Finally finished putting the flooring down in the hall. Did some yesterday and finished off the part by the small bathroom this morning. Still have to purchase and install the baseboard, but noticeable progress is being made.
Got tired of seeing the aloe vera overcrowded and dieing, so decided to re-pot. Ran out of pots and thawed soil before running out of plants. Have to bring in some more soil from somewhere (or buy a small bag).
Has been super cold here the last few days. Honey Bun disappeared for a couple days, but showed back up this morning. Was so happy to see him I gave both ferals a full can of cat food.
Broke down and called Susie to see if she's feeling better. Turns out she had a "wicked" sinus infection. Poor girl. When I called at 2 p.m. she had just gotten out of bed because she was hungry.
Depression has reared its ugly head again. Stopped taking vitamins for a few days. Seems to be all it takes to make me weepy.
Made banana nut muffins yesterday. Ate two in the morning and another two for evening snack. Then I read the calories: 300 each. Went over daily target by almost five hundred calories. But that's okay. Am getting better at limiting food intake and am usually within the 1200-1500 range.
Picture is from after the snowstorm and before the cold snap.
Was woken at five o'clock to Bandit crying. Threw on some clothes and got him quickly outside so he could you know what.
Didn't sleep well at all last night. Been tossing and turning since before one. Not sure why. Couldn't shut my head up. Not necessarily bad things. Memories. Hopes. Plans. The usual. So tired now I'm going to take a nap.
Shovel, shovel, shovel. Then shovel some more. Good exercise, but hard on the back.
There's probably fifteen inches of snow on the ground right now and more on the way. The birds are congregating at and under the feeders. Nice to see the cardinal is back. Blue Jays are as well.
My indoor plants aren't doing well. Haven't figured out why.
Called Susie this morning. She's still sick. Dan went back to work even though he's still sick -not as bad as it was. Jacob only got a mild case, so he's feeling better. Sure do hope she's better soon.
Not sure what to do today. Feel like taking a nap.
Today I'm grateful I don't have to drive in these conditions.
Managed to quilt part of the wall hanging. Hope to finish today.
Just came back in from walking Bandit. Minus one on the thermometer, minus thirteen with the wind chill. It was a quick fifteen minute walk. Don't know how the ferals stay warm in this cold.
Now I'm sipping a cup of hazelnut coffee. It's not very good, but maybe the caffeine will jump start my day.
Never did make stir fry last night. Had the last of the chili instead. Guess today will be stir fry.
Yesterday I went shopping at TOPS. Got a BOGO of Turkey Hill ice cream. Was a bad idea. Had two bowls for snacks.
Forgot to get coleslaw for the now frozen pulled pork leftovers. Cutting up the celery to use for snacking. Bought baby carrots for that purpose as well. Need to use the broccoli and the cabbage so they are earmarked for stir fry. Guess I'll make beef pot roast so I can have a few more ready meals. Beef and broccoli is one of my favourite stir fries. Guess today will be ham, cabbage, carrot, celery and the last of the red onion. Maybe some green pepper as well.
No wonder I'm so fat. I'm obsessed with food. Really need to stop listening to Rachael Ray in the morning. She makes everything sound delicious.
Yup. January 15th and the diet is not going well. I've been super hungry lately. Carb-ing up like mad. When that's happened in the past it's been a prelude to sickness. I've been a bit phlegmy the past couple days and can feel a heaviness in my chest.
Really didn't want to go outside in the cold this morning. Waited until 7. Looked at the "feels like" weather and the minus ten degrees didn't imp
rove over the next couple hours, so out we went. Tried to get Bandit to walk down the street, but he planted his feet and wouldn't go. Managed to put all the feeders out. Honey Bun was waiting on the porch, so I fed him. Wish I knew why he doesn't want to stay here.
TOPS market day.
W stopped by for a quick hello.
Was surprised to see we walked 1.95 miles yesterday. Mostly because it was a bad day for me.
I got angry. At Wal-Mart. Specifically: the app. Got to the pickup lot and the app wasn't working. The lot was full. Waited a good twenty minutes only to see folks who got there after me leave before me. Not to mention, the cat food was sold out. Which means I have to go back to town for that. I was pretty impatient. One more example of me feeling entitled, I guess.
Good thing I get over being angry quickly. All it takes is a wagging tail when I open the door.
Laid another row of planks in the kitchen amazed at how nice it looks now. Got some degreaser and am going to clean off the kitchen cabinets and repaint them. Not sure when, but it's on the list.
The new microwave has a beeper that repeats until the food is removed. Not sure if I like that feature or not.
Made pork loin medallions baked with sliced apples and red onion sprinkled with brown sugar. Served it over basmati rice. Got three tv dinners for another day. Going to make a batch of ham and scalloped potatoes today.
The embroidered holly leaves on the wall hanging are completed. Work on the holly berries is underway.
