Meanderings Near Christmas, Christmas Card 2013

We have had a real cold wave--the coldest I have seen here was 4 degrees and now it has been up to 40 degrees for a few days, so much better, but I have really gone through a lot of wood with keeping the fire burning all day long!

Thanks to Melissa I have a dog food that Sadie likes.  She is much happier and wow, does she have energy to run and run and run.  It is homemade food that is so easy that it is easier than shopping for it, made out of ground turkey, brown rice, frozen vegetables and rosemary flavoring!
I also have a new favorite--faux Swedish pancakes!  They are made with eggs, cream cheese and a dash of sugar but they taste like the real deal...no gluten either.

I read another book on John Lennon and enjoyed it very much.  Sad he was taken just as his life seemed so enjoyable and somewhat normal to him.  I am now enjoying the Barbara Walters tell-all "Audition".  What an interesting life she had and how young she looks at 84.  I also listened to another Lisa Gardner thriller and have one of Dean Koontz mysteries in the wings.  Using my Samsung tablet for all my audio books is so great because I can move from room to room and activity to activity with it.  When not doing a task such as cleaning or cooking I am playing Spider Solitaire while I listen.  Still my life is quite a bore compared to those I read about...

It hardly seems like Christmas with no one around.  I have tired of all the Christmas movies though they are not finished from my recordings.  I sent a Christmas Card email and enjoyed some responses that I got back--sent some Christmas CDs which obviously no one cared about.  I guess my idea of what is great memories is a far cry from the interests of today.  Such is life! I should finish all my projects and be done with them once and for all.

Oh, yes, I also had a near catastrophe when my bathroom sink overflowed and filled the floor, drawers and vanity--took me days to clean up.  The big question is "How could I have accumulated so many different shades of lipstick?"  Did I actually wear them all?  I do remember when we started out in junior high, it was with a true red--it is now the big come back the stars are wearing today.  The near catastrophe was not the floors, rug and etc, though it was the fact I was charging my Samsung tablet on top of the sink!!!  Thank heaven the heavy leather cover saved it and the plug was not affected! 

One nice thing I have been enjoying is fresh baked chocolate chip cookies everyday.  The gluten free cc cookie dough Jean gave me is perfect for having just three cookies a day, love it!  I finished the good homemade strawberry ice cream I made and decided it was cheaper to buy...unfortunately strawberry ice cream that is microwaved for 20 seconds is a real weakness of mine.  I must not buy any more.  Strawberry ice cream has been a favorite of mine since I was a child buying it at the ice cream store after the movies, why do we never change????  Oh, to have the drive and will power of Barbara Walters, how different my life would be...

My Christmas card this year is retro, pictures froj the past!!!   Why am I so alone?

Keira and Santa Claus

 

What a darling picture.

Life's Little Peskies

So I haven't had a live Christmas tree in my house since the children left home and I totally forgot how allergic I am!!!  Plus Dr. Nelson used to put cortisone shots in my nose twice a year to dull the affects of allergies.  Wow, all day long I am sniffing, sneezing and blowing my nose and my eyes are watering.  We may have to put the tree on the back deck!

This morning it was 25!!!  But the sun shines all day long.  Sadie does not like going outside even with her coat.  Might be just as well.  Supposedly there is a flea plague going on with the critters outside!

We have finally finished the turkey and Sadie will not be happy about that.  Tonight I found the perfect supper--fresh made Butternut Squash Soup and Perky Popovers--perfect timing.

Just finished a very enjoyable book, now I will have to get the first one that J. Courtney Sullivan wrote.  I don't know how old she is but she surely has insight into family relationships and doings.  It is not like reading a book but being there.  These new authors are all so good I have read this year.  It is called "Maine" and it has been a big seller all ready.  I just happened to get the audio book on my Tablet from the San Diego County Library, they let me have 10 books out at a time!!!  Reading about John Lennon next and I have a new Lisa Gardner thriller if that proves boring--I have read about John Lennon before... Good they are all audio since my eyes are hurting, life little peskies, indeed.

