Lovely Morning

It's warming up already...I love it. We had a very nice day yesterday. We left the house at about 3 and went to the Fresh Market to get some of our favorite things...R. got his olives stuffed with bleu cheese. I got a giant artichoke which we will have for lunch today and lemon curd for sunday along with 2 different coffees. Then we went to the Shrimp Dock for fresh fish for tonight and got some wild cod. Next to Sam's. I got this cool plant from Africa along with a new bathing suit and we got salmon and rib eye steaks. Then we went to Bonefish for dinner which was very good! When we got home we watched Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was very good and I highly recommend it. The animation was unusual. This morning I need to deal with the steak and salmon...dividing them into portions and freezing them. I also cleaned green beans and other veggies I got. Richard is going to connect the hoses soon and I will get started on the deck..removing the covers from chairs, etc. We'll open the awning tomorrow.....later.....

Pitures from the Weekend

Most of the pictures are either at the restaurant on Friday night or at Anne's for cake afterward. The one of J.J. is the next morning when we all met for breakrast. I think I got Anne, Maggie, and Muir and Trip and the 3 grandchildren. A fun time was had by all. Today is our 26th anniversary and later we will go into Knoxville for dinner at Bonefish. This afternoon I'll be doing some yard work and Jack is coming today to cut the grass for the first time. The week should be fabulous..weather wise, but lots of work to do around here.....later....

I said it all yesterday when I got home, but for today....Happy Birthday Anne!!!!! Forty-six years ago today it was Easter Sunday. I am writing this at 3:44 and that is about the time you were born. My poor doctor missed Easter services with his family. There was also an earthquake in Alaska and as we were driving to the hospital it was snowing in Cincinnati. Hope you are having a great day!!

I'm Home

It was a very fine weekend in many ways. We left on Friday morning and got there in time to pick up the kids from school with Anne. The dinner at Bravo with the whole family was so nice and fun...Thank you Dan for doing this! After dinner we went back to Anne and Dan's for cake and basketball where the Vols beat Ohio State...We plus Max rooted for the Vols and no one else, but they really weren't that upset. Saturday morning we all met at First Watch (except poor Dan...it's tax season) for breakfast...Thank you Trip and Susan and J. Bird was there in all of his cuteness! Later Anne and I went to Ikea and later Anne, Richard and the kids and I had lunch at Skyline and then to Target where Max spent some birthday money which was burning a huge hole in his pocket. The afternoon was warm and we took a nice walk around the neighborhood and then hung out on the deck. We had fist at Mitchell's and then home to watch WVU beat Kentucky...it was so sweet!!! We watched The Blind Side after that (We had all seen it before but enjoyed it again. This morning Anne, Dan and I went to get donuts before we departed for Tennessee. We got home in time to watch the Vols lose. The last hour of our trip was very stressful with torrential rain, but arrived home safely. This week will be very busy with Easter on Sunday and so much yard/outside work to be done. Tomorrow is Anne's 46th birthday...my sweet oldest child was born on Easter Sunday in 1964. If I don't get around to posting tomorrow..I'm thinking of you and all of the joy you have brought me throughout the years. It's easy to forget when you were a pain growing up!! As we talked about all of those growing-up years with all of the kids...I looked at Anne and Trip and said, " Get ready..the best and most trying is yet to come". It was a wonderful weekend!!!!! Pictures will come this week when I get around to it.....later....

Great Basketball

I was worried for WVU, but they pulled through and my Xavier played a great game but lost in double overtime. Today the Lady Vols play at noon, but we will be on the road and the men play Ohio State tonight and we'll be at the restaurant celebrating 2 birthdays. I know everyone there will be pulling for Ohio State and if it wasn't the Vols, I would be also, but I love Bruce Pearl and all he has done for Tennessee basketball. We will definitely be in the minority. However, you never know about basketball and they did beat both Kansas and Kentucky. I was rooting for Cornell over Kentucky. We're all packed and dressed and will leave around 9. I think the rain is over so we should have no weather issues. .....later.....

Soap Box Time

I had planned to get out my soap box and rant about all the hatred and meanness, but I have decided to not do that and I know you will all thank me for that. Just let me say that I am ashamed of our Congress... On a lighter note yesterday was beautiful and Linda and I walked outside before going into the gym and doing our weights and swimming. I made potato soup for dinner...one of my favorite feel good meals. I always think of Mother because she often made it for our lunch. It's about to start raining here and I will just do things around the house. I need to iron and do some laundry in preparation for tomorrow's trip to Cincinnati.....later.....