Mother Nature dusted the ground with snow overnight. The sun is starting to peek over the mountains giving our view a blueish glow. Time to fill and set the feeders out.
Going to be above freezing today. Perfect opportunity to gather supplies from town. The microwave spat fire last night so it's getting replaced. Will call Linda later to see if she needs anything from town.
Called Sue yesterday to wish her happy birthday. Jake answered the phone and we chatted a minute or two. All of them have COVID. I'm a bit worried about them. Nothing I can do from here.
Didn't even walk a mile yesterday because it was so cold.
Twinkling because it's so dang cold. Five degrees outside and with the wind chill it feels like eight degrees below zero. Bandit and I walked fast this morning. Noticed that Honey Bun is finally staying in the heated cat house. Hope he shares with Little Bit if she gets cold. Will need to put the bird feeders out once the sun comes up. Too cold and dark to do right now.
Looked out the window after taking the feeders down last night and there were eight deer in the back yard. Three of the hearings were searching the ground around the shepherd's hook that hold the feeders. The does mostly stood back and watched them. It was quite entertaining.
We walked slightly more than two miles yesterday. Can't believe we went that far considering the low temps.
Guess I'll grab a second cuppa and watch the news for a bit then get my day started. Hope Susie likes her handbag.
The roads and walkways are not as slick as yesterday so we might actually get our two miles in today. Only managed one mile yesterday.
Rested for the bulk of the day in the bedroom to be close to the humidifier. Watched TV and played games on the computer. Still managed to do a load of laundry, vacuum and mop the bathroom floor. Rearranged the nicknacks in the bedroom.
Eyes swollen again today. Might have to move to the bedroom. Will try a pot of water on the stove first. Was waiting for Romeo to move from my feet before I put it on, but he's fallen asleep and I hate to move him to boil water and warm up my coffee.
My baby girl turns 45 tomorrow. Feeling a bit old today.
Slick as you know what out there this morning. Temperatures rose overnight and freezing rain has covered the sidewalks and roadways. Several accidents have been reported locally and the State College Weather Station has issued travel advisories basically telling folks to stay home. We slid our way down the block about to Diane's driveway and headed on back to circle the house a couple times before coming back inside. Will be sprinkling the stairs with pet friendly de-icer once the sun comes up.
Jacob called me last night to thank me for the birthday card. We chatted for quite a while about French bulldogs and Ambrosius and Smokey the cat. He's a chatterbox. Quite a wonderful young man. Hard to believe he's fifteen years old already.
Sue and I chatted a bit. Dan is sick and exhibiting symptoms of COVID. He was resting when we spoke. I hope he recovers quickly.
Am on my second cuppa and the caffeine doesn't seem to be working. Time to do a couple chores and see if I can wake up.
Add to that the fact that I made number one on the leader board for Sweet Shuffle on AARP games on my very first try - today is shaping up to be a pretty good day.
We walked the Poop Trail down to the river bend on our afternoon walk. Saw this tree ornamented with what I think might be seeds from those invasive shrubs that are taking over the edges of waterways here in The Wilds. Mother Nature's way of celebrating the season.
Got in a rough, uneven 2.36 miles. Not much snow, but in the spots where the puddles go off the road and the weight of vehicles have passed through has broken the surface and sloshed it to either side of the tires. That ice has been thick enough to form shelves around the tire tracks showing the effects of freezing, breaking, and refreezing. There are only a couple places at the beginning of the trail where you need to mind your step.
Not sure what to work on today. Have four more sets of holly leaves to embroider and then the berries. Would have been a lot easier to do before basting together with the batting. It's going to be beautiful when finished.
Won't be walking that far again today. Thirteen degrees now with a possible high of thirty one. With a wind speed of a mere three miles an hour the wind chill index says it feels like seven degrees outside. Too cold for the likes of me. Even with a mask. Bandit sure seems happier when he gets a bit of exercise in.
Stood and watched the snow falling for a bit and it was so peaceful I took this picture. The snowflakes look like ghosts of trees. Wild.
It was a nice change from going to town. Might make it our normal walk again.
Sewed up a few of Bandit's stuffed animals and laundered them. He might not appreciate them being clean, but they aren't stinky anymore and I appreciate that.
Eyes are a bit swollen and painful this morning. Guess it's time to run the humidifier on high at night. Might have to get one for the living room as well. Nose is bleeding again too.
Drank a bunch of coffee trying to stay awake. Didn't work. Went back to bed again this morning. Just so dang tired. Short of breath too.
Bandit got to run around the ball park with Mishka and Sierra tonight. Tired him out a little. Started giving him glucosamine for his joints. It seems to be helping.
1.76 miles yesterday. 1.73 miles today.
Woke up at the normal time this morning, i.e., before the alarm sounded. I ended up going back to bed yesterday and sleeping until a little after 11. Guess my body needed the rest because I felt better after that. Bandit wouldn't poop on our walk, so I'm going to try again after the sun comes up. Need to make up for only walking 1.3 miles yesterday anyway.
