Totally Tuesday

I have definitely come to the end of my energy for this day. I am guessing that the earliness of my first awakening time may have something to do with it. I awakened at 4am and then ended up reading for a while till I was sleepy again...which happened about sun up time. I did go back to sleep for a couple of hours. After I got up, I sort of went about the house in slow motion. I did a little picking and straightening up. Looked up a couple of recipes, trying to decide what recipe I am going to cook next. By the time I did whatever little I did this morning, it was time for lunch and then time to go to the church library. Donna and I completed processing the last books from the last order. We got those put on the shelves and then got to looking at the shelves. We realized that once again space is at a premiun and in order to be able to put away some of the older new books that we needed to shift books on shelves to make space. Then we decided that it was time to do some book weeding. We took quite a few from the shelves that were really old and hadn't been checked out in years and pulled them off the shelf. Donna deleted them from our computer card catalogue and did the first step of preparing them to be able to discard them and not have them find their way back to our library. Inevitably discarded books do, at times, find their way back to our shelves. Today we had an example of this with one of the books. When Donna, pulled up one of the book numbers, the computer told her that it had been previously deleted...but we had just pulled it off the shelf and it had its card in it and had no markings that indicated that it had been deleted previously. We have not a clue...but guess that this time we will hope to do a better job of deleting it permanently! When I got back home, I got all the inside wastebaskets gathered and emptied them into the kitchen wastebasket. Got all that out to the big trash can and rolled it to the road. Took a couple of collapsed cardboard boxes to the curb and that about does my recycle and trash duties for this week. The mailperson must be really running late today, as she hadn't made it to my mailbox when I checked around 5:30...so my thank yous were still waiting for her to pick them up. I guess there was a lot of mail to handle today since it didn't run Sunday or Monday. I did catch a glipse of her truck one time...but it was heading away on the opposite side of the street rather than coming my way. I guess I will get today's mail tomorrow, as it is getting pretty dark out there now. And, I know that there wasn't much of any import coming my way today. I am informed early each morning, as to what will appear in my mailbox, if anything. That's something that I just recently signed up for and it does come in handy. I now know whether there is a reason to go out to the mailbox...if I don't get advised as to what is coming then I assume that there is nothing and don't go out to check. They don't show me advertising flyers so once in a while there is something...but nothing that can't wait for another day. Our temperatures seem to be dropping. Our overnight low was in the mid 30s. I don't think that I am ready for cold temperatures! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Monday Musings

Tonight's photo is from The Gospel Family Farm (aka Nathan & Kathy & family's farm). This is a photo of Halo and her calf, Harmony...pretty much Esther's pride and joy! I have just returned from prayer meeting. We moved the time again to a little later thus I am a little later posting. I was determined that today would be the day that I would have all my thank yous written...before the mail came...well, I didn't realize till this afternoon that that could have meant sometime before tomorrow's mail comes. It's Columbus Day...no mail! Well, at least all those envelopes are in the mailbox and ready for pick up tomorrow! Task completed. That task about wore me out. I am ready for a recliner and my book or TV and my stitching! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Sunday Favorite

Happy Birthdays, Joy and Abigail!

Since it is Joy's actual birthday, I will put her name first, though she is the younger. Joy turned 19 today and Abigail's 21st birthday is in five days. So a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to both! A bunch of us had lunch at Nathan and Kathy's, then gifts for both girls, and then birthday brownies and ice cream. After lunch, Nathan, Kathy, Elijah, and I headed out to Payton's and Abigail's new home with Payton and Abigail close behind. They still can't live there...still no water or electricity...but getting closer. Abigail is hoping by her birthday, on Thursday, they will be living there! They have started moving things in. We took one of Abigail's BIG birthday presents, a dryer, out to their house along with some other things. Abigail is so excited to finally get to place their wedding gifts throughout their new home! The house is really nice and they got quite a lot done even while we were there. When we left, Nathan hauled off a lot of empty boxes to free up more floor space! It was fun to see it take shape and see them moving furniture, etc. into "just the right places!" They are excited, to say the least! After the new home tour, I am home again, home again...ready to settle in for the night. Time to read my Sunday School lesson! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Friday

