Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Look Out! I'm a Tropical Storm!
Looking at the NOAA site, I saw that there are tropical storms Jerry and Karen now! What are the chances of having our names together that way?! Then, in looking at the list of names for storms - right here - I see that in 2010 Colin and Matthew are both on the same list! Anyway, back to work. Just think - every six years Jerry and Karen will possibly be making the rounds!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Something New To See
I don't have time to write at the moment, but I wanted to share Tom's photo blog that he has been keeping. Here is the link - Tom's photo blog - he has been taking some awesome pictures. His last picture will be the one to come up first - click on the "previous picture" thumbnails to the left to see earlier work. Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Sunrise
Yesterday Andy and I rode with Jerry when he went to work on a house in Dover. On the way I got this picture of the sunrise. Jerry dropped Andy and I off at Byler's while he worked, and then picked us up on the way back. That place has EVERYTHING! I got stuff I wasn't able to find at home. I'll write more about that later. Right now I've got stuff to do - lessons with Andy and working. Happy Wednesday!
Sunday, September 09, 2007
A Short Break
I'm writing this early this morning before the appling begins for another day. Yesterday I posted all my pictures and had intended to write about them, but by the time I finished writing the little bit I had, the apples (do I really need to say it?) were done and needed my attention, and, well, that was pretty much it for me for the rest of the day!
Anyway, last weekend I processed you-know-whats. We left for Delaware early Tuesday morning. When we got to the trailer there was a huge spider web strung between two trees. That explains the spider web picture. I was very mindful unloading my stuff out of the truck. That's one spider web I didn't want to get tangled in!
On Wednesday, Andy and I walked to one of the outlet centers. It's not too far, but it's still a bit of a hike. We went to the Old Navy outlet and were very pleasantly surprised. They didn't have anything that impressed me for women, but Andy made out like a bandit. Actually, I can't remember the last time we bought clothes for Andy. Mostly he has always worn Tom's hand-me-downs, but now that he and Tom are close in size, there isn't a lot that Tom is handing-me-down! Andy wears a larger shoe size than Tom now - size 11 compared to Tom's 10. At the store Andy found polo shirts for $4.89 and cargo pants and jeans for $9.00 and $11.00. Other shirts were $6.00. When we were checking out, the cashier told us that as of October first that Old Navy outlet would no longer be an outlet, that it was converting into a regular Old Navy retail store and that's why the prices were so low. They had to have the building and entire inventory cleared out by October first. So, after October the prices will be quite a bit higher, but at least the selection for women should improve!
Then we went to the Kitchen Collection where I got an apple peeler/corer/slicer. Praise the Lord! This thing makes life so much easier when processing apple pie filling. The apple goes onto the end and you turn the crank. The peel comes off in one long strip and the apple comes off the end cored and cut like a giant curly fry - all in one piece. For the pie filling I just cut the apple down the middle for two sets of slices. After seeing one apple done this way, Jerry suggested leaving the apple as a giant curly fry and frying it that way and then sprinkling it with cinnamon sugar. I bet that would be good. If I have time I might try that, but I seriously doubt it will be today.
Then after shopping Andy and I decided to treat ourselves to Cracker Barrel. The two of us ate there for not much more we could have gone to McDonald's or Arby's. Andy got the chicken and dumplings. I got the chef salad. Before anyone reading this thinks I'm behaving myself by eating sensibly, I should mention that Jerry's aunt and uncle were shopping the outlets on Tuesday and called Jerry Tuesday night and wanted to meet us at - yep, Cracker Barrel. So I had my meatloaf and mashed potato meal Tuesday night, so I figured I'd better eat sensibly Wednesday! Andy and I worked the peg puzzle while waiting for our order. The caption on the picture tells how I fared!
On Thursday evening we went to visit Hilda, the lady who used to live in front of us here. She moved into her new house in Millsboro two weeks ago. We weren't sure when she was moving in exactly, so we just took a chance on her being there. She had given us her new address before she left here but she didn't have a definite closing date at that time. Anyway, when she opened her door and saw us standing there, at first she looked surprised, then hugged us all. Jerry told her that she will have to move further away or we'd just keep finding her! It was a great visit. We ended up staying until almost 11:00. Jerry fixed some stuff for her, just like he did here! He told her that we'd be coming back next week to give her some apple stuff. Every year I had given her apple pie filling and apple butter, and she gave us black walnuts that she got from a friend's house. She gave us a bunch that she had when she moved, but I need to find a black walnut cracker. A hammer really gets old and doesn't really do the job!
Okay, I think I'm caught up. Oh, one more thing. Yesterday Uncle Jim had his annual bluegrass shindig, but because we only found out about two days before the thing, there was no way we could go, not with apples rotting by the day here and Jerry still needing to work on the chipper after having been gone all week. We really missed it though, and Jerry was very disappointed and kept making references to all the great crab cakes and great music he was missing out on! Aunt Nancy is famous for her crab cakes and she always makes hundreds of crab cake sandwiches for the shindig. The boys and I decided to surprise Jerry so I sent Tom to the store to get "shindig stuff" - crab meat, potato salad, chips and dip, rolls, and I can't think of what else but I know there was more. I couldn't go the store because I had a pot of apple puree needing to be stirred every five minutes. At dinner time the boys and I made crab cakes and all the other fixins and we put bluegrass music on. When we called Jerry in from the garage for dinner, we had our own bluegrass festival going on in our kitchen. Well, it wasn't live music, and there weren't tables groaning with food and desserts, but it was nice anyway.
Okay - NOW I think I'm caught up. Now I'm off to do stuff. Betcha can't guess what?! Oh yeah- I have to get these apples finished this weekend - next weekend I have five bushels of sweet corn coming that will need to be processed. Here we go again..........