A Lot of Work

I made the spanokapita and it was labor intensive. I had to stem the spinach and then chop it. I had 3 bags, so that took a long time. The rest was easy. It was very good, but Richard isn't a big fan of spinach and it made a lot. I hope Maggie likes it...I'll have it for lunch or something. I froze half of it. We watched The Blind Side last night and loved it. It's a nice day out, so I think I'll walk outside for part of my workout this afternoon. I want to do some cleanup in the back yard and driveway in a while. I called our lawn people and they are going to come out to mow on Monday. Rain moving in tomorrow afternoon through Friday morning. We'll leave for Cincy Friday and return Sunday.....later.....

Happy Birthday, Max

Max is now double digits! Can't wait to see him on Friday. I finished Very Valentine...very good. Cold this morning but getting up to almost 60 this afternoon. Not much going on. I think all make Spanokopita for dinner (I don't know how to spell it, but I know how to eat it)! The Lady Vols won last night and are in the Sweet Sixteen.....later.....

Basketball

Yea for Xavier, Ohio State and WVU. The Xavier and WVU games had me on the edge of my seat. I got my reservations for the reunion at the Gresham Conference Center. I was worried about that because they don't have that many rooms and that is a big weekend. It rained all night and is mighty chilly this morning. My daffodils are blooming and my tulips are just beginning to bloom....happy spring.....later....

Sweet Sixteen

Uh oh...the Vols play either Ohio State or Georgia Tech next. You can't discount them because they beat both Kansas and Kentucky in the regular season. I'm hoping, however, that WVU goes all the way. The Lady Vols also won yesterday and they play Dayton next. It's gloomy here today with showers expected later this afternoon. We just finished the NY Times puzzle and I'm taking off our flannel sheets and doing all of the bedding. We won't go to see R. today as he has his friends coming to visit. He may get home on Monday. We played Scrabble with him yesterday. He seems good. Now if we can only get him to do something with his life. I suggested that he could take a class...art, music, something to keep him busy. We'll see if he follows up.....later.....

It's All Set

Richard convinced me that I need to go to my reunion. Last night he got on the computer and got the flights and rental car all set. I need to make reservations and hope I'm not too late on that. Today I'll be defrosting my downstairs freezer and doing some yard work. This afternoon we'll visit Richard, Jr. at the rehab center. I think he'll be coming home on Monday....later....

My 50th Reunion

My 50th reunion from college is the last weekend in April and guess what? That's the week we will be in Nags Head. I got a card from a sorority sister and my best friends will be there and I really want to go, but it is so complicated. R. doesn't want to go but would drive me to Norfolk where I would fly from there to Pittsburgh and rent a car, then back to Pgh after the reunion and fly to Knoxville. First of all, Pgh airport is so crazy and I just don't want to do that. I guess I'll have to fore go the reunion. I'm so mad that I didn't plan this before we got our week at the beach. I finished The Help and loved every word of it. I want to go on Facebook and challenge some southern women of my age to give their opinion of the book. I'm on to my next book...Very Valentine. I've been waiting for that one for a long time. The sun finally appeared yesterday afternoon and is already shining this morning. .....later.....

Sun, Come Find Me

Supposed to be much warmer today...about 63, but so far no sun. I'm thinking it forgot about East Tennessee. R and I will go to Lowe's today and try to figure out what we are going to do about our back splash. Other than that it will just be some clean-up around here. R. is anxious to power wash the decks and then treat them, but he can't do that until we stop feeding the birds and that will be around the first of May. As soon as we get some warmness we will clean our carpets and open our awning. So much to do in the spring!.....later.....

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I really don't have anything the right shade of green but since I'm going to the gym later I have a sort of green tee shirt. The Help....a must read and Anne, get it for you and Madison to read. I can't put it down. I read yesterday until my eyes were blurry. I'm making crepes for dinner. I have the crepe batter ready and will do that first. I'm making a shrimp/mushroom filling. I haven't done crepes in a long time. Getting warmer, but still no sun today....later.....

Library News

I hit the jackpot at the library yesterday. I was armed with my long list of books I wanted and went to the computer thinking I wouldn't find any of them, but Very Valentine was finally in and Salvation in Death was in. I got those along with 4 others and when I went to check out they handed me The Help which I had on hold and finally got. I told the librarian I would read it first and return it right away because it is such a hot item. I went from there to the gym and grabbed that book to read while on the treadmill. It is very good and I'm having a hard time doing my morning chores because I want to read it. The rain is gone, but the cold weather remains. We should get sun and a gradual warming this week. ......later.....

I Need Spring

Still raining. Got up and did laundry, cleaned and prepared veggies for our evening snack and showered and ready to go to the library in a bit. I may eat lunch there. After that I'll go to Kroger's and get a skirt steak for stir fry tonight. Lastly I'll hit the gym. I'm hoping I can find a bunch of good books. I have a long list, but most of them are checked out when I try to get them. Watched Celebrity Apprentice last night...good. Yea for WVU and Ohio State. Disappointed in the Vols.......later....