First thing I did this morning was finish the book I was reading. I was getting close to the due date, when it would be whisked away into cyberspace so needed to get it read. Then later I began running errands. I had to stop at the pharmacy and pick up one of my prescriptions...had to look around! They are getting ready for their Christmas Open House that happens next month. I was there when they switched the music over to Christmas...not so sure about that! But I will say that it always makes me start getting into the Christmas mood when I go into their store and start seeing all the Christmas things being put on display. They have lots of pretties/temptations! My next stop was the Credit Union...had to get some birthday money for two special girls! Then it was a stop at JoAnn's as I needed some cording to make pipimg for the Christmas stockings that Melany needlepointed and I will finish into stockings. That was a successful stop...plus found a couple of other things! Then it was off to WalMart...ugh!!!! They are remodeling out WalMart and all I can say is what a nightmare...nothing is where it used to be. I finally found the two items on my list and I got out as fast as I could...even to the point of self-checking out (which isn't my favorite thing to do). I had considered stopping at Kroger, but at that point I was over wanting to do any more errands and I have plenty of food to get me through the weekend. I'm still trying to use what is in the freezer...so I won't starve...guaranteed!!! Once home, I had lunch and then the rest of the day I didn't accomplish much, though I did talk to Cheryl, Connie, and Marie. I have had lots of texts from Melany keeping me posted on the happenings of her Fall break. While in JoAnn's I had a call from Nathan needing an answer to a question. So I have had a busy day of keeping up with family and friends...always a good thing! Maybe I will get some stitching in tonight...last night I decided to read instead of stitch. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Sewing Day

Once again, I ended up changing my plans for the day. I "thought" that I was going to do one thing, but doing an entirely different thing. I was going to write more thank yous and ended up sewing. Kathy had asked me to make a label for Joy's graduation quilt. So I woke up today realizing that I needed to do it...then Kathy texted me and I found out that she was getting close to finishing the quilt so the square that I had would be needed soon...so that is the direction that I turned. I haven't embroidered with my machine since my last year's Christmas sewing. So it was a bit of a "getting back on the bike" experience. It took me a bit to remember just what I had to do with the software in my laptop and then get it ready to get it over to my machine. It did come back to me...but not as quickly as I might have gotten it done if I had been doing this type of task all along. I got the label embroidered out and then blanket stitched it to the square. Task accomplished! I let Kathy know when it was done. Not too long after that text, Esther and her boyfriend stopped to pick the quilt square up. We had a nice visit. I'll see them again on Saturday when we celebrate Joy's birthday. And, now...I am ready to wind down and settle in my recliner for a while and hopefully stitch on the sampler that I am working on. I stitched a few more letters last night. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Confused As To What Day It Is!

I keep thinking that it is Saturday. There are at least two reasons for that...one: Melany, Wade, and Erin came for lunch today and they usually visit on the weekend...two: Wednesday I usually have an evening Bible study at the church and there wasn't one this week as it was cancelled because it is Fall Break from schools in Tullahoma. They don't have activities during Fall Break since so many families are away. So I have stayed confused most of the day! It really does feel like Saturday to me. I had a nice visit with Melany, Wade, and Erin. They weren't here very long as they had more plans for the day...first an appointment in Tullahoma, then lunch with me, and then they were going to visit with Wade's brother and family. They are fitting in lots of things into their week, since Melany is off on Fall Break from her school in Murfreesboro, too. The tortilla pie met with everyone's approval...and...I have leftovers. I haven't been good for much since they left...I have just lazed around. I haven't yet had the enegy to even pick up a needle to stitch or a book to read...I watched some TV, checked out a couple of things on my iPad and took a nap...that about sums up whaat I have done since they left. I did load up all the dishes into the dishwasher...Erin cleared the table and Wade rinsed them...so that only left me to have to load them. I did walk to the mailbox to pick up the one piece of mail that came...and then I did make enough of an effort to put said piece of mail into the paper recycle container. I have been a bit chilly today...our temps are cooling off and it is starting to be felt in the house. I sort of dread feeling cold, again...and, really dread when it is time to turn on the heat again. It has been so nice these last couple of weeks not needing either the air on or the heat. I wish it could stay this in-between temperature for a while longer. But, I do think, that it is supposed to warm up again this coming week for a couple of days before our next cool down. This is the back and forth time of the year...one day need short sleeves...the next long sleeves and maybe even a jacket early or late in the day. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Totally Tuesday