Anyway, last weekend I processed you-know-whats. We left for Delaware early Tuesday morning. When we got to the trailer there was a huge spider web strung between two trees. That explains the spider web picture. I was very mindful unloading my stuff out of the truck. That's one spider web I didn't want to get tangled in!
On Wednesday, Andy and I walked to one of the outlet centers. It's not too far, but it's still a bit of a hike. We went to the Old Navy outlet and were very pleasantly surprised. They didn't have anything that impressed me for women, but Andy made out like a bandit. Actually, I can't remember the last time we bought clothes for Andy. Mostly he has always worn Tom's hand-me-downs, but now that he and Tom are close in size, there isn't a lot that Tom is handing-me-down! Andy wears a larger shoe size than Tom now - size 11 compared to Tom's 10. At the store Andy found polo shirts for $4.89 and cargo pants and jeans for $9.00 and $11.00. Other shirts were $6.00. When we were checking out, the cashier told us that as of October first that Old Navy outlet would no longer be an outlet, that it was converting into a regular Old Navy retail store and that's why the prices were so low. They had to have the building and entire inventory cleared out by October first. So, after October the prices will be quite a bit higher, but at least the selection for women should improve!
Then we went to the Kitchen Collection where I got an apple peeler/corer/slicer. Praise the Lord! This thing makes life so much easier when processing apple pie filling. The apple goes onto the end and you turn the crank. The peel comes off in one long strip and the apple comes off the end cored and cut like a giant curly fry - all in one piece. For the pie filling I just cut the apple down the middle for two sets of slices. After seeing one apple done this way, Jerry suggested leaving the apple as a giant curly fry and frying it that way and then sprinkling it with cinnamon sugar. I bet that would be good. If I have time I might try that, but I seriously doubt it will be today.
Then after shopping Andy and I decided to treat ourselves to Cracker Barrel. The two of us ate there for not much more we could have gone to McDonald's or Arby's. Andy got the chicken and dumplings. I got the chef salad. Before anyone reading this thinks I'm behaving myself by eating sensibly, I should mention that Jerry's aunt and uncle were shopping the outlets on Tuesday and called Jerry Tuesday night and wanted to meet us at - yep, Cracker Barrel. So I had my meatloaf and mashed potato meal Tuesday night, so I figured I'd better eat sensibly Wednesday! Andy and I worked the peg puzzle while waiting for our order. The caption on the picture tells how I fared!
On Thursday evening we went to visit Hilda, the lady who used to live in front of us here. She moved into her new house in Millsboro two weeks ago. We weren't sure when she was moving in exactly, so we just took a chance on her being there. She had given us her new address before she left here but she didn't have a definite closing date at that time. Anyway, when she opened her door and saw us standing there, at first she looked surprised, then hugged us all. Jerry told her that she will have to move further away or we'd just keep finding her! It was a great visit. We ended up staying until almost 11:00. Jerry fixed some stuff for her, just like he did here! He told her that we'd be coming back next week to give her some apple stuff. Every year I had given her apple pie filling and apple butter, and she gave us black walnuts that she got from a friend's house. She gave us a bunch that she had when she moved, but I need to find a black walnut cracker. A hammer really gets old and doesn't really do the job!
Okay, I think I'm caught up. Oh, one more thing. Yesterday Uncle Jim had his annual bluegrass shindig, but because we only found out about two days before the thing, there was no way we could go, not with apples rotting by the day here and Jerry still needing to work on the chipper after having been gone all week. We really missed it though, and Jerry was very disappointed and kept making references to all the great crab cakes and great music he was missing out on! Aunt Nancy is famous for her crab cakes and she always makes hundreds of crab cake sandwiches for the shindig. The boys and I decided to surprise Jerry so I sent Tom to the store to get "shindig stuff" - crab meat, potato salad, chips and dip, rolls, and I can't think of what else but I know there was more. I couldn't go the store because I had a pot of apple puree needing to be stirred every five minutes. At dinner time the boys and I made crab cakes and all the other fixins and we put bluegrass music on. When we called Jerry in from the garage for dinner, we had our own bluegrass festival going on in our kitchen. Well, it wasn't live music, and there weren't tables groaning with food and desserts, but it was nice anyway.
Okay - NOW I think I'm caught up. Now I'm off to do stuff. Betcha can't guess what?! Oh yeah- I have to get these apples finished this weekend - next weekend I have five bushels of sweet corn coming that will need to be processed. Here we go again..........
Saturday, September 08, 2007
appleappleappleappleappleappleapple
*In a hushed golf tournament announcer's voice*
We are now into weekend two of the Apple Marathon. Will our contestant finish processing all these apples before she LOSES HER %$@# MIND?
*AHEM* Sorry.
We are now into weekend two of the Apple Marathon. Will our contestant finish processing all these apples before she LOSES HER %$@# MIND?
*AHEM* Sorry.
The view looking north from our bench at the outlets.
The view looking south from our bench at the outlets.
Andy at Cracker Barrel working the peg puzzle. He scored much better than I did. My official rating was "Ig-no-ra-mus." I'm not making that up.
It was great visiting Hilda. Her new house is beautiful. Andy took this picture of us in her living room. (You can't see her but she is in her chair sort of in front of Jerry's outstretched arm).
This picture of Hilda didn't turn out so well. We'll have to get another one next time.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Apples, Apples and More Apples!
We went to Delaware on Tuesday and came back Wednesday evening. Jerry had gotten done what he needed to do there and really needed to get back home to put the new engine in the chipper from you-know-where, so we didn't stay in DE long. While we were there, Jerry's friend who keeps us in produce called and asked if I would like some apples.
