Storm at Sea

My blog is giving me fits since my computer crashed.  I can't find photos that I take with my phone on my computer.  GRRRRRR!

I received my pay it forward gift from Nancy Stevens last week.  I am going to try and post a photo in this post...let's keep our fingers crossed!

Well, it's certainly not as easy as it used to be, but I figured a way!

On the left is the quilt block Nancy sent me, on the right is the letter that accompanied the block. 

Thank you so much, Nancy!  I love the block and I will treasure both the block and the letter you sent.

I haven't figured out as yet just where I am going to display this beautiful gift of love, but it will be where I can see it every day.  Not sure yet whether it will be in my sewing haven or in my bedroom.

-Helen

Nancy's heart is full of love

I have an unmet friend, her name is Nancy; she's a long-time friend of my back-door neighbor.  I am going to meet her one day, hopefully soon!  I am a follower of her blog, Blogging, Near Philadelphia.  She has a heart of gold.

She offered a Pay It Forward challenge which I jumped in on!  If you signed up on her Facebook post to receive a gift from her within the year, you had to offer the same deal to your friends.  I signed up and got my three folks who signed up on my post.  Giving of yourself, sharing your love...that's what this world should be about.

I received this gift from Nancy today and I'm so pleased, touched and filled with joy. 

I'm having some blogger problems, so the photos of my treasure will have to wait until tomorrow. 

For tonight, goodnight.

-H

Cranky with Lavanila purchase

I purchased Lavanila cologne for our granddaughter's birthday that is TOMORROW.  I purchased this on May 25 and it's not here yet.  I've tried tracking and the tracking links don't work for some reason.  I emailed the company and told them my issue and they checked "their" tracking and said it would be delivered on June 9.  I checked my tracking site and it agreed, now.  Evidently they did something to update the tracking information.

I still don't have the package.  I wrote to the company two more times, but no reply.  Grrrr.  The tracking site said it's at my local post office, so I will call there soon and see what I need to do.

I don't think Evelyn's gift is going to be here on time and that makes me very sad.

We are still sheltering in place as much as possible.  This COVID-19 is a scary thing.  Florida, Arizona and Arkansas are having big spikes in their number of cases.  People partied over the Memorial Day weekend and evidently weren't social distancing and being careful.  I wear my mask anytime I'm at a store (which isn't often at all) or to pick up takeout food or a grocery pickup.

We have subscribed to Hello Fresh and we are enjoying it.  Last night I prepared Pork Sausage and Roasted Pepper Pasta.  Rick is usually unwilling to try new recipes, but this seems to be good for him.  Here's our dinner:

It was delicious and we have leftovers!!

-H

Computer crashed!

Well, my computer crashed!  I was going to send it to my son-in-law to take care of it, but he assured me I could do it myself...and I did!

I read two blogs religiously.  Every time I went to the first one, my computer always froze up.  I didn't think much of it, but one day the computer gave me some error message and it wouldn't open without taking drastic steps.

While doing without my laptop, I still visited my two blogs.  I got a message that there had been FOUR problems with the site in the short time I was reading.  Sadly, I don't go to that blog anymore and I miss it.  I need to write to the woman who runs the blog, but I don't want to accuse her of anything, but if she's having a problem with her site, I think she should know.  Must write a carefully-worded message.

Rick is doing well...still using oxygen while at home and when he's walking the dog, he carries his pulse ox and keeps track of his oxygen level and his heart rate.  His bp is not staying stable, so he is taking his bp daily and keeping a log.  He has cut one of his meds by half (dr. order) and if it's not right, we will (with dr. permission) cut the other med dosage in half.

I've got a big outdoor project I'm working on.  I started taking sod off the hill by the side street (cause it's difficult to mow the incline).  I started the project -- it's probably 75 feet of property.  I scored the entire length and started removing the sod.  I thought I was going to die!  My shoulder was hurting, my body cramped beyond tolerable levels and I only did about 5 or 6 feet.  We called Handy Man Mike and he agreed to do it for us.  He finished up the sod removal today and I got the ground covered with landscape cloth.  Tomorrow I will begin planting hostas.  I have close to 200 in the carport awaiting a new home.  I think my sister is going to come and help.  A photo of what's been accomplished so far:

Looking for new neighbors

Looking for a place to call home?  The house just across the little side street from us is for sale.

It's a 2 story house with a detached garage.  It's a wonderful neighborhood and we would love to have nice people move in.

