better. Doug really likes the recipe with the golden raisins. Yes, this is a lot of fun to experiment with recipes. I've been doing this for a while to accommodate my dietary needs and it is getting easier as time goes by. I've been having a couple of these instead of half a power bar for a snack and they really do take the edge off my hunger.

OK must run to the gym. Have a great day all and I hope all those struggling under a 'bad-luck-bugaboo' have a better day.

Later all
Deanne

It's time to begin collecting the items required for glazing and dragging. I think a trip to the "hahdware" store is in order. I seem to be low on the lowtack painter's tape and I'd rather not run out of course steel wool in the middle of the project.

I haven't unwrapped the geraniums to see if they survived, but tonight is really going to wipe 'em out, so it's do or die for transplanting today.

I have to get rolling on my project.

Well this is how my day began:

"MARIE! One of the cats has gone beserk in the basement!!!"
"What do you mean?????!!"
"It peed on the floor, destroyed some throw rugs and all your plants...."

Good thing I hate coleus....
You get the picture.

At least the dear man helped tidy things up with me.
The two youngest cats just adore the basement and bounce off the workbench and walls, climb the window panes in the outside door and generally go on wild escapades. If I enter the room, they curl up and purr. Hmmmm.

DH decided to turn on the humidistat on the furnace as the 17C temperatures make for very dry air. That's when the water began pouring out of the drainage hose onto the floor.

I'm not waiting for a third yukky event. Something good has to happen next, like 11 pounds of chocolate being delivered or pecans from Georgia.

Later,
'bug

Frost last night and 23F this morning. Drat, I forgot to take in the mandevillas. And they are way expensive to replace. I may have to change that arbor to roses. Fortunately I remember to close GH door yesterday. Can cut the fuschias down this week-end and take those in finally. The agapanthus doesn't look like it was even touched.

Eden, I hope you have hot water soon! Deanne, look at the on demand heaters. They're more expensive than regular heaters but can cut your hot water costs as much as 30%. Break even point for me is about two years based on current system and costs.

8:30 meeting so I need to finish caffeinating myself and get the neurons firing.

Happy Friday !

Woops, that was 17F temperatures I meant to type. It hasn't been a good start to my day as you can see.

TGIF!

We didn't get the low 20 temps they were predicting here. In fact I don't think it went below 30 last night. I did toss the remaining pots into the house though. What the heck am I going to do with all these plants? That purple Bauer's dracaena is a thing of beauty right now but I have a funny feeling that after a month or so in the house it will not be so handsome.

No hot water heater in my house-just a 65 year old furnace that runs perfectly and spews continous hot water. We had a hot water tank in the house in VT. If you wanted a hot shower you had to get to the bathroom first or second otherwise you were sh** out of luck. I hate cold showers so will never go that route again.

OK, busy day coming up here so I'd better get to work.

Sue

Guess what I didn't get to yesterday?

And now we have 2" of snow! Sorry about your day Marie. Bad start to the day here too. Seeing the snow I went into the garage to get the boots. Recall yesterday I said I'd made sure the kids had winter apparel that fit? Well we dontated the rest. Long story short, I think we donated an entire garbage bag full of boots in error! Not just 3 pairs of kids' boots, but expensive winter boots of Glenn's, and 4 pairs of mine, including short ones, snowmobile boots and 2 pairs of dress boots. I feel sick. Sent the kids off to school in snowpants and runners, and guess we have to cough up more money to replace boots we just gave away. We better move soon, $12,000 in debts with renovations and repairs and counting, with xmas on the horizon...

Including the hot water heater in September, right after we cleaned up the basement from the flood. It's a rental, so didn't cost us to replace as it was old, but I don't think they put the right size in. When I fill the jacuzzi I have to sit and monitor it, as hot water runs out and the bath will be cool if I don't gradually reduce the cold water as it's filling. Eden hope your hot water woes are fixed soon. And good thoughts to Meg as well. I was called for jury duty 5 years ago when the kids were little, and was extremely worried about how I'd pay for babysitting for 3 little kids for weeks while it went on. Fortunatly for me the guy pleaded guilty (drug trial) and the trial was averted. They told me too I was still on the list though and could be called again.

Deanne I'm glad I was right about eating too little, not to be smug about it, but because now you can eat as you should. It's not right for someone who's working so hard to deny herself fuel and be hungry, so I'm hoping you adapt quickly and the pounds start dropping again. Sorry you're sore today, but you know what they say about no pain, no gain.

Re house, talked to the couple's agent yesterday and he says he was very surprised they walked away. He said their financing came through fine but the bank guy said he thought they were going to wait awhile now. House buying cold feet? Dunno, but the clock is ticking. At least I didn't hear about another offer going in on "our" house yet. Still, my stress is getting stress! Stress-induced eczema on my palms and between fingers is awful, itchy, red and raw, so I've been putting a very strong presription cortizone I dont' like using on it at night. Yesterday morning it had cleared a bit, but new outbreaks were on my wrists and all around the old ones where I didn't put the ointment, where I don't usually get it! Plus I have a lovely rash on my forehead and chest, new one for me, I don't get eczema there. So now I'm a leper without boots.

Get to show off my new look at the lab now, time to get blood taken and have a scrumptious sugary glucose test for breakfast. Then must wait another 2 hours and get retested before I can have real food. Hope the day gets better for all...

Sue, yes cheer us up with big apple pics please? (food on the brain, NYC of course)

Taryn