PS Dec 5--Last night I could stand it no more, I was so miserable with my red eyes, sneezing and blowing my nose till it hurt, at 9:30 PM I got up and quickly took off the ornaments and carried the tree to the back deck where it now sits with its lights still hunkered in.  If I can find an extension cord I will look at my lighted tree from the inside to out!!!  Wow, what a lesson to learn again after all these years.

Hardy Family 2013

Love the Hardy Family Christmas 2013 Picture!!

Molly Arrives!!

Molly Stewart, fourth child and third daughter of Kristi and Mike arrived early this morning.  This is my fifth great grandchild!

What a beautiful child and with lots of hair!

Christmas Tree! 2013

Friday Melissa and I saw the new Hunger Games and we both agreed it was better than the first.  I am still a little curious about why the books were written--is it a parody on our government???  (Dec 1-I just read the Wiki about "Hunger Games" and wow, it is so much more complex than I had figured.  I had tried to read the book and hated it but what do I know, it is a phenomenal success--but then I do not like science-fiction.  It is still a puzzle to me though as to why it is praised so much--I guess it should be read and dissected to be appreciated???????'  To quote 'Tim' in a comment after an article about banning the book, he says "Collins’ motivation was, in the first place, to portray a world where violence as entertainment had reached its worst and force us to open our eyes to the dangers." )  I did not know that!

After the movie, we actually bought a Christmas tree!!!  It is a table topper from Rite Aid--very healthy and attractive and I haven't had a live tree since Rancho Bernardo I don't think.  And I wasn't going to decorate at all--but with Melissa here I was inspired to keep the tradition of Christmas decorations alive and well.  Plus she could get the big boxes down for me!!!

I am loving all the lights and I had way more decorations than I could possibly use--beautiful tree I think.  Thanks, Melissa.

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Photo Shoot

 

 

 

Two for Thanksgiving 2013

I am so glad Melissa garnered a ride from Chico with a Westwood couple.  We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and then went to Susanville to see "Delivery Man".  It was a fun, upbeat movie.

This year I did something different with my turkey.  I made a paste of bacon, butter and herbs and put it underneath the skin.  I think the breast was especially juicy.  It took longer to bake though.

Melissa brought the pumpkin pie and I provided the rest.  Instead of the cranberry salad I did the pistachio with the addition of pecans, mandarin oranges and red grapes.  Very tasty that way.

I also made a gluten free stuffing by using my gluten free homebaked bread.  Melissa liked it as well as I did!  Anyway we had lots of left overs, that is a good thing and Sadie loved having turkey instead of canned dog food!

I also made the Paeo de Quiejo which is Cheese Bread made from Sour Cream, Parmesan Cheese and Tapioca Flour--supposedly like they eat in Brazil and Craig concurred with that.  It is delicious and I found is good for sandwiches, too.

Great Thanksgiving...thanks for coming, Melissa.

 

Maria turns 50!!!

New bicycle from Johnny!

So beautiful!  Birthday November 15th..

The Ultra Sound Experience

What an exhausting day today.  Dr. Marc wanted me to have ultra sound on my legs to see if I have clogged arteries so I went to Susanville by 11 and picked up the two rings I had sized so they fit me again.  My birthstone Garnet ring I have not worn in years and also a beautiful turquoise and red ring for fun, then picked up my cleaning, my favorite white jacket and red winter jacket I bought in Texas that first year I worked there and then on to do all my shopping at Wal Mart except for the cold things.  By then it was time to rush to Banner Hospital for my 1 PM appointment.

I thought it would be about a 20 minute ordeal as that is how fast the machines were at Scripps--NOT!  I finally got out of there sometime after 3 PM.  What took so long?  For one thing, I think they have an older machine that took more personal time to scope each of the arteries and get their pictures but also there was a student learning how to do it and use the machine.  OK, I was patient with my bare legs exposed and the cold cream and etc pressing on my arteries but my back got very tired!!!.  I also got a lot more information than I usually do at such tests because he was teaching the student everything. 