This is the man we have an exchange with - he provides the produce if I keep him in goods made with said produce. Jerry told him yes, and so he said he'd be bringing some apples over. We had no idea how many apples! The picture that is below is only part of them. There is a plastic trash can full in the garage too - and I'm talking about a huge outdoor trash can.
On the way home we went to a kitchen store and Jerry told me to get the biggest stock pot I could find so I could make the goods a little faster. He's so good to me! He has seen me make batches and batches of stuff in my little dutch oven pot because it's the largest I have. Well, I do have the canner pot, but I can't use that because then what would I use to process the jars in?!
Anyway, I got the largest one that I thought would fit on the stove and I hope to start processing tomorrow or Saturday at the latest. Apple sauce, apple butter and apple pie filling are first on the list. Then I'll see what else I can find to do with them. I'm also very grateful that I have tons of jars!
I forgot to post about this, but last week Jerry's friend called him and asked if we wanted more watermelon (he's already given us a few). Little did we know! He brought us 28 watermelons! We have eaten some, given some away, and there are more watermelon pickles on the way. I think I'm turning into a watermelon. Well, at least until next week. Then I'll be an apple.
This is the man we have an exchange with - he provides the produce if I keep him in goods made with said produce. Jerry told him yes, and so he said he'd be bringing some apples over. We had no idea how many apples! The picture that is below is only part of them. There is a plastic trash can full in the garage too - and I'm talking about a huge outdoor trash can.
On the way home we went to a kitchen store and Jerry told me to get the biggest stock pot I could find so I could make the goods a little faster. He's so good to me! He has seen me make batches and batches of stuff in my little dutch oven pot because it's the largest I have. Well, I do have the canner pot, but I can't use that because then what would I use to process the jars in?!
Anyway, I got the largest one that I thought would fit on the stove and I hope to start processing tomorrow or Saturday at the latest. Apple sauce, apple butter and apple pie filling are first on the list. Then I'll see what else I can find to do with them. I'm also very grateful that I have tons of jars!
I forgot to post about this, but last week Jerry's friend called him and asked if we wanted more watermelon (he's already given us a few). Little did we know! He brought us 28 watermelons! We have eaten some, given some away, and there are more watermelon pickles on the way. I think I'm turning into a watermelon. Well, at least until next week. Then I'll be an apple.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Today a little girl came to my door selling things for a school fundraiser. Today was the first day of school here - the school didn't waste any time getting the fundraiser started. Anyway, what bothered me most about this wasn't the fact that she was selling stuff, but the fact that she was dressed in a very tiny bikini and going door to door to strangers. Almost every house on this street has been sold since last year and there are now plenty of strangers living here. Yes, she was just a little girl and any other time her attire wouldn't have bothered me, but there are plenty of sick people in this world. She wasn't by herself - she was accompanied by another little girl dressed similarly. It's not that we live in a bad neighborhood, but isn't that what you always see the victim's families quoting in the news stories? "We never thought anything like that could happen here."
Parents - use your heads! First of all, your children have no business going door to door in this day and age. If for some reason you have a major lapse in judgement and allow them to do so, pay attention to what they are wearing and how they might appear to people with sick minds. If you think something bad can't happen to your child, maybe you should ask someone whose child is missing - they didn't think so, either.
Parents - use your heads! First of all, your children have no business going door to door in this day and age. If for some reason you have a major lapse in judgement and allow them to do so, pay attention to what they are wearing and how they might appear to people with sick minds. If you think something bad can't happen to your child, maybe you should ask someone whose child is missing - they didn't think so, either.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Back to School
Tomorrow Andy and I will start homeschooling again for this year. We had originally planned to homeschool through the summer, and we did manage to do quite a few lessons, but it wasn't consistent. Oh, well. We got a summer break, too.
I recently got in touch with my friend Amy in West Virginia whom I haven't heard from in over a year. We had a lot of catching up to do. She is one friend who I really missed but our lives got so busy that eventually our emails dried up - sort of like this blog!
Andy and I went grocery shopping this afternoon. Note to self - NEVER go grocery shopping at noon on a Sunday. It was packed! There were actually lines waiting to get into the aisles, and then people were just plain rude! Luckily, I had a thorough grocery list. I followed the list exactly and got out of there! Then Andy and I got ourselves a Starbucks Java Chip. Well, we deserved it after that ordeal!
Well, I have grocery shopped, cooked lunch (frozen pizza!), cleaned the kitchen and bathed the cat. Now I guess I'd better go and finish planning Andy's lessons for tomorrow. Jerry is hard at work on the chipper from H-E-double toothpicks. I don't know if I noted it in my blog before, and I don't feel like looking back to see right now - but about a month or so ago the engine blew up in it. Literally. There is a huge hole in the side of the engine. We were in Delaware at the time and Jerry's uncle had used it on a job and he called Jerry and informed him that the chipper had - in his words - "blown up". When we arrived home the chipper had been parked back in front of our garage and there was a cardboard box on the ground near it containing "blown-up" engine pieces. So now Jerry is putting a new engine in the thing. Surely it will behave now - it's basically a whole new chipper with all the parts he's had to put on it!
Anyway, off to do stuff. Happy Sunday, y'all!
I recently got in touch with my friend Amy in West Virginia whom I haven't heard from in over a year. We had a lot of catching up to do. She is one friend who I really missed but our lives got so busy that eventually our emails dried up - sort of like this blog!