Another Rainy, Chilly Day

We finished the pantry yesterday and it was a mess. I'm so glad that is done. Today we'll do the basement. After that I plan to relax and finish my book. I'll go to the library tomorrow for a new supply. I have nothing going on here and therefore, nothing to say.......later....

Feeling Industrious

I'm going to do the pantry today, but got up this morning and made Banana Nut Bread and Orange/Cranberry Nut Bread. R. is about to go to Walmart. I'm hoping to defrost my stand-up freezer soon, maybe tomorrow. Other than that not much. Maybe I'll get a bit of reading done. Cooler today with some rain predicted. Rained hard yesterday afternoon. I worked out at the gym and then went to the pool. I wasn't in 10 minutes when they blew the whistle to get out because of lightning in the area. .......later.....

Fun Day

Yesterday we finished the kitchen cabinets and they look so very much better! We then started on the pantry but that is a big job and I will tackle that tomorrow when it's supposed to rain all day. We did make a good start on it. We went to Knoxville and were going to eat at this Mexican Restaurant we really like, but instead went to The Brasserie where we had been meaning to try, but kept forgetting. It was really very good and different. We opted for the buffet and that was so different than most buffets. There were several salad options...spring greens with different dressings, German Potato Salad, Cucumbers and Onions, and then these small sandwiches stacked with ham and Gruyere, grouper with rice, Quiches, chicken done some way and since I'm not a chicken fan I didn't try that and fresh fruit and cookies for dessert. We got the menu for their Sunday brunch and it looks fabulous. After that we went to the book store to get Max's birthday present and then stopped at Kroger's to get the winning 200 million lottery ticket. Thursday is a good tv night for us and that rounded out our day. Today I cleaned the kitchen and am about to dress and get ready for the gym. I'm hoping to watch a movie tonight...we'll see what is available on cable.....later.....

Almost Finished

I started waxing and buffing this morning. I have all of the drawers finished and will move to the cabinets next. When this is finished we will move to the pantry which just needs straightened out and I need to get rid of some dishes, etc. that are never used and will go to Salvation Army. We should finish before lunch and R. is taking me someplace...I don't know where. Buy Power Ball tickets today...over 200 million! We ate Chinese last night because my kitchen was a disaster. I think we'll play the numbers on the fortune cookies.....later.....To Maggie and Charlie have a great time in San Diego!!

Phase One

We kind of started the cabinets yesterday and then decided we needed steel wool and a few other things from Lowe's. We got that and then had lunch at Long John's and picked up R's Rx. We started removing the handles from the cupboards which R. didn't want to do, but you can't clean them properly with them on. I have cleaned the upper right side cabinets and will next apply Restor-A-Finish to those and then apply a paste wax and buff them. Then R. can put the handles back on and I will go to the other side tomorrow. I'll stay home all day tomorrow and hope to finish all of them. We'll see how that goes. It's raining just a little this morning with the bigger rain coming tomorrow. It reached almost 70 yesterday and will get close to that today and tomorrow before going down to the 50s by the end of the week. Watched a little bit of Idol last night but I was tired and went to bed at 9. Of course I was ready to get up at 4 this morning but forced myself to stay in bed until 6.....later....

Spring Housecleaning

Yesterday was just plain lovely. I was on my way to the gym when I decided to walk around the lake which is adjacent to the gym. It's about a mile and the birds were so active. It's nesting time and they are eating us out of house and home here. Another sure sign of nesting time is when a grackle or two appears at our feeders. Anyway, I walked around the lake instead of getting on the treadmill and then I went in and did weights and then into the pool. Today we will start on the kitchen cabinets. We'll decided if they need to be waxed and if they do we'll go to Lowe's for the wax. I cleaned out several cupboards yesterday and rearranged some things. I found my mortar and pestle which I thought I had given away. we're expecting near 70 today with rain coming in tonight.......later.....

I Don't Read Chinese

So I got 4 comments on yesterday's blog...two of them were in Chinese or some Asian language. Our meal was delicious as was the company and Vic sharpened all of my knives! They needed it. We watched some of the Oscars over there and then came home and watched a bit, but I hit the hay before the end and found out the results this morning. I'm bummed that Hurt Locker got it for best picture. I'm looking forward to seeing Joan Rivers today, but I don't know when she's on. Not much going on here...laundry and we'll start some of the work on the kitchen. I think I need to clean out all of my cabinets before we start on the outside. I also need to get rid of some things I never use.....later.....