I have been getting ready for Melany, Wade, and Erin to pay me a visit tomorrow. They are coming for an appointment here in Tullahoma and then coming to visit me for a little while. They will be here for lunch. We had thought about eating out, but since I have been going through recipes, it seems like I should make one of those recipes. After lunch, Donna and I worked in the library for a couple of hours...processing books and doing maintenance and changing a book display table. After I left the church, I headed to the grocery store to get a couple of items that I needed for the recipe that I decided to make. I needed some tomatillos and the grocery store down the street usually has them, but today they only had six left...so I had to go to Kroger, too. The funniest thing about going to Kroger was that the check-out person must not have known what tomatillos are as when I looked at the receipt after getting home, she had charged me for brussell sprouts. (rolling eyes!). I haven't bothered to see if brussell sprouts or tomatillos are more expensive per pound...too late now as I have already made the green salsa that I need for the recipe. I have also cooked the chicken thighs (had boneless chicken thighs in the freezer). After cooking them, I shredded them while they were still warm with my Kitchen Aid mixer...I knew that I could do that, but had never tried it before. Worked great! The major parts of tomorrow's lunch recipe are now done. I will put the rest of it together in the morning and pop it in the oven a little before they are supposed to arrive. I'm ready to sit for a while now. I have started cleaning up the kitchen, but still have a few more dishes to put into the dishwasher and a few to wash by hand. I also have a load of wash to get out of the dryer and put away...but other than that and the kitchen, I am done in for the day! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Task Complete

Exactly "why" this task needed to be completed is probably up for question...but...I guess I will say "just because I wanted to complete it!" I have my thousands of recipes all neat and organized...to a point. I still wish that I had a "list" that would get me to the correct recipe book...but what I have done will help. I do laugh, I talked this afternoon with Melany and decided what I will make when she, Wade, and Erin pay me a visit this week...then when I went to get the recipe, I couldn't remember which book I had seen it in. I have two of the notebooks indexed...but that just isn't going to happen...takes too much time! Most of the time I can put my hands on what I want pretty quickly. I guess today I got to thinking about "just how many" recipes I have made over the years! Thousands and thousands and...! Some I have only made once...but many, many I have made many, many times! I've done a LOT of cooking over the 55 years that we were married...lots of recipes tried...some very good...some not so much. But over the years, I became a pretty good judge of recipes, as to whether we would like them or not. Woody always said that he would try anything that I made...not his tune changed over the last few years. I can only think of one recipe that neither of us liked...a Black Bean soup from Southern Living Magazine...and, that was a surprise since Southern Living recipes were usually "keepers!" There were others that we did not care for all that much and said that I wouldn't make it again...but that is the only one that I can call to mind that we just didn't like at all! I'll bet if Woody were here, he would be able to bring that recipe to mind...we talked about it every so often. I'm thankful that we had ever so many more that we loved and made over and over again! I stayed in today until it was time for prayer meeting tonight. I am now home and settling in for the night. I'm going to put away the things that I have been using to organize the cookbook notebooks, then I am going to watch some TV and maybe stitch. Recipes have taken the place of stitching for the last couple of days. First Baptist, Tullahoma welcomed our "new" preacher yesterday. He is really our "new-old" preacher, as he left three years ago to go on the mission field. In that time we had not found just the right person to fill his position. A while back he came to the conclusion that he wanted to be back in the pulpit in the United States...and we still needed someone to fill our pulpit...and...the rest is history. He and his family have come back to Tullahoma and First Baptist Church. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Sunday Favorite