Andy and I went grocery shopping this afternoon. Note to self - NEVER go grocery shopping at noon on a Sunday. It was packed! There were actually lines waiting to get into the aisles, and then people were just plain rude! Luckily, I had a thorough grocery list. I followed the list exactly and got out of there! Then Andy and I got ourselves a Starbucks Java Chip. Well, we deserved it after that ordeal!
Well, I have grocery shopped, cooked lunch (frozen pizza!), cleaned the kitchen and bathed the cat. Now I guess I'd better go and finish planning Andy's lessons for tomorrow. Jerry is hard at work on the chipper from H-E-double toothpicks. I don't know if I noted it in my blog before, and I don't feel like looking back to see right now - but about a month or so ago the engine blew up in it. Literally. There is a huge hole in the side of the engine. We were in Delaware at the time and Jerry's uncle had used it on a job and he called Jerry and informed him that the chipper had - in his words - "blown up". When we arrived home the chipper had been parked back in front of our garage and there was a cardboard box on the ground near it containing "blown-up" engine pieces. So now Jerry is putting a new engine in the thing. Surely it will behave now - it's basically a whole new chipper with all the parts he's had to put on it!
Anyway, off to do stuff. Happy Sunday, y'all!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Spoiled again!
It's been a long time since I posted - I didn't realize how long until I looked at the date of the last post. Time flies when you're having fun - and even when you're not!
We finally have air conditioning. Back in May we tried to turn it on and it wouldn't come on. To make a long story short, everything's finished now and we are spoiled once again. I actually enjoyed cooking in my kitchen again. Jerry's friend has given us lots and lots of produce again this year and he only asked that I make him zucchini cake and bread. Well, I did that (plus some for us - yum!), and still have a ton of zucchini left. He gave us a bushel of tomatoes that I made spaghetti sauce from last week - BEFORE the air conditioning was operational. Whew - that was a hot day in this kitchen. I made the spaghetti sauce recipe up as I went along, and I'm glad I wrote everything down as it went into the pot - Tom says it's our secret family recipe now. It is really, really tasty. Tom insists that we should market it! Jerry's friend got a jar of sauce, also. Yesterday he came by and gave Jerry three watermelons, a huge cantaloupe, and three 5-gallon buckets of green tomatoes. Time to break out the cookbook! I'm not as creative with green tomatoes. He also gave us a bucket of cucumbers that are awaiting pickling. I hope to get those made by the weekend. Now with the air conditioning fixed, I can go back to Delaware with Jerry. I didn't go before because I didn't want to leave the house all opened up in case it stormed during the day. If I closed the house up, the cat would be miserable in the heat during the day, and Tom would be miserable in the heat when he came home from school in the evening. There was one good thing about being without air conditioning all this time - we got used to it, which served us well last night and today. Our electricity went out at about 3:00 this morning and didn't come back on until 12:30 this afternoon. I'm sure the neighbors were busy complaining, but we were just fine with it. It wasn't very hot today, anyway and it wasn't bad at all.
Tom wants to go out for his birthday, so he chose Macaroni Grill. He has eaten there before, but we haven't and are looking forward to it. We looked at the menu online and I just have two words - elastic waistband.
Well, off to do stuff.
We finally have air conditioning. Back in May we tried to turn it on and it wouldn't come on. To make a long story short, everything's finished now and we are spoiled once again. I actually enjoyed cooking in my kitchen again. Jerry's friend has given us lots and lots of produce again this year and he only asked that I make him zucchini cake and bread. Well, I did that (plus some for us - yum!), and still have a ton of zucchini left. He gave us a bushel of tomatoes that I made spaghetti sauce from last week - BEFORE the air conditioning was operational. Whew - that was a hot day in this kitchen. I made the spaghetti sauce recipe up as I went along, and I'm glad I wrote everything down as it went into the pot - Tom says it's our secret family recipe now. It is really, really tasty. Tom insists that we should market it! Jerry's friend got a jar of sauce, also. Yesterday he came by and gave Jerry three watermelons, a huge cantaloupe, and three 5-gallon buckets of green tomatoes. Time to break out the cookbook! I'm not as creative with green tomatoes. He also gave us a bucket of cucumbers that are awaiting pickling. I hope to get those made by the weekend. Now with the air conditioning fixed, I can go back to Delaware with Jerry. I didn't go before because I didn't want to leave the house all opened up in case it stormed during the day. If I closed the house up, the cat would be miserable in the heat during the day, and Tom would be miserable in the heat when he came home from school in the evening. There was one good thing about being without air conditioning all this time - we got used to it, which served us well last night and today. Our electricity went out at about 3:00 this morning and didn't come back on until 12:30 this afternoon. I'm sure the neighbors were busy complaining, but we were just fine with it. It wasn't very hot today, anyway and it wasn't bad at all.
Tom wants to go out for his birthday, so he chose Macaroni Grill. He has eaten there before, but we haven't and are looking forward to it. We looked at the menu online and I just have two words - elastic waistband.
Well, off to do stuff.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Milestone July
This July holds milestones for our family. Andy is 13 today, and Tom will be 21 in a few weeks. I see Andy's upper lip peach fuzz and hear his cracking voice and feel like I'm about to cry. This is my baby - who is now 13 and taller than I am. A word of advice for mamas young and old - hold your babies as long as you can and when they're older hug them for as long as they'll let you. I can still manage a hug or two out of Tom, but only for special occasions!