Unfortunately she took the blood pressure incorrectly on the right ankle and they thought they were going to find a huge blocked artery.  Ha, my legs are fine, just as they were three years ago when they were done but it took a lot of time to find the error and get the final results.  Anyway, no harm done, but I was starving when I got out because I was expecting to have lunch around 1:30 and I hadn't had any breakfast so I dashed to Jack in the Box for my favorite taco and yummm Pumpkin Shake!

Then on to Wal Mart to buy the cold things and dash to IGA for red grapes.  Carole read me the recipe for Mrs. Romney's pistachio salad and I thought I would try it for High Council Sunday.  She puts mandarin oranges, coconut, marshmallows and red grapes in it!!!  I will have to call again for the amounts.

By the time I unloaded the car it was 5:30.  I was supposed to be at a dinner at Church but I hadn't even put the food away, I was so exhausted, and besides I was not hungry since I ate so late.  So Sadie was happy to have me stay home for awhile and I watched '"Killing Kennedy" and "Kennedy's Final Hours".  So well done, such a good watch.  I recorded them both so will save them in case I want to see them again.  I really liked Kennedy and Jackie.  Maria was born the week before and I had my parents at my home in University City and we watched almost every minute of that week's events on TV--Maria got lots of holding and cuddling as we passed her around the room.  I have no recollection what John and Linda were doing at all but they must have enjoyed having everyone in one room watching them play.

So tired and it isn't even bedtime...

Just in Time

Mitch came back to California just in time to have a warm day at my home
and he used his muscle and we cleaned the whole yard plus chopped up all remaining wood and loaded the deck again!!!  My hero!  Thanks so much Mitch.

   

Spooky Halloween Party at Clear Creek Branch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall

Lake Almanor is gorgeous in the fall with all the different colored leaves.  These are just a couple at my home.

 

Paper Dolls

In my organizing efforts I sorted out all my paper dolls and I have 54 uncut sets in different categories!!!!  Melissa asked me if I was putting names on them for the grandchildren.  I said, "No, but they can probably sell them on E-bay when I am gone!"  Probably the one that would be worth the most is "Gone with the Wind".  It was made for the 50th Anniversary of the movie and I am so appreciative of Jennifer for getting them for me.


 

Why do I love paper dolls so much?  It was one of my most favorite past times as a child.  The hundreds of hours we spent in playing the imaginary lives of our paper dolls I cannot even assess.  It was a lot!!!  We loved changing their clothes and having countless scenarios of interplay. The Bride and Groom sets were a special favorite because they had so many characters in them.  Especially the time I spent with Donna S at paper dolls in her lovely double size bedroom with her Mom always serving us hot fudge sundaes and ice box cookies--everything homemade, yum.  We would have the dolls spread all around but took excellent care of them.   I wonder why her big sister who shared her room never complained?

In my preschool days it was the Seven Dwarfs and Snow White dolls I would have around my living room while the other children were at school.  I have never found any paperdolls to replace them.  Another favorite I had which I have never found is "Baby Sandy".  It was a big baby paperdoll with lots of fun clothes.

Done!!!

My project to put each of my dolls in a sturdy box is done!!!  And they are stored on the top of the bookcases in my bedroom, rather than the garage or one of the other bedrooms (which had no room for them).

They all have labels on them as to what doll is inside and someone's name if someone has requested it.  I suppose they could always sell them on EBay.  They are all in good condition and the Shirley Temple dolls all have Certificates.


 

Health Care

I was interested in reading about the problems with the Obomacare computer program and it is much more than a glitch and will need an overhaul.  We had the same problems with a loan computer program that came out while I was working for SBA.  They had put so many millions in to it that they had to use it so had to fix it and I am afraid this is the same situation.

But also the idea that because of the problems all ready popping up (which honestly we all knew would, didn't we--I did anyway) that the premiums to the consumer are going to be so high that the healthy young are going to opt out and pay the penalty and insurance companies will be stuck with all the less desirable and more problems for them.  The problems are so obvious it appears the program will eventually fail so why fight about it--move on to another problem.

At least that is the word this morning,  for the wise, anyway.