Another Day of “Organizing”

Really it was a day of just doing more of what I was doing yesterday. I needed to run a couple of errands in order to be able to continue. I needed a surge protector to plug Woody's laptop. And, I also wanted a pot of mums to add to the front door fall decorations. I decided that Lowe's would work for both of those items. In the end I got a bargain on the mum...they had a whole section of mums marked down probably due to the fact that they were pretty much in full bloom. But I decided that since I was going to have them on the front porch instead of in full sun, that a fully bloomed out one would work for me. I will just snip off the ones that become brown. Hopefully that won't happen to all the blooms at once. Once it is no longer pretty, I will see about digging a hole and planting it for next year. i also stopped at Office Max as I needed some labels. I want to label my notebook cookbooks on the spine so I and others will know what we are pulling off the shelf without having to look inside. One of the "organizational" things that I did was to clean up the pages of my "Tried and True" Recipes...I have the recipes in plastic sleeves in a notebook...some of those pages were looking pretty rough. So I went through and wiped off each of the pages...being sure that they were dry before turning to the next page. So I have a nice and clean looking recipe notebook of recipes that I use most often. I am checking my other notebook recipe books that I have complied over the years to see if any of those pages need to be wiped off. The funniest thing about the "Tried and True" was that the pumpkin pie recipe page and the pecan pie page were stuck a little more than the other pages...I discovered the reason...a very small drip of Karo syrup (ingredient in my pecan pie) had slightly glued them together. I have started putting labels on the spines...that will help when pulling the cookbooks off the shelf. I know the color of the notebooks...but if someone else needed to be cooking in my kitchen, this will make it easier for them. Anyway, it is some organizing that I want to do! I continued cleaning in the family room. I guess that I am in the mood to nest...getting ready to stay in more when cooler temperatures arrive. The folding chairs that go with the card table have upholstered seats...which had gotten a bit grubby looking. So I got out my little Green Machine and cleaned them. While I had that little shampooer out, I decided to clean an area of the carpet where a spill had occurred. With all that I have been vacuuming in there, too. I'm about finished...almost ready to remove the vacuum from the middle of the floor. I am ready to sit for the rest of the evening...might work some more on the cookbooks...or may stitch...or read? To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Look At That Smile!!!

Elijah got his braces off, finally, last week. Today was the first time that I had seen him since he got them off. I say "finally," as he has had them for a looooonnnng time. His original orthodontist, I think retired, and then another one took over. Different orthodontist = different method...so Elijah has been through several methods of straightening his teeth. His teeth should be very straight!!!! He is happy to have them off after all this time. I had a plan, as to what I was going to do today. I did head in that direction...but...in getting ready to follow the original plan, I took a detour and worked on something else entirely...but it really did get me almost ready to do my original task. I got into an organizing mood...still working on finding places to put things and how to organize areas that hadn't been my areas before. I worked on getting a good spot to put the cameras I am using most these days. I want them where they can be gotten to easily. And, I think I managed that. I also decided that it was time to "claim" Woody's laptop so found a good place for it. I spent some time figuring it out...I have become so much an Apple user with my iPad and my iPhone that I am not used to Microsoft...though I have a microsoft laptop, too. Mine I pretty much use only for sewing these days...and, since I haven't done a whole lot of sewing, I am out of the habit of using Windows. I prefer Apple, I think. I am wanting to use Woody's laptop for working with photos. I did get that figured out a little bit. I also dried and put away a couple of loads of clothes. I came up with a new way to get the clothes from the dryer downstairs to my closet upstairs...so they will be less wrinkled by the time that I get them hung up upstairs. I am going to store extra hangers in the closet in the family room and hang up the clothes that go on hangers when I get them out of the dryer and then carry them upstairs on hangers. I have them hanging on the door into the kitchen at the moment...waiting for me to take them upstairs and put them into the closet. Seems like a good idea, at least for the moment...till I come up with another idea! I just worked a little more on making the family room work the best for me. I had worked on the side with my recliner and now I am working on the fireplace end of the room. Nathan and Elijah stopped by when I was doing some of the organizing and they carried off some books and other stuff to donate...good timing! I had Nathan move a couple of things away from the garage walls so it would be easier for me to get in and out of the car. The other day I almost needed to be a contortionist to get out of the car. Our big leaf blower was next to my car door and didn't allow me to open the door very far. I got him to move the leaf blower up next to the steps where the bicycles used to be stored...and, we threw a couple of other things away so that should help me to be able to get in and out of the car without having to twist and turn and duck so much! Nathan and Elijah also went over to check out their former house's back yard. Our new neighbor is digging a hole for an in-ground pool. I have stayed at home today after all my galavanting this week. I enjoyed my activities this week, but it was also very nice to just stay home today. And, I am glad to have gotten a little more organizing done. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Thursday Doings