One of those occasions was when he was leaving for his week-long trip to North Carolina with Sam's family again this year. He is back now and says he has pictures but I haven't seen them yet. I will post them when I get access to his camera. Right now he has his camera with him because I made him promise to take a picture of Sam opening her birthday present from him (her birthday was last week and her family is celebrating it today). He gave her a diamond journey necklace (teeny tiny diamonds, but diamonds nonetheless!) and I thought he would burst waiting until today to give it to her. This is another thing that brought tears to my eyes - Tom wanted my help choosing a necklace for her. He also made me come right out and cry a couple of weeks ago when he told me that when it was time, he wanted my help picking out an engagement ring for Sam. He has it all planned out, when and how he wants to propose to her, but it's a surprise and won't be for a while yet, and so, not knowing who might be reading this blog, I can't divulge details. Suffice it to say that this Mama cried a good while after that announcement! *Warning* Any grandmamas reading may become teary also!
Well, I'm feeling a bit reflective today and think I'll spend some time with my new teenager. I told him that when I was growing up, turning 13 meant that we were allowed to wear mascara and so I offered to get him some, but the withering look I got in response tells me he'd rather have something else!
One of those occasions was when he was leaving for his week-long trip to North Carolina with Sam's family again this year. He is back now and says he has pictures but I haven't seen them yet. I will post them when I get access to his camera. Right now he has his camera with him because I made him promise to take a picture of Sam opening her birthday present from him (her birthday was last week and her family is celebrating it today). He gave her a diamond journey necklace (teeny tiny diamonds, but diamonds nonetheless!) and I thought he would burst waiting until today to give it to her. This is another thing that brought tears to my eyes - Tom wanted my help choosing a necklace for her. He also made me come right out and cry a couple of weeks ago when he told me that when it was time, he wanted my help picking out an engagement ring for Sam. He has it all planned out, when and how he wants to propose to her, but it's a surprise and won't be for a while yet, and so, not knowing who might be reading this blog, I can't divulge details. Suffice it to say that this Mama cried a good while after that announcement! *Warning* Any grandmamas reading may become teary also!
Well, I'm feeling a bit reflective today and think I'll spend some time with my new teenager. I told him that when I was growing up, turning 13 meant that we were allowed to wear mascara and so I offered to get him some, but the withering look I got in response tells me he'd rather have something else!
Sunday, June 03, 2007
A Wonderful Sunday
What a wonderful Sunday this has been. It doesn't take much to amuse me, but this has been a great day - and it's not over yet! It started with the sound and smell of rain - much needed, blessed RAIN! My poor herb plants have been struggling in the sun and heat since I planted them. My efforts at watering them each day still didn't seem to matter very much. Also the cooler air was a blessing. Two weeks ago we tried to turn the air conditioning on and it didn't work right. We're not sure what the problem is, but we're really not in any hurry to fix it now. We had a new unit put in two years ago and it probably just needs charging based on the way it's acting. Anyway, in the days waiting to fix it, we decided we could get used to the heat and deal with it (for a while, anyway - the dog days of August aren't here yet!). I must say that I have not missed the high electric bill. I was rather shocked to get our last one and it was only $160.00. I can't remember the last time it was that low, and I was in no hurry to run it up again using the air conditioning. I think it was that low because we have been dividing our time between Delaware and here and so have only been here half the time. Anyway, the wind and cooler air were definitely welcome today.
Then our neighbors came over to bring us some wonderful goodies from the Philippines. They watched our house while we were in Delaware almost a month in February, and we watched their house while they were away for a little more than a month in April. Our neighbors' names are Merriam and Jim. Merriam is from the Philippines and they go to visit her family every year. Last year they brought us back beautiful wind chimes that I have hanging on the deck. This year they brought us gorgeous placemats with matching cloth napkins and chopstick sets. The chopsticks are black and ornate, and really beautiful. Now I need to learn how to use them! They also brought us deodorant stones. Don't laugh - evidently this is a commonplace item in the Philippines. They look like large crystals and you are supposed to wet them and use them as you would deodorant. Tom had heard of them before but I hadn't. I asked if we offended them! Actually, once before the subject of them had come up in conversation and so they wanted to bring us some to try. They also brought us a coffee cup with a map of the Philippines on it, and dried mango. The mango is DELICIOUS. When they watched our house, we brought them coffee cups with the sights of Rehoboth Beach on them, seashells, and tiger's eye fudge. Housesitting (from your own house) is great! It was nice talking with them about their trip. Jim has to be careful about where he goes - there is some animosity towards Americans there and there are certain places he absolutely cannot go because it's too dangerous.
After meeting with the neighbors, Jerry and I went to BJs to do some grocery shopping. The boys didn't want to go, so it was just the two of us. We went to BJs and then Lowes so Jerry could get some bolts to put the gas tank back on The Chipper From Hell. Don't ask about the gas tank. Just suffice it to say that it is still The Chipper From Hell. Then on the way home Jerry surprised me and stopped by Pizza Hut and told me to go in and order enough pizza for dinner (they don't deliver as far as we are). Next door to Pizza Hut is a Dunkin' Donuts, so after I went in and ordered the pizza, I ran next door and got some donuts to take back to the truck for Jerry while we were waiting for the pizza. I also got myself a mocha swirl latte. Yum!
To top things off, when I weighed myself this morning I had lost another four pounds. Doesn't sound like much, but I have been trying - really watching what I eat and exercising every day. I noticed that I am needing to tug my capris up throughout the day now because they are getting a bit baggy! Yay! I am not brave enough to wear shorts yet, and it's just too hot for jeans, so capris are a happy medium right now.
Well, that's it for now. Happy Sunday, y'all!