Our beautiful yard

What a wonderful Friday and weekend!!  We worked in the yard -- Friday, Rick and I mowed the grass and tidyed up the  yard.  I went to Menard's (very pleased that they require you wear masks the WHOLE time you are on their property!).  I bought stepping stones for the garden area.  I placed those and like them a lot -- makes it easier to get to the electrical outlet and to do what needs done in that area.

I planted all the New Guinea Impatiens in their new homes for this year.  I transplanted a few hostas from the front of the house (they were doing a slow death there) to the new area by the stepping stones.   While planting, who did I find???  A dark-colored TOAD!  He took me by surprise, but I "guided" him to the myrtle while I did my planting.  I am making him a little "toad house" so he has a place to shelter.

I bought two boxwood shrubs and planted them in the front of the house.  I hope they can thrive there, not much grows well in that area, but I have felt for a long time that we needed a couple of shrubs.

I bought a new Oriole feeder -- you put grape jelly in it!  I have it hanging in the Japanese Koosa tree in the front yard.  We can see it from our deck.  I also hung a suet feeder and put 2 mandarin orange halves in it.  Hope it draws some colorful visitors to our yard.

I've put several photos of our yard:

Fun day

I went to Menard's today.  They won't allow you in the store without a mask.  They won't allow you to be on their property without a mask.  I was pleased about their efforts to keep their employees and customers safe.

I bought 5 patio stones to put into my garden.  I got them installed and I think they look good and they are very helpful when I need to get into the bed to weed or get to the electrical outlet.

I transplanted hostas along the fence on the north side of the house.  I pulled some weeds and it all looks pretty nice.  I still have to plant the New Guinea Impatiens in the pots in front of the house.  I bought new potting soil while at Menard's and will do that when the weather is nice again.  I believe we are supposed to have thunder storms tomorrow, so I might have to wait until Saturday.

Here is an in-progress photo of the New York Beauty that I've been working on.  I want to so another one just like this so that I can put them in the front window.

-H

Mother's Day, 2020

Ah...Mother's Day

I am waiting to FaceTime with my girls today, but have not done it as yet.  The sheltering in place and social distancing is getting harder on me.  I've been in a funk, but try not to let it get me too much.

Rick and I went to get the cars washed today.  Our new Zoom car wash establishment is offering FREE carwashes for moms!  We got both the cars washed and they really needed it!

We went to Plant & Thyme greenhouse and bought one more New Guinea Impatiens and 3 Coleus plants.  It's still too cold to plant them...maybe by Wednesday.

We were going to have turkey tenderloin and stuffing for dinner, but ribs sure sounded better!  We are having ribs and will have the turkey this week.

I had some bananas that are getting pretty brown, so I whipped up two banana breads.  I love banana bread.

That's all for now.

-H

Outdoor time - BEFORE the MAY 2020 Polar Vortex FREEZE

  

This year -- 2020 is truly a crap shoot!

So many unusual things that have come this year -- the leading calamity is COVID-19 and all the changes it has made in everyone's way of life.  But enough about that...

Yesterday was a beautiful day -- the calm before the coming MAY POLAR VORTEX -- it's supposed to get down in to the TWENTIES tonight!  I think I need to cover some of my plants, like my tender growth on the hydrangea bushes.

Anyway, yesterday was beautiful and since we mowed the lawn the day before with our new self-propelled mower (lots of getting used to that new slick machine!) I decided it was time to work on the hosta/iris bed behind the house.  I cleaned out the leaves, removed grass that grew where it wasn't wanted and then went to the gas station (believe that?) to buy mulch.  I bought mulch in bags that wasn't water logged, so it was quite easy to spread.  I put up my metal sculpture bird, too.  The photos below are from the bed with the fountain.  I got those GIANT footprint stepping stones at an estate sale last year and I just love them!!

This photo to the left is our fountain and the wind sculpture that Jennifer got me for Christmas in 2018.

Rick bought me Impatiens for the five pots in front of the house and I bought and planted a few pansies to put in a hanging pot near our door.

It's too early and cold to plant the Impatiens yet, I'll pamper them by putting them in the garage to shelter them from the freezing temps to come.

Jumble of thoughts, things and stuff

Okay, this is a jumble post!  I have been semi-busy, painting rocks, got to visit with one daughter and her family and even did a grocery pick-up/run today.

I have been shopping online and doing a pickup at Walmart.  I needed to run into Acme to pick up some buns and beans before making my trek to Walmart.  I have disinfected the groceries and put them away.

Here are photos of my in-process painted rocks.  The rocks have not been "sealed" as yet.
 