Oscar Time and Gourmet Meat

Yesterday Linda, R. and I went to Knoxville and first we had lunch at Rafferty's and then went to Sam's. After that we got wine at Bob's and then to the Shrimp Dock for the fish for our feast tonight. We ended up going to the Fresh Market. I got greens, R. got his favorite olives and Linda got Lox. We spent the evening watching tv. Today I went to K-Mart to check out some things and then came home to make the salad dressing for tonight. We're going to Linda and Vics at 5 and she and I will put the Bouillabaisse together and watch Oscars. Friday evening R. and I watched The Hurt Locker and really didn't care for it. Everyone says it will win, but I so want Avitar to win. I also hope Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges win. This year has been full of good movies and I hope to see more of them. I'm disappointed that today isn't sunny. I washed the car and it was 36 and I about froze. I know it's supposed to warm up gradually, but it sure is taking it's time. I know, I shouldn't be complaining. At least it's not raining or snowing and it is supposed to get into the 50s today and warmer later this week. Every time I open my front door I expect to see one of my pups in their spot, but nothing...and when we come home I'm still expecting to see the dogs at the top of the stairs greeting me. This morning as I opened the front door I wished for some homeless pup to be standing there, but nothing....later.....

Oh Happy Day!

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and it's warming up nicely. we're going to Knoxville this morning and to Sam's and then to The Shrimp Dock. Tomorrow we're getting together with Linda and Vic and Linda and I are making Bouillabaisse. I'll get the fish in Knoxville and a few other ingredients. Richard has wanted this for so long, but it's not something for just 2 people. When I mentioned this to Linda she was all for it, so finally we'll do it. We'll be watching the Oscars while we cook/eat. Monday we're going to start on our kitchen cabinets. We've decided to give them a good cleaning with this solution we got at Lowes and then wax them. We also then need to do our back splashes, but we haven't decided what to do with that. Get out and enjoy this lovely warmness....later.....

Sun, Beautiful Sun

It started out cold, but is already in the 40s. I've been dusting, watering my plants, etc. R. will go to the store and I hope to vacuum and wash the car on the way to the gym. Nothing much planned for the weekend...the Oscars on Sunday. I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow..maybe go to Knoxville. We need to get some things at Sam's and haven't been there since before Christmas. I also need to start rounding up the dog stuff and get it to the shelter. I'll keep a few things for my granddogs when they visit. .....later.....

Cool Hand Luke

We watched it last night on TCM. I saw it when it came out, but R. had never seen it. Other than that just enjoyed a nice fire and since it is getting warmer (we hope), we won't be having too many more fire. When we have a warm day R. doesn't want a fire...me, I always want one if it's 50 or below. Today I went to get a haircut and then to Target for some things I needed, but didn't find. Will do some crafting this afternoon. Made a spring wreath yesterday and will do another one today. I'm liking my newest read...Return to Sullivan's Island. later.......

Thanks to All

Thanks to all who responded. It's a hard time since it's the first time I have been without pets since 1966 when we got our first beagle, Lancelot. He was followed by Georgy Girl and Liberty Bell, bassets then Scatter a cocker and not to forget the cats, Tiffany, Mork, Guenevere and kittens of Guenevere's. Then came Bonnie, Phoebe, Mats, Hillary, Pancho, Wolf, Cheyenne. Have I forgotten anyone? Now to my friend, Jerry...I remember Pepper who was a cocker before you or Jeff were born and Snooty. Well, what would our lives be without pets? R. is thinking we need to get out of Dodge and we were thinking of going to Savannah next week, but may just go somewhere else that is warm. We had more snow yesterday, but nothing that stuck to the roads. Cold today, but sunshine and warmth is in the forecast for the weekend. I"m going to round up all of our pet stuff and donate it to the new shelter. .....later....

RIP Cheyenne

She's gone. After a pretty good day yesterday where R. took her outside and she was there with him for over an hour. She came in and drank water and we moved her back to the great room with us. She started panting and I gave her a pain pill and she laid back down. Then I noticed her breathing was labored and I called the vet. While we were talking R. said we needed to get her to the vets and she was having breathing issues. I took her down on the chair lift and she struggled and then let out a cry. When we got her in the car she wasn't breathing. We left her to be cremated. We are okay, just very sad. Please don't call. I don't want to talk about it at this time. I know you all know what we're going through.

Cheyenne and Charlie's Aunt

I was very worried this morning because she still hasn't eaten and no peeing (I thought). I called the vet and they were to call me back. She wouldn't eat or even drink water. I woke R. up and told him I thought her kidneys were shutting down. He got up and I got myself dressed and together. When I went back to the great room she was sitting up. I positioned her by her favorite water bowl and she drank a ton. Then I decided to change her sheet and discovered it was very damp and one of her dog pillows was also damp so she obviously did pee. The vet called and told us that her stomach had been torn up by the steroids and that is why she isn't eating and that should pass. We're to call tomorrow morning if she still hasn't eaten. Anyway she is seeming more alert. I'm going to move her bed by the front door so she can look out. Now for Charlie's Aunt. It is a British farce and has been made into a movie a long time ago with Ray Bolger...it was really good...very funny and glad we saw it. Jim and Tommie liked it as well. I'm off to continue with my chores......later.....