Nicholas Evans, a Favorite Author

Nicholas Evans is an amazing author but he has only written five books, all of which take place, at least in part, in Montana, though he is an Englishman.  Interesting about his life on his website and the poisonous mushrooms.   The five books are The Horse Whisperer, The Loop, The Smoke Jumpers, The Divide and The Brave.  My favorite is The Loop, about the wolves.

I am actually listening  for the second time to The Brave.  I had forgotten I had already read it but I am actually enjoying it more the second time because it is a complicated book and it is good to have a little background. 

It is kind of a dark book in that there are so many issues of different people but I really like his writing--in depth, but clear and like you are there living it.  You can become quite emotional about the problems the characters have.

Anyway I really enjoy using my Samsung Tablet for listening to books while I am doing a project such as cooking, cleaning, and decoupage.  I will finish my last doll box today and then all my dolls have boxes to store them in.  I just don't put them out anymore.

Unfortunately I am feeling the repercussions from my intense workout cleaning the debris last week.  My legs and back are really aching and I hate to take the pills because of the damage they can do.  I have a Dr apt Friday and the last time something was too high because of the Ibuprofen I had been taking. 

Mitch

I talked to Mitch last night, occasionally he calls for recipes.   I told him I had cleaned the yard and loaded all the wood by myself.  He said if I could wait till November he would back.  That is nice to hear but I told him I was already making fires so it needed to be done.  Maybe he can help me straighten up the garage and get rid of a few more things.  Glad I have the blower though, in a few days I will  blow the debris in front again--surely saves a lot of time.  Oh, yes, my legs are surely aching and so is my back, is it the bending or what?

Sadie--the Halloween Dog

Today as I saw Sadie run across the street and down the hill I thought, "ok, no more roaming privileges for you."  She does love to run so I have been letting her out in the morning and late afternnon without a leash and she loves it.  Yesterday she chased a deer and there are not many cars around this time of year.  And then I thought, "What about when we were young, the dogs all ran free and we didn't worry about the cars, what is so different now?" 

I don't know but I do think the dogs need to learn some things by themselves.  And just as I thought that I looked out back and there was Sadie sitting on her bed.  She did not run away, she did know her way home and she was ok. 

She shows her feminine character occasionally.  She will not step on the piddle pad I keep in her cage.  She does not want to walk on it even it is clean.  She hems and haws until I pick it up and then she will go in to eat or out to play.

But she is still a puppy and cannot be trusted.  Today as I was sitting at my computer and I could hear her on the bed behind me, I thought, "oh, well, there is nothing there interesting for her to chew."

Wrong!!!  A minute later I noticed a lipstick was missing.  I had visions of red all over my new white carpet.

But she was playing with it on the blue towel I keep in front of the stove when I am making fires.  Luckily she hadn't been able to get the lipstick up, just chewed it closed...

Halloween she will be one year old.

Also I am wondering what to do about those 2 inch longer hairs that the other hair that stick up all over.  Should they be trimmed off or not?  Her hair is thin.  It dries very fast, very different than Bandido and it does shed a little but supposedly does not grow as Bandido's did.

Football by the Fire

Sadie enjoys the fire as much as I do.  So glad I had it all checked out and fixed after the earthquake.
I have really been enjoying BYU football this fall, too.  Love this time of year.

Geraniums

One thing I remember particularly seeing in the countryside of Norway was red geraniums looking out from their windows.  I loved that.  I brought in two of mine and put them in the only really sunny window all winter.  I will see if I can keep the alive.

I Did It!

I didn't think I could but I did.  I did the fall cleaning of debris and gathered branches for firewood all by myself.   It only took me 4 1/2 days to do what Matt does in a morning but it is done.


I also stacked the wood--surely miss the boys for this.  Wonder what those spots on my camera are?

And I found a new place for more wood--yea, it is not fun trekking through the snow to the woodshed.

Sadie has loved me being outside all week with her and letting her run loose.  And what a dog's life, all she does is sit or run around looking pretty in Bandido's hand me downs.

 

 

What a Night!!