Today was the day for our Sunday School class potluck lunch. We met at Sherry G's house and had a good turn out. She had recently remodeled her house so besides visiting and eating good food, we got a tour of all the changes she had made. Very nice! As always, we had a good time visiting with each other. And, we had LOTS of good eats! Ruth stopped and picked me up so we rode over together and got more visiting time both going and coming back. I was ready to just sit when I got home. I don't think that I snoozed today, but I did read for a while. I'm settling in for the night and going to watch some TV and stitch for a while. I think that I will be staying close to home the next couple of days after all my galavanting this week! I have a few things that I probably "should" do that I haven't been home to do! We'll see what gets done! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Flitting Around Like a Social Butterfly!

This has been quite a day of me going from place to place in town. First I met Jo and Carolyn for breakfast at Hardee's. We visited for a while. When we left, it was time for me to head to Applebee's to meet up with Marie and Gloria. Gloria hadn't gotten to go on our trip to northern GA last week due to an accident on the interstate, so we got together to fill her in on what all we did and show her pictures and catch up on her life and her on ours. We had a good visit along with a good lunch. I came home and rested for a while so I would be able to go to Bible study this evening at church. I am home from Bible study. I am about done in for today. I have one more cookig task that I want to do...nothing too great...well it is "grate" as in grating some cheese for the Italian baked dish that I am making tomorrow to take to our Sunday School luncheon...I will be a social butterfly once again tomorrow! After tomorrow's lunch, I will fold my wings and stick around home for a couple of days! I'm pretty tired this evening...not used to so much socializing nor to so much eating out. I am not used to salty food (one reason that I pretty much avoid eating out), so I am extra, extra thirsty this evening. I guess it is time for me to go grate the mozzarella cheese...then I will get up in the morning and get the dish layered and ready for the oven so I can pop it in and be ready to take it out just prior to leaving for the lunch. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Another Calendar Page Turned

Welcome to October...how in the world can it be October...already?!?! Another situation that we blink and another month has passed. With this blink three quarters of the year...behind us! I made a quick trip to Kroger this morning to get a couple of things that I need for a dish that I'm making for a pot luck lunch that our Sunday School class is having on Thursday. After lunch, Donna and I met at the library to work for a couple of hours. We got some more books closer to being ready for the shelves. We got slowed down a bit when I had a paper jam on our printer...that was a first...and we have had the printer for many years. We did manage to get it unjammed and back to printing all on our own. After I got home, I got the garbage taken to the road for pick up tomorrow. Then I got down to business in making the first part of my dish for Thursday's pot luck lunch. I got my sauce made for a pasta dish. Tomorrow is a busy day...so I decided that I had better get the part of the recipe that takes the longest finished and in the refrigerator waiting for me to put it all together and get it baked on Thursday. Melany called and we talked while each of us cooked...hope we didn't forget any ingredients! I'm ready to sit for a while this evening. I guess I will watch tonight's debate and put a few stitches into my sampler that I'm working on. I did put a few stitches in earlier this afternoon before I headed to the library. I'm rather tired this evening...wonder if the debate will put me to sleep! I've also had a sinus headache...hope that the debate doesn't make it worse! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!