For some reason, the photos won't line up as I would like, but oh well!!

The rock to the right was gifted to Cris->

Over here on the right is me in my crazy face mask with my sweet Sophie.  Below is my Sophie, smiling.

The following photos are of my daughter Kelly's family, Rick, Sophie and Indiana (Indy).  We went to Mill Creek Park on Sunday and the dogs got to play and get to know each other.

Moodiness

I've been blue yesterday and today.

I'm cranky and just plain sad.  Not much fun to write much when you feel like this, so I just won't.

-H

Wednesday - a little rain must fall

It's Wednesday and a little rain is falling on us!  Not a storm but a few sprinkles so far with more rain to come later today and tonight.

I hope to use our new Lodge Sportsman Cast Iron Grill today to do hamburgers.  We'll see if the weather cooperates.

I woke during the night and grabbed my phone to secure a grocery pickup time from Walmart next Tuesday.

Yesterday I picked out some rocks and washed them.  I baked them for a couple of hours, then turned the oven off and left them until this morning.  I'm going to paint some rocks later today!  (I love painted rocks!)

Well, I decided against barbecuing burgers on our new grill tonight.  We had burgers from Burger King instead.  I had been putzing around and didn't feel like messing with the grill and trying to avoid the rain showers.

It's now time to relax and put my feet up.

-H

Gorgeous Saturday!

Ahhh, we had a wonderful day!

I decided to do the spring washing of the deck today.  It can be a huge and tiring job...it was last year.  This year I decided to not use the power washer and do the deck railings in sections.  Rick was napping when I got started, so I decided to do a section at a time and if I got too tired, I would just stop at that point.  Well, with my bucket of PineSol water, a microfiber cloth and a small scrub brush, I did all the posts, spindles, stairs and part of the floor that was dirtier than the rest.  I even took the deck box (with Rick's help) to the driveway and gave it a good washing, too!  It looks so nice and it's all ready for the season.  We sat out and relaxed much of the day, then I decided to edge around the rocks that surround the deck.  I got all done that I wanted to accomplish for today and it looks so nice!

Pat and Val (ladies who live on Harvey) happened by and stopped to chat.  I gave each of them a face mask to wear when they need one and they were very appreciative.  Pat is the older lady who always has treats for Sophie.  Val used to work with Jeanette Messino.  We had a nice visit and then Luba came to join in on the conversation.  When Luna learned that I sew, her eyes lit up and when the other ladies left, she asked me to alter a dress for her.  I told her I would rather not do it, too much pressure if things don't work out as planned or desired.  I know she was disappointed, but I just didn't want to do it for her...I feel she wouldn't be happy with the end product and I don't need to deal with that.  It's not easy to say "no", but I handled it well and didn't stammer!  (Val wanted to purchase a mask from me, but I told her I don't do them for money, I do them to give away.)

We are having creamed chicken and biscuits for dinner tonight.  Leftovers are terrific, especially when you can eat them in two meals and not have tons to deal with.

I'm going to have to count up how many masks I've made.  I really don't remember, but I'm thinking I've given away close to 30 or so.  Maybe more.

Bonnie - 2
Cris and Jerry -4
Butch - 1
Rick - 2
Me - 4
Karen - 2
JP - 1
Guenveur and John - 2
Marty - 4
Val and Pat - 2
Rhonda - 3
Amy - 4
Mike & Sue - 2
That's 33 right there.  I'll try to think if there were more and update this list

Wednesday happenings

Here I am, posting on the correct day!!

Today I wrapped and delivered the door banner that I made for my newest great great nephew.  I made it on the day he was born -- April 2, 2020, but I didn't do the label and wash it until yesterday.

With this COVID-19 pandemic and the sheltering at home, we don't get out much.  We walk Sophie and we go outdoors as much as possible, but don't really go anywhere.  Going for a ride in the car is a delight for all 3 of us!!

After dropping off the door banner and sneaking a peek of my new great great nephew through the window, we stopped by McDonalds and got Rick a couple of hamburgers for lunch.  (I had green beans.)

We went for a short walk with Sophie...it was COLD.  The air hurt my nasal passages, so we cut it short.  I thought it was necessary that the lawn get mowed, so I did that.  I'm glad we didn't wait longer, the grass is thick and was long enough that waiting longer would make it harder to mow later.

I was going to do sautéed chicken with green peppers and onions and white rice as a side, but we have decided to order pizza from Dominos for dinner.  Sounds delicious.