Wednesday night  I was feeling very badly about something but I finally got to sleep but woke up around 1:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I decided to look at the package I had received of a gadget that would let me make my old VHS cassettes into movies to upload to You Tube.  The gadget cost  about $95 bucks or so.  I took it out and was reading the directions and put it on the bed with some other stuff and I would work on it tomorrow.  In the meantime I still could not sleep.  So I decided to print some things off I needed.  

The printer jammed so I unjammed it and put it back together, in fact I did that about 5 times and it still didn’t work so I got out the book and disk and couldn’t find the help I needed so I went online and found some more help and worked for a long time on it but Sadie was crying so I stopped and let her out and she was antsy so I finally was going to let her outside but it was too late she had gone pooh by the door.  I carry the pooh back to the bathroom and flush the toilet and the toilet almost overflows so I take the lid off and hold it a bit and then go find my hanger to unclog it and flush it to work.  Finally get that to working.   I thought I had closed my bedroom door so Sadie could not get in there while I was in the office.  That is important as she cannot be trusted--she is still a puppy who likes to chew. 

Then it is back to the printer to work on,  I am already thinking I will need to take it to Chico but how am I ever going to lift it to take it down the stairs???  Then I spy one more little piece of paper stuck in the roller.  After many tries I use a tweezers to get it out.  I put the printer all back together but I need more paper to see if it works. I keep it under the bed but it is so far back I can’t reach it so I go to get a broom.  And that is when I see Sadie.  She has gotten into my bedroom after all and out of all the things on my bed she chose the new gadget to chew on and ruin and there is $95 gone!!!! 

After scolding her and putting her back in her cage and cleaning up her mess I finally get the paper out from under the bed and yea the printer works!

 

I have fixed the refrigerator, the dish washer and the disposal and now the printer by going on line and finding some instructions.  How did we ever live without the internet to tell us how to do everything?  Anyway it is now 3:45 in the morning.  Two hours of work and frustration...just one thing after another.  I finally got to sleep and slept in...luckily Sadie likes to sleep in, too.

The You Tube Project

One thing Maria taught me while she was here was how to upload to You Tube.  It has totally consumed me as I have uploaded my photo albums.  I find it a much more practical way of looking at your pictures and saves putting them in albums, etc. etc.  Great for the memory of an old lady like me.  Then I found our old home movies and I figured out how to put most of them on You Tube.  That was a fun thing to share and now we have John's clever surf movies forever.  I also enjoyed looking at my Mom and Dad, Stan, Rod, Sherry, Laurie and especially Richard and John in living color, that is a treasure.

Now Linda is uploading her movies and her kids are so clever and funny.  Most of them I have never seen, so what a joy--not so fun to see bad pictures of yourself though.  Anyway I am a You Tube fan-thank you, Maria.

This week I have also had to clean up the yard for fall and Matt is not here.  It has taken me literally 4 days to do what he would do in a few hours!!  I have to work awhile, then rest awhile, then nap and fortunately my muscles which ached so much the first day do not feel so badly anymore--so it is good for me I keep telling myself, even though I think I am going to have a heart attack any minute. 

Tomorrow I must load the rest of the wood up on the deck.  I have already had my first fall wood fires and it really warms up the house, love it.  This morning is was 40 degrees so it must be cooler at night.

2 Timothy 3:7

Sunday morning I was listening to the BYU channel and I heard this story that I have not been able to get out of my head.

During WWII in Europe a man needed to get his wife and child to a safer place with family and he had to stay at his post.  He put them on a train.  When the conductor took their tickets, he told them they would get off at the first Stop.  The mother dozed a little and so when the train stopped a passenger nearby woke her up and told her this was her stop.  The mother and child got off the train.

Later the conductor came back and asked where the mother and child were as their Stop was coming up.  The passenger said he had awakened her when the train made the first stop and told her that was where she should get off and so they did.  The conductor said, "That was not the first Stop, that was just where we took on water."

Although help was sent from the next town to go back and look for the mother and child, help was too late, they had already succumbed to exposure from the severe weather.