Then our neighbors came over to bring us some wonderful goodies from the Philippines. They watched our house while we were in Delaware almost a month in February, and we watched their house while they were away for a little more than a month in April. Our neighbors' names are Merriam and Jim. Merriam is from the Philippines and they go to visit her family every year. Last year they brought us back beautiful wind chimes that I have hanging on the deck. This year they brought us gorgeous placemats with matching cloth napkins and chopstick sets. The chopsticks are black and ornate, and really beautiful. Now I need to learn how to use them! They also brought us deodorant stones. Don't laugh - evidently this is a commonplace item in the Philippines. They look like large crystals and you are supposed to wet them and use them as you would deodorant. Tom had heard of them before but I hadn't. I asked if we offended them! Actually, once before the subject of them had come up in conversation and so they wanted to bring us some to try. They also brought us a coffee cup with a map of the Philippines on it, and dried mango. The mango is DELICIOUS. When they watched our house, we brought them coffee cups with the sights of Rehoboth Beach on them, seashells, and tiger's eye fudge. Housesitting (from your own house) is great! It was nice talking with them about their trip. Jim has to be careful about where he goes - there is some animosity towards Americans there and there are certain places he absolutely cannot go because it's too dangerous.
After meeting with the neighbors, Jerry and I went to BJs to do some grocery shopping. The boys didn't want to go, so it was just the two of us. We went to BJs and then Lowes so Jerry could get some bolts to put the gas tank back on The Chipper From Hell. Don't ask about the gas tank. Just suffice it to say that it is still The Chipper From Hell. Then on the way home Jerry surprised me and stopped by Pizza Hut and told me to go in and order enough pizza for dinner (they don't deliver as far as we are). Next door to Pizza Hut is a Dunkin' Donuts, so after I went in and ordered the pizza, I ran next door and got some donuts to take back to the truck for Jerry while we were waiting for the pizza. I also got myself a mocha swirl latte. Yum!
To top things off, when I weighed myself this morning I had lost another four pounds. Doesn't sound like much, but I have been trying - really watching what I eat and exercising every day. I noticed that I am needing to tug my capris up throughout the day now because they are getting a bit baggy! Yay! I am not brave enough to wear shorts yet, and it's just too hot for jeans, so capris are a happy medium right now.
Well, that's it for now. Happy Sunday, y'all!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
My original first sentence of this post was "Not too much going on here." I deleted that. Something must be going on here because I sure don't feel like I have time to do anything anymore! Well, nothing I can identify with any certainty that would cause my days to jumble up and eventually lead to surprise that another week has ended. Work, teach Andy, clean (yeah, right!), cook dinner, fall asleep and start again the next day.
I recently found Flylady. For those of you who were born organized (I most definitely WAS NOT), you don't need Flylady. I do. The site is Flylady.net. The whole premise is baby steps. You didn't get disorganized in a day and you aren't going to get organized again in a day, either, but by taking small steps and making them routine, eventually the whole thing comes together. I am ashamed to say that I have fallen off the Flylady wagon these past couple of weeks, but while I was using it, believe it or not, my house was actually in order and company-ready anytime. Close your mouth now - flies might get in. Yes, it was hard for me to believe, too. I very highly recommend Flylady for anyone who needs a little nudge in the organization department.
The weekend before last Jerry and I went to the local farmer's market where I purchased a flat of herbs that I chose from the offerings. My bounty included two lavender plants, two tomato plants, two thyme plants, an oregano plant, a chive plant, lemon basil, lime basil (smells wonderful!), and regular basil, ginger mint, lemon mint, two rosemary plants, two sage plants, and a tarragon plant. We bought them on Saturday and I had intended to plant them Sunday, but on Sunday we unexpectedly ended up helping Hilda get ready to move. This is the lady who has lived in front of us for 10 years. We were leaving for Delaware first thing Monday morning, so my plants never made it into the ground. Then this past week I was home, but I still didn't get them planted. Now we will be leaving again for Delaware first thing tomorrow morning, so I had to make time to get them planted, as they were all spilling out of their pots. Something else I need to make time for is furniture rearranging. Hilda gave us furniture she couldn't take with her to her new home, but, like my plants, we haven't gotten it "planted" yet, either!
So, now I guess I'd better get going and get things together for tomorrow morning. The plants are all planted (some in the ground, some in pots on the deck). Jerry likes to leave early. And by early, I mean EARLY. Like 3:30 AM early. *YAWN* No one should be up at that hour. Anyway, off to do stuff!
I recently found Flylady. For those of you who were born organized (I most definitely WAS NOT), you don't need Flylady. I do. The site is Flylady.net. The whole premise is baby steps. You didn't get disorganized in a day and you aren't going to get organized again in a day, either, but by taking small steps and making them routine, eventually the whole thing comes together. I am ashamed to say that I have fallen off the Flylady wagon these past couple of weeks, but while I was using it, believe it or not, my house was actually in order and company-ready anytime. Close your mouth now - flies might get in. Yes, it was hard for me to believe, too. I very highly recommend Flylady for anyone who needs a little nudge in the organization department.
The weekend before last Jerry and I went to the local farmer's market where I purchased a flat of herbs that I chose from the offerings. My bounty included two lavender plants, two tomato plants, two thyme plants, an oregano plant, a chive plant, lemon basil, lime basil (smells wonderful!), and regular basil, ginger mint, lemon mint, two rosemary plants, two sage plants, and a tarragon plant. We bought them on Saturday and I had intended to plant them Sunday, but on Sunday we unexpectedly ended up helping Hilda get ready to move. This is the lady who has lived in front of us for 10 years. We were leaving for Delaware first thing Monday morning, so my plants never made it into the ground. Then this past week I was home, but I still didn't get them planted. Now we will be leaving again for Delaware first thing tomorrow morning, so I had to make time to get them planted, as they were all spilling out of their pots. Something else I need to make time for is furniture rearranging. Hilda gave us furniture she couldn't take with her to her new home, but, like my plants, we haven't gotten it "planted" yet, either!
So, now I guess I'd better get going and get things together for tomorrow morning. The plants are all planted (some in the ground, some in pots on the deck). Jerry likes to leave early. And by early, I mean EARLY. Like 3:30 AM early. *YAWN* No one should be up at that hour. Anyway, off to do stuff!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Gotta Love This Place!
I do not claim this county as my hometown. No way, no how! Read on and you'll see why. (Taken from news account of local rescue squad).
A Complete Mess in Huntingtown
By Chief Jonathan Riffe
May 14, 2007
On Monday May 14, 2007 at approximately 1330 hours, a tanker truck departed the Prince Frederick McDonald's with a load of used cooking oil. However, the driver accidentally left open one of the valves causing him to slowly dump his load of oil for several miles causing a huge hazard. At Route 4 and Plum Point Road, he stopped at the traffic light, leaving a huge pile of slick oil. Once green, he continued on. About the same time, 911 dispatched the local for Company 6 for the wash down bringing Squad 6 (Sgt Kerns). While in route, a car attempting to make the turn into Plum Point Road hit the "icy" roadway and slammed into another car. The call was upgraded to an auto accident bringing Chief 6 (Riffe), Chief 6B (Montgomery), Chief 6C (Hayes), Squad 6 (already responding), Engine 61 (S/O Collins), Ambulance 68 (Hayward) and Prince Frederick Ambulance 48. Units arrived to find several miles of Route 4 covered in grease. A total of 3 patients were transported to Calvert Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The crew from Squad 6 and Engine 61 closed down the outside lane awaiting State Highway with several loads of sand. Emergency Management was also notified due to the run-off in a nearby creek. Squad 6 remained on the scene for several hours assisting. Chief 6C held the Huntingtown command. On a side-note, the driver was found by authorities at the Dunkirk McDonald's awaiting to pick up another load of used oil, but found that he had an empty load from previous.
Units:
Chief 6, Chief 6B, Chief 6C, Squad 6, Engine 61, Ambulance 68
*Sigh* Only in Calvert County.........
A Complete Mess in Huntingtown
By Chief Jonathan Riffe
May 14, 2007
On Monday May 14, 2007 at approximately 1330 hours, a tanker truck departed the Prince Frederick McDonald's with a load of used cooking oil. However, the driver accidentally left open one of the valves causing him to slowly dump his load of oil for several miles causing a huge hazard. At Route 4 and Plum Point Road, he stopped at the traffic light, leaving a huge pile of slick oil. Once green, he continued on. About the same time, 911 dispatched the local for Company 6 for the wash down bringing Squad 6 (Sgt Kerns). While in route, a car attempting to make the turn into Plum Point Road hit the "icy" roadway and slammed into another car. The call was upgraded to an auto accident bringing Chief 6 (Riffe), Chief 6B (Montgomery), Chief 6C (Hayes), Squad 6 (already responding), Engine 61 (S/O Collins), Ambulance 68 (Hayward) and Prince Frederick Ambulance 48. Units arrived to find several miles of Route 4 covered in grease. A total of 3 patients were transported to Calvert Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The crew from Squad 6 and Engine 61 closed down the outside lane awaiting State Highway with several loads of sand. Emergency Management was also notified due to the run-off in a nearby creek. Squad 6 remained on the scene for several hours assisting. Chief 6C held the Huntingtown command. On a side-note, the driver was found by authorities at the Dunkirk McDonald's awaiting to pick up another load of used oil, but found that he had an empty load from previous.
Units:
Chief 6, Chief 6B, Chief 6C, Squad 6, Engine 61, Ambulance 68
*Sigh* Only in Calvert County.........
Friday, May 04, 2007
I am HERE! I am HERE! I am HERE!
For those of you who aren't into Dr. Seuss, that's from Horton Hears A Who. (Yes, it's WE are here, we are here, we are here - but you get the point). For those of you who ARE into Dr. Seuss - beezlenut. You will know what that means. For those of you who just think I'm a little, well, off, beezlenut to you too!
Hey - I was under extreme pressure from family members to write. Don't blame me!
Actually, I don't have time right now to write, but I will write - soon! In the meantime - beezlenut. And that's all.
Hey - I was under extreme pressure from family members to write. Don't blame me!
Actually, I don't have time right now to write, but I will write - soon! In the meantime - beezlenut. And that's all.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Blogging is like a chore. Some days you feel like doing it, other days you don't. But when you don't do it, at first you feel pressure like you should be doing it, then gradually you get over it and time just s-l-i-d-e-s on by. But you're always glad when it's done, and you realize afterwards that it wasn't so bad after all!
We have been back from Delaware for a couple of weeks now. Jerry has gone back though, to finish up a job. He worked there on Saturday and needed to be back there Monday, so he had originally planned to come home last night (Saturday) and go back early Monday morning. Well, he stopped to put fuel in his truck last night while we were on the phone talking, and he exclaimed about how $20.00 only bought him 7 gallons of diesel. That's when we figured we'd better do the math for him coming home for one day. Turns out it would cost him $80.00 round trip in fuel. Now, don't misunderstand - I love my husband dearly and I miss him terribly, but $80.00 is a week's worth of groceries, for heaven's sake! I didn't tell him that, of course! I left the decision up to him, but in the end we decided that he'd be home soon enough, so I'll be seeing him about mid-week, with $80.00 intact.