We're watching the weather and this unseasonal cold has GOT to stop.  Betsy Kling, our weather gal says that we have nearly 10 more days of this below-average cold, then we should be getting more warmer weather!  TIME FOR SPRING!

Signing off...
-H

Two in one post

I didn't post yesterday and I should have.  It was a busy day for us.

I got hold of the pulmonary doctors office.  Rick and I were waiting for a call from them to schedule Rick for a follow up appointment.  They had no record of him needing a visit.  We got that all straightened out and at noon we had a televisit with one of the docs.  Rick has an appointment with him late in June.  He will also need some tests done and WRH is supposed to be calling us to schedule them.

The doc did say that walking was wonderful for him and safe to do.  Our weather yesterday was much nicer than anticipated, so we went for two walks.  He had over 5,000 steps on his Fitbit.  That's great.  Since the weather was so nice, there were several neighbors outdoors, so we had the opportunity to socialize.  Bonus!

We sat on the deck and he lit our gas firepit.  It was so nice.  When the evenings are more mild, we will really enjoy having the fire to gaze into.  We have multicolored glass in the firepit and it's so pretty.

We ate up our leftovers for dinner tonight.  Rick finished the meatloaf and I finished the stuffed shells.  I also had green beans and will have them for lunch tomorrow, too.  On Saturday or Sunday I made green beans with bits of ham and onion.  I love the ones they serve at Texas Roadhouse and tried (somewhat successfully) to recreate them.  They were good, not as good as at TR, but I think the difference might be the amounts of salt used.  I didn't add an excessive amount, and I think they do.

We have decided to purchase a self-propelled lawn mower.  With Rick's lung issues, I should do more of the mowing and we thought having a self-propelled mower would help us out a great deal.  Once we decided which model we wanted, finding it became an issue.  The stores are out of stock and it's nearly one hundred dollars to have it delivered to us.  We found one online (same exact model) and they will deliver it for free.  We ordered that today...Tuesday.

I'm going to get busy today and will write more later.  NOT!

I got sidetracked and didn't get back to finish Monday & Tuesday's post, so this will finish up whatever.

I called Buffalo Wild Wings to order wings for dinner.  That place is a mess during this pandemic.  Not only do they tell you your order won't be ready for at least 1.5 hours...and they really don't know that, but they have ready-to-pick-up orders all over the place.  The cashier doesn't wear a mask and the customers are not respecting the markings on the floor for social distancing.  I need to call the manager.  The wings were good, though!

Ok, this Wednesday morning finishes up Monday and Tuesday's information!!!

-H

A little more sunshine today!

Thank heavens!  A little more sunshine and a little warmer (mid to high 40's) today.  Sure makes life a little easier.

Rick and I took Sophie for a little walk.  We went to DePeyster Street and back home; he didn't take his oxygen tank and he should have.  He was wiped out.

I unboxed and brought in the purchases from Amazon that had been in the garage for a week or so to decontaminate.  I had two cases of K-cups, some vitamins, a cover for the gas firepit, a charcoal starter that's chimney style and our new Lodge Cast Iron Sportsman Grill.  Boy is that grill heavy!!  It should last a LONG, LONG time.  Rick and I put it together - not much to that, but it's ready to go when we are ready to grill.

My delivery from Chewy came; it was 4 cases of cat food.  I love having things delivered, it makes things so easy.  The only thing is:  the deck was wet and the delivery person put the box DIRECTLY in front of the door which means I couldn't get out of the door to get the delivery.  GRRRR!!  LOL!

I did a little repair on the house, the corner pieces of the aluminum siding came loose.  It happens now and then.  I took some caulking and hopefully did a good job of repairing them.  There were 3 loose ones.

I made (what I thought was a delicious) dinner.  We had stuffed shells made with Olive Garden meat sauce.  I also made green beans with ham and onion and we had garlic bread.  Rick ate it, but he didn't particularly enjoy most of it.  He what he likes and doesn't like to try new things!  DUH!  I've known this for years, but sometimes I like different things.

We're looking to purchase a new self propelled lawn mower.  Rick's been shopping online and we are deciding what we want to buy.

I FaceTimed with my niece, Kathy.  She was making her first face masks and ran into a snag and didn't know what to do.  I helped her through it.  (Funny thing, she was teaching a friend to make them via FaceTime, too!)

Kelly called...they were going hiking as a family and Indy is going, too.  Nathan doesn't love hiking, but he goes along with the family plans.  Jennifer texted and was asking about snickerdoodles and the recipe.  She remembered Kelly making snickerdoodles when we had a bunch of guys at our house who were waterproofing our basement.  Good memories.

Enough chatter from me for now.  Rick has a movie on and I'm going to watch it with him.

G'night,
-H

Befuddlement

I haven't posted in a while.  My mind is overwhelmed and I don't like it.

Rick is home from the hospital.  His biopsy and plural fluid results were/are good.  No malignant cells.  That's wonderful news and he is doing so well here at home.  Why am I feeling befuddled?

The weather has been unseasonably cold.  We've had snow a couple of times this week - enough that I had to sweep it off the deck -- and today we are supposed to get quite a bit of snow.  It's not supposed to last long, it's a very wet snow that will melt quickly.


Because the weather has been unkind, it's hard for Rick to get out to walk with us (me and Sophie).  He likes to walk, but the cold weather is very hard on him; me...I think that's all the people who have received them, but I also made extras for Rick and me and some to have on hand if someone needs one.  Here's me in my favorite one and the other one is plus he needs to take his oxygen tank along with him.  Once the weather breaks, I think we will be less stressed.

I made face masks to wear when we go out, like the doctor's office, dropping something off at the neighbor's house or anywhere we might be closer than usual to another person.  I made masks for:
Kelly, Scott, Evelyn, Anna, Nathan, Viv, Jennifer, Todd, Hadley, Treva, Cris, Jerry, Butch, Pat V, JP, Guenveur, John, Marty, Marty's husband, Marty's son, Marty's son's wife, Carol, Bonnie, Jim, Rick, the one I made for our neighbor, Guenveur.  Kelly, Scott and Hadley in their protective gear!

Stay safe and hunker down for a while longer!

-H

Thank you, Lord

Today is Thursday and last evening, I got to bring Rick home.  My heart is full.

We have no results from biopsy that was taken on Wednesday, but my honey is home and until we get results, we are hunkering down and resting.  He has a "televisit" with our primary care doctor on Monday.

This week has been torturous for Rick and for me.  For him, his stay in the hospital was more than scary.  Until he got his COVID-19 test results back (negative, thankfully) he was placed on the COVID-19 floor.  Thankfully he was only there for 1 day.

One of his doctors was horrid.  The doctor made Rick believe he was going to die.  When (and if) I see this guy, I am going to give him a "piece of my mind".  His "bedside manner" is severely lacking.  When Rick saw him, he did tell him how this doc made him feel and the man said he didn't know he was percieved that way.

The whole experience, a lot of it because of the COVID-19, was just terrifying for both of us.

-H

Dear Lord, hear my prayers

My dear husband is in the hospital.  He woke up about 12:30 AM and couldn't hardly breathe.  He was having pain from his chest, up to his shoulder and down his back. I called 911 and the paramedics came.  They did a scan of his heart and he was not having a heart attack.  That eased my mind a LITTLE.

The paramedics left after checking him out well and we went into the living room to settle down into our recliners, thinking that position might offer him some relief.  It didn't.  I talked him into going to the hospital, despite the fact that ALL our hospitals have some patients who tested positive for COVID-19.  While talking to the ER person, he said that even though they had some COVID-19 cases, we really needed him to be seen.  So we (reluctantly) went to the ER in the best hospital in our area.

One test lead to more...and more...and more.  Bloodwork showed a high white cell count...infection somewhere.   He was swabbed for the coronavirus(es).  A cat scan showed a mass.  My heart sank. 

I was not supposed to be allowed in the hospital.  When we got there, the staff asked me to go to my car and wait to hear from them via my cell phone.  They gave me the number so I could call them.  In about 10 minutes the young man came to my car and asked me to come in the hospital.  I had my temperature checked, no fever.  I went to his ER room.  A classmate of Jennifer (younger daughter) was our ER nurse.

He was in so much pain.  They gave him morphine.  They had him hooked to oxygen and monitors.  About 8:45 AM they took him to a room on floor 2 -- the floor for covid patients.

I called a few times.  I took his iPad to the hospital along with a card from me, his charging cable and block plug.  I also sent along 4 pieces (with butter) of homemade banana bread.  I went to the ER (the only door open to the hospital) and instructed the package be delivered.  It was!

They changed his medications late in the day.  His COVID-19 test came back NEGATIVE!  Hallelujah!  They moved him off the COVID floor to the 3rd floor.  Tomorrow they are going to do a needle (aspiration?) and he is going to call me after that.

I will deliver his eye drops to the hospital tomorrow.  The nurse said to do the same thing as I did with the banana bread package.

We have quite a road ahead of us, but at least we got on the road.  

God, walk with me and hold me tight.  I need you by my side.

-H

Beautiful Friday!

This morning I made banana bread!  I had enough of the little square ones and offered a couple to the postman.  I wasn't sure he would want them, but he was eager and grateful for his little treat.  (With the Coronavirus, I wasn't sure he would eat them.)

It's a gorgeous day!  A bit chilly, but the sun is out and it's warm...just the wind is a little nippy.  We went for a walk on campus, we visited the May 4th Memorial.  Lots of the daffodils were in bloom and the sun was bright.  Sophie LOVED being there, lots of new smells and things to jump over!

It was so chilly on campus, we left and finished our walk in our neighborhood.  We saw our neighbor across the street.  He was outdoors with his daughter doing yard work.  A year ago, we thought he wasn't going to be around much longer.  He is doing so much better now.

After our walk, we ordered Italian food from one of our most-favorite restaurants (and the owner went to school with and grew up in the same neighborhood with Rick.  We got spaghetti and meatballs and a pan of meatballs.  Along with their delicious Italian bread.


We are having Happy Hour.  (Well, I am having happy hour!)  Rick's catching a nap instead.


On another fun and delightful note, I got the most-adorable thank you  note from Hadley.  It was just so special and so  HER.  Made my day.

It's nearly time for dinner, so I'll heat up some spaghetti and butter up some bread and we'll have dinner.

-H

Busy Thursday

Today we had sunshine!  Hurray for sunshine, there is nothing like it to help your spirits lift.

I had ordered from a local restaurant.  They were offering 4 items that they would deliver to your home for free...if you spent $20.  For those $20, I got a quart of homemade tomato soup and half a dozen donuts.  Perhaps a little pricey, but these are strange times.  The soup was good, I had it along with a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner.  (Rick isn't a big fan of tomato soup, so he had leftover hamburger and macaroni that we had earlier in the week.)

I placed an order at Acme for groceries and today was my pickup day.  I pulled into the designated spot, called the store and they brought my groceries out, loaded them in my car and handed me my receipt.  I had this all planned as to how to bring things into the house with as little chance of bringing in COVID-19 as possible.  My strategy is as follows:

1.  I took big Rubbermaid bins to the garage.  I wiped them out with hot water, bleach and Dawn. I drove to the store.

2.  When I got home, I took my bucket of bleach water and wiped my steering wheel, the gear shift, the starter button and the door handle and the handle that I used to pull the door closed.

3.  I opened the lift gate on my car and took the groceries out of the bags, one by one.  I wiped each item off with my solution and placed it in the bin.  Cold things in one bin and everything else in the other bin.

4.  I took each bin into the house and put the items away.  I set the bins outside in the sun and then took my solution of bleach, soap and water and while I had the opportunity, I wiped off the gate to the deck, my door and handles and the doorbells.

I didn't get all the items that were on my list, some things were not available.  No problem, nothing was terribly urgent, just stocking up on needs for the future.

Cooper Everett was born today via Cesarean section.  Ashleigh wasn't progressing with the inducing of labor and when they stepped up the process the baby's heart rate fluctuated.  I am nearly done with his door banner.  I still need to make a label, attach it and wash it.  Then I will drop it off at their house (on the porch). Here's a picture of the banner for his bedroom door.

Last night we ordered an Edible Arrangement of fruit to send to the girls.  Both of them got the fruit today and they called/Facetimed to thank us.

I decided to order a grill from Amazon today.  I am getting a Lodge cast iron Sportsman's grill.  It's small and I hope we will like it.

For day...

-H

April Fools' Day

I had a prank all ready for today!  I have been planning for it since maybe April 2 or 3 of last year!  In lieu of all the coronavirus, COVID-19 all around us, I don't feel very much like playing a prank.  I will save my silliness for next year when, hopefully, the world will be healthier.

Today will hopefully bring my great-great nephew into the world.  My niece is supposed to be at the hospital at 10AM to be induced.

Yesterday I wasn't very productive, so today I'm going to be more focused on goals.  Whether my goal is to read a book, go for a walk or whatever, I'm going to be busier.

Today, I would like to accomplish these things:

1.  Add to my grocery list of things I need from Walmart.  When a slot opens up for pickup, I will have my list ready.  CHECK

2.  Sew (hopefully complete) the name banner for Cooper CHECK, not finished, but quilted and ready to bind.

3.  Do a load of laundry CHECK

4.  Read some of my book

5.  Go for a walk with Sophie and Rick CHECK

6.  Make a tasty dinner CHECK, I made sautéed chicken, green peppers and onions, rice and cauliflower casserole

-H

Kind of an icky day

Where to start with today?  Rick got up REALLY early...about  6AM.  I got up about 7:30.  I usually sleep until nearly 8 and then do a quick look at my phone and send out my game freebies to friends.  I woke up a little when Sophie came into the bed about 6:30.  She didn't stay long and I went back to sleep.

I got up, had coffee and Rick settled in for a little nap.  I was planning to sew today, but I didn't get up in my sewing room till after 3PM.

We took Sophie for a relatively short walk, it was cold and damp today.

I finished up a grocery pick up order at Acme.  It's the first time I've completed an order.  I am to pick it up between 1 and 3PM on Thursday.  I am wondering how many of my items won't be available...I'll have to see.  I also have an order in process at Walmart, but I won't try to get a pickup time until I get my Thursday order from Acme.  Whatever was not available will go on the Walmart list.  Walmart is hard to get a pickup time...they are so booked up.  I will try early Friday morning (after getting my Acme order) to get a time slot.  Nothing urgent, but I will see what happens.

We had wings for dinner from Buffalo Wild Wings.  They were good.  We have a few left over, maybe that will be lunch tomorrow.

Yesterday we got a delivery of cookies.  Kelly ordered cookies to be delivered to us from Insomnia Cookies.  I had part of one and it was good.  They come "hot from the oven" and fresh to your door.

My plans for tomorrow include doing a manicure for myself (my cuticles are rough), read and work on the door banner for baby Conner.  Ashleigh is being induced tomorrow.

Sweet dreams,
-H

Gloomy weather today

Gloomy here today.  No sunshine, cloud covering the entire sky, but I am up, I am healthy and I put up my hummingbird feeders!  I am hoping that the darling hummers will grace our yard this year.  I made nectar early this morning and got the feeders up before noon.

I am going to sew a bit today...not sure just what as yet, but I think I'll work on the Moda Blockheads #3.  Lots I "can" do, but just what strikes my fancy...who knows.  I like the little LOVE wall hanging that I sent to Debra Hirsch, maybe I'll start another (or two) to send to others to brighten their days.  Helen, that's a GREAT idea!!  Also, instead of more bibs for the new great-great nephew, how about a name banner for him?!!  Another GREAT idea, Helen!

Ok, enough writing for now.  Get my butt upstairs to make something!! Well, via the magic of the internet, it is tomorrow and I'm going to finish up  today's post!!  I got this block done:

I'm not thrilled with it...it's one of the sew along blocks, but it's done and it will be fine to either use in the quilt, make into a little wall hanging or pillow or bag.

Now, I've finished this blog post for today, which is actually tomorrow, but we are considering it a finish for Sunday.  This is like time travel--it makes my head hurt!

-H

Sunday...

It's a beautiful day!  It's incredibly windy and the weather is unsettled to say the least.  It's been sunny and windy, then we will have rain, then sun.  We went for a walk today and if you were somewhere that sheltered you from the wind, you got hot.

I have not been doing my hair...why bother too much?!  This morning, I figured I'd get my shower and fix my hair.  I'd also wear something I don't usually wear.  I'm a leggings and tunic kind of person, but today I wore wild palazzo pants and a bright pink LuLaRoe top.  With it being so windy, my hair turned W-I-L-D and frizzy!  Hahaha!

Our neighbor, Matt needed to borrow our hose to wash some stain off his new house.  We lent it to him and chatted a bit with him and his mother.  She was there painting the light pole in the yard.  I think it will be nice to have young neighbors who are eager to take care of their property.

I made chaffles today.  I have been out for quite some time, and by eating those instead of bread for sandwiches, I cut my carb intake.  I made a bunch!!  I made egg/mozzarella and also cinnamon/wonder bread ones.

I have spare ribs in the oven and we'll have little potatoes with that for dinner.  I've cut back on the amount of meat I'm putting on our lunchtime sandwiches...we run out of deli chicken and ham too quickly!!  Haha...this is reminding me of stories my mother told me about the Great Depression.

Lots of folks are outdoors today.  We drove to the post office to mail off some bills and our questionnaire to get a ballot to mail in for voting.  The Cuyahoga River is HIGH!  I believe we have gotten about 3 inches of rain during the last two days.  LOTS of kids were out and they were not keeping the recommended distance of 6 feet of social distancing.  Silly kids think they are immortal, nothing can get them.

Tomorrow is supposed to get back to normal temperatures for this time of year -- low to mid 40's.  Maybe I'll go upstairs and sew tomorrow.  I'm behind on my Moda Blockheads #3.  The new block comes out Wednesday and I have not done the last two.  I would like to make a bib for Cooper Everett with his name on it.   Ashleigh is due to be induced April 1 if she doesn't go into labor earlier.

-H

Rainy Saturday

When I woke up this morning, I heard rain on the house and thunder in the distance.  Oh, I love a gentle thunderstorm when I know I'm safe.  I lay in bed for a while and Sophie came in to sleep on Rick's side of the bed.  She does not like to cuddle, but she let me pet her and I dozed off again.  It was a relaxing way to wake up.

It's been raining most of the day.  I went upstairs to my sewing room and was going to make something for my great-great nephew, but instead, I straightened up.  It looks nicer and is more organized.  Nothing made, but I'm happier being up there.  I finished putting paint on a half-painted rock and put a base coat on another rock.

We had leftovers for dinner--macaroni and hamburger with garlic bread.  It tasted good, I would have rather had something else, but I didn't know what else!

Amy Rogers Gupta got me 2 dozen eggs in a grocery order she had delivered.  I wiped them off and threw away the cartons because they were cardboard.

All in all, it's been kind of a boring day.  We did get out with Sophie for a short walk between rain showers.  It's warm - mid 60's.

-H

Kindness(es)

I'm "elderly" now.  When and just how did this happen?  For most of my life I have been the one to call or contact someone and offer my help.  I'm not supposed to do that now, during this Covid-19 pandemic.

Yesterday, I realized I was down to 3 slices of bread.  I had just been to the store (for the last time in a very long time) and we really don't use much bread at all.  However, lately I've been having a sandwich for lunch (Rick, too) and wow...we were nearly out of bread.  I posted a request on our Neighborhood Folks page on Facebook.  I asked if anyone was going to go to the store, I could use a loaf of bread.  I had the post up for about 5 minutes and then panicked!  I thought to myself, "I could have a DOZEN loaves of bread if several people see it", so I took the post down.  Last evening, one of my neighbors texted and asked if I had gotten bread, or if I still needed it.  She was going to the store today, and she brought me a loaf.  This was Liz.  Later today, Amy was leaving her house and called to me..."Helen, do you still need bread?"  She was placing an Instacart order and offered to order it or anything else I might need.  I asked her to get me 2 dozen eggs.

A little later on, John Burnell called to check on us.  He offered to pick up anything for us as he goes to Acme about every other day to get things for himself and his mom.  He was so sweet.  John is 58, I used to babysit for him and his sisters when I was about 12 or so!

Tonight for dinner, we had Swenson's.  Delicious.

Today was Hadley's birthday!  She's now 12!  She had wanted to have a birthday party with her friends, but with the pandemic, that's just not possible.  She received about 50 cards!  Jennifer had put a post on Facebook that she was trying to make Hadley's birthday special in lieu of the pandemic.  Jennifer (and Todd) planned a special day for her.  They made their house into Hadley's favorite restaurant...Texas Roadhouse.  It was all explained to us via FaceTime!  The photos won't load now, so I'll post them tomorrow.

I'm so touched that our kids are FaceTiming with us a little more frequently.  That makes me feel more connected with them.  I've not been crying so much lately.

It's after 11PM, so I'm going to go to bed now.

-H

Peace to you and be well

Our neighborhood has a "bear hunt" going on.  You put a teddy bear(s) in your window and when the kids go for walks with their parents, they look for bears!  Fun!  

To brighten up our neighborhood, we have put our Christmas lights back up!  We have Easter slides to put in the slide show and we put up the miniature lights on the deck railing. 

We have SUNSHINE!!

I slept in this morning, till about 8:15!  I heard workers at the 🏘 house next door and there were putting on a new roof.  They weren't terribly noisy at all and it was completely done in about 6 hours!  Amazing.

We got out in the 🌞 sunshine today and it was super!  We took off for a walk with Sophie.  I put on my jacket and my fingerless gloves.  I kept unzipping my jacket little by little.  Then I removed my gloves.  Then I removed my jacket and tied it around my waist as we finished up our walk.  It was so nice.

After we got home, we put up our  lights.  We have projector lights and we have one slide that has Easter and one that has Christmas.  We strung up our Christmas lights on the deck.  We are trying to spread a little cheer during this unsettling time because of the coronavirus.  Tonight we will "