Question--Did the passenger have good intentions?  Yes  Did the passenger think he was telling the truth?  Yes  Did the passenger have authority and real knowledge?  No

It reminded me of two things.  One was the day in Seminary in 1978 when we studied  "This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come." 2 Timothy 3:1 and then it listed all about conditions of the last days.  I had made a special chart of headlines from newspapers and articles as examples of "important things to know" and when we came to verse 7 I held up the chart as we read "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."  And we talked about what we would need to do to be able to recognize truth and not be fooled by false claims of truth.

I had put into my daily prayers the plea to "help me to have a clear mind and be able to recognize the truth" from that day and it is still a part of my prayers and now we are so in the last days and we see all of the conditions in 2 Timothy 3 coming to pass and there are so many "experts" out there telling us how to live and think and be and so many of the old values have been cast away for the new and better way to live and where is truth--who has it, which messenger has the truth.  Do they all have good intentions?  Mostly  Do they think they know?  Probably  Do they all have authority and truth?  No

It also reminded me of the trip I took in 2000 to Scandinavia.  James had set me up with someone I did not know and paid for my ticket as her daughter could not go and he knew I wanted to go to Sweden.  It was a great trip and she was a lovely lady and we had a great time.  There was one problem though, she was one of these people who loved to "help" and whenever people would ask for directions, she would assertively give them and I thought she knew what she was talking about but I soon learned she did not.  Did she have good intentions?  Yes  Did she think she knew?  Probably  But did she have authority and accurate knowledge?  No she did not.

So the question is, where is truth, how do you recognize it, what do you believe, what do you choose to live, who do you listen to?  That is the challenge for everyone on the earth today.  What "Voice" do you listen to and accept as Truth?  How do you know?

The Addled Brain

One of the problems I have noticed most with my aging brain is my spelling.  I used to be able to spot a misspelled word immediately and I rarely ever got a word wrong when I wrote.  Now I find I think I have written something correctly only to go back later and find many errors.

I also can't remember the correct way to spell things anymore.  Every time I write about Silver Gate, Montana, a place I have frequented since I was a child I have to ask myself--is it Silver Gate or Silvergate?  I just can't remember.  And it is the same with names, when I write about Keira, I have to stop and think, is it Keira or Kiera?  She is almost three years old, you think I would have learned it by now.  And even when I think I have written it right, I go back later I find I wrote it wrong.

It is vey humbling to have your brain pull tricks on you, especially when it leads you to believe you have done a good job, only to find you left something in, you intended to have out or vice versa.

I have been making videos of my pictures and putting them on You Tube--a good game would be to go through them and count all the mistakes...but I doubt anyone will even watch them, let alone be interested in seeking for errors.  But to me, it is very humbling and makes me realize I had better put a speed up on all the projects I have left to do, before my brain completely turns to mush.

Sadie and the Toilet Paper

I brought a package of toilet paper up from the garage and had taken one out and left the rest on the bed.  I had a letter to address and mail so I went into the office and then outside to the postbox.  I was busy for 6-8 minutes max.


I was schocked to find paper strewn throughout the house when I returned.  How she did all this into so many small pieces in such a short time is nothing more than amazing to me.

 

 

Of course, she got a real scolding, I was so upset with her.

Yet, the next day in a careless moment I left the tp on the bathroom rug instead of putting it in the holder and she did it all over again.....so fast.

Bad dog...bad Janet, pay attention to what you are doing, you have a beast in the house!

The Ultimate Comfort Food

When I read "Best Peanut Butter Cookies Ever" as a title for the recipe, I really doubted that could be but I decided to try them because they did not have any flour in them--yea, gluten free!!!  They are also butter free... and unbelievably simple.

2 cups peanut butter. 2 cups sugar,  2 eggs, 2 t baking soda, 1 pinch salt, 1 t vanilla--roll into 1 inch balls and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes after making fork criss crosses on the cookies.

Oh, my gosh, for the first time in years I sat and dunked cookies in milk until I was stuffed, I did not want to stop--of course, I was needing a lot of comfort and these have just the perfect crunch and taste for soothing any sadness you can come up with.

Kelsi the Cheerleader

Looks like Kelsi has a good start at posing as a Cheerleader!  She looks so cute.