Some time next week we'll be going to visit an Amish farmer in St. Mary's County. The pick-up point for the co-op where I get my milk is quite a ways down the road. Since Tom had class on Thursdays, it was right on his way to stop and get it on his way home. Well, this class semester he doesn't have class on Thursdays. The thought of going 30 or so miles down route 4 at rush hour in the evenings does not thrill me, to say the least. I had to go to the bank at rush hour last week for Jerry, and I came home a quivering mass of mush. Route 4 is terrifying at rush hour! People were actually passing each other on the right shoulder of the road, and twice on the way home people cut across the road from intersections and the entire bumper-to-bumper lines of traffic had to screech to a halt to avoid a pileup. Not once, but twice! I realize that I have my thing about driving, but this was just NUTS!
Anyway, I wrote to the coordinator of the co-op and asked if there was any need of a host pickup point down in this end of the county, as I would be willing to do that. What that means is that I provide a place for the delivery driver to drop off the coolers with the farm goods and then people pick up their stuff, leave their checks in the bag provided, and then I mail the checks to the Amish farmer the next day (and I also get a discount on my stuff - that doesn't hurt!) I don't even have to be here when the food is dropped off or picked up by the co-op members. I just need to get the checks in the mail the next day (or have a neighbor do it for me if I'm away). What I was trying to do was avoid having to travel so far just to get my milk, but I didn't know what I would be getting into. She wrote back that it was such a coincidence that I asked that question, because she had met and was working with a farmer in St. Mary's County who wants to start selling his products (because the group has gotten too big for just the one farmer in Pennsylvania) but they didn't know of a pickup point that would be convenient for him and potential customers. You guessed it. I kind of walked into that one. They are leaving it up to me to go and meet him and see what he has to offer and discuss prices and such with him and then the coordinator of the group will post his item list (once I get it) on the co-op board and make it known that there is a group that will service the southern end of this county and St. Mary's, and that the pickup point will be here. Jerry said he would go with me to talk to him (he's the business person of the family!) Since the farmer is Amish, he doesn't have a phone but he told the coordinator who met with him that I could come by the farm any Monday or Friday. It feels kind of rude to just show up like that, but Jerry said that's how they do business. He and his uncle get their chainsaws worked on and sharpened by an Amish man in St. Mary's and his uncle has had some furniture made and Jerry has gone with him to see about that, and he says that is how it's done. Without phones, they expect you to drop by. Well, except Sundays, of course!
Whew! See? Blogging is therapeutic. It seems overwhelming just thinking about it, but before you know it you're blogging on and on and on and on and ............
We have been back from Delaware for a couple of weeks now. Jerry has gone back though, to finish up a job. He worked there on Saturday and needed to be back there Monday, so he had originally planned to come home last night (Saturday) and go back early Monday morning. Well, he stopped to put fuel in his truck last night while we were on the phone talking, and he exclaimed about how $20.00 only bought him 7 gallons of diesel. That's when we figured we'd better do the math for him coming home for one day. Turns out it would cost him $80.00 round trip in fuel. Now, don't misunderstand - I love my husband dearly and I miss him terribly, but $80.00 is a week's worth of groceries, for heaven's sake! I didn't tell him that, of course! I left the decision up to him, but in the end we decided that he'd be home soon enough, so I'll be seeing him about mid-week, with $80.00 intact.
Some time next week we'll be going to visit an Amish farmer in St. Mary's County. The pick-up point for the co-op where I get my milk is quite a ways down the road. Since Tom had class on Thursdays, it was right on his way to stop and get it on his way home. Well, this class semester he doesn't have class on Thursdays. The thought of going 30 or so miles down route 4 at rush hour in the evenings does not thrill me, to say the least. I had to go to the bank at rush hour last week for Jerry, and I came home a quivering mass of mush. Route 4 is terrifying at rush hour! People were actually passing each other on the right shoulder of the road, and twice on the way home people cut across the road from intersections and the entire bumper-to-bumper lines of traffic had to screech to a halt to avoid a pileup. Not once, but twice! I realize that I have my thing about driving, but this was just NUTS!
Anyway, I wrote to the coordinator of the co-op and asked if there was any need of a host pickup point down in this end of the county, as I would be willing to do that. What that means is that I provide a place for the delivery driver to drop off the coolers with the farm goods and then people pick up their stuff, leave their checks in the bag provided, and then I mail the checks to the Amish farmer the next day (and I also get a discount on my stuff - that doesn't hurt!) I don't even have to be here when the food is dropped off or picked up by the co-op members. I just need to get the checks in the mail the next day (or have a neighbor do it for me if I'm away). What I was trying to do was avoid having to travel so far just to get my milk, but I didn't know what I would be getting into. She wrote back that it was such a coincidence that I asked that question, because she had met and was working with a farmer in St. Mary's County who wants to start selling his products (because the group has gotten too big for just the one farmer in Pennsylvania) but they didn't know of a pickup point that would be convenient for him and potential customers. You guessed it. I kind of walked into that one. They are leaving it up to me to go and meet him and see what he has to offer and discuss prices and such with him and then the coordinator of the group will post his item list (once I get it) on the co-op board and make it known that there is a group that will service the southern end of this county and St. Mary's, and that the pickup point will be here. Jerry said he would go with me to talk to him (he's the business person of the family!) Since the farmer is Amish, he doesn't have a phone but he told the coordinator who met with him that I could come by the farm any Monday or Friday. It feels kind of rude to just show up like that, but Jerry said that's how they do business. He and his uncle get their chainsaws worked on and sharpened by an Amish man in St. Mary's and his uncle has had some furniture made and Jerry has gone with him to see about that, and he says that is how it's done. Without phones, they expect you to drop by. Well, except Sundays, of course!
Whew! See? Blogging is therapeutic. It seems overwhelming just thinking about it, but before you know it you're blogging on and on and on and on and ............
Sunday, March 18, 2007
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