Linda called last night and I'm picking up her meds from Wal-Mart and her mail from the Post Office today. Figured I might as well grab some supplies while I'm out so I'm placing a pickup order at Wal-Mart in the next few minutes.
Lynn stopped us on our walk last night. She says Honey Bun is there twice a day to eat. No wonder he's getting chubby. She retired this past summer and missed working, so has taken a part time job at Dollar General down by the Save-a-Lot grocery store.
Got a couple more leaves embroidered on that wall hanging. Have a way to go yet.
Have been watching Kevin Costner in the series called Yellowstone. It breaks my heart knowing that my grandchildren will probably never see how truly beautiful this land is.
The diet is another story. Yesterday was the first time I haven't eaten after 7 o'clock. Had a high protein dinner earlier than normal (5 o'clock) followed by a snack at six. Hoping to make today day two in that trend.
W brought the flooring back yesterday. Took two trips because he had questions about the cuts. Guess I need to remove some remaining staples and get my gear ready and lay some floor. Or maybe just get the gear ready.
Woke up at one this morning and read for a while before turning off the light and falling back to sleep. For the first time in a while, I didn't want to get out of bed when the alarm sounded at six. Usually I'm out of bed long before the phone starts it's annoying "Get up! Get up!". Today I want to crawl right back in it.
Started embroidery work on the Mexican Cross wall hanging yesterday. There's not as much remaining work to do as I remembered. Yeah! Hoping to finish this week and do the quilting and binding next week. It's definitely Mom's colors.
Not sure what project I'll work on next. The crazy quilt has been set aside for now. It's a labor of love anyway, so there's no rush to finish. Would like to finish up the tree patterned stained glass quilt. It's kinda calling my name.
Well, Rachael Ray is cooking up something tasty on the tv, which tells me it's nine o'clock. Time to move these old bones a bit. Perhaps a cup of peppermint tea will wake me up.
Off I go...
Twenty four degrees when I took Bandit for a walk. Was bundled in layers and wishing I had grabbed the neoprene face mask before we got back to the house. Won't be any warmer this afternoon, so I'll do a better job of covering up later on.
The new neighbors arrived sometime last night. One little Uhaul parked in the driveway. Poor kids arriving when the temps decided to drop below freezing.
Right now I've climbed up on top of the bed covers and am sipping some coffee. Thawing out before I gather up the trash and haul it to the curb.
Felt sorry for the ferals being out in the cold, so gave them each a can of food this morning. Double rations. Spent a bit of time checking their shelters yesterday. Added a bit more straw bedding to them and checked the heating pad cat house to maeke sure it is still warming. Washed and dried the fleece blankets they sit on during the day.
Gave the bok choi in both beds a blanket of straw. Hard to believe they are still growing. Had one in stir fry the other night. Smelled a little strong, but cooked up quite tasty.
Not sure what I'll work on today. Am thinking of spending the day back here in the bedroom cause it's comfy.
Ah well, time to clean the litter and put the garbage out before I grab another cuppa and watch the morning news.
Toodles. I wish Susie lived closer.
We arrived home in time to visit with W for a bit. He stopped by to borrow the big ladder. I even remembered to give him the planks for the floor so he can cut them. Perhaps I'll be able to finish the floor this month.
Susie called to wish me a happy new year. Spoke with Jake a few minutes as well. Billy texted me... I never know when is a good time to call him.
Neighbor Linda called later on in the evening to chat a while. Work progresses on the ornament I'm making her. Hope to finish it today.
Washed the crochet-topped kitchen towels and sewed buttons on them. Am going to zigzag stitch the remaining towels before crocheting the tops. Forgot how they unravel/fray. Perhaps I can make a few dollars spending money with them at the town wide yard sale. Am going to keep the one Mom crocheted. Yes, I'm a sentimental fool.
Honey Bun was absent when I fed the cats earlier. Hope he's okay. Am going to have to bring the feeders inside at night instead of just moving them to the porch. Something is eating them, but leaving the raisins. What a mess to clean up every day.
Predicted high temp today is 35. It's 34 right now. Not sure we'll get our two miles in today, but will try.
Kinda a boring life, but no drama can be good, right?
Last year saw a continuation of COVID19 with quarantine and booster shots and folks not believing in science. Let's hope this year sees a conclusion to this deadly virus.
Last year I posted on this blog 208 times. The most since beginning it in 2013. Hopefully this year will see even more posts.
Temperatures were in the 40s when Bandit and I walked this morning. This afternoon is supposed to reach 53 degrees and commence raining. Incredibly warm for January. We'll have to go for our long walk this morning or get wet.
Diet, exercise and vitamin taking continue.
Gonna get breakfast, a shower and try to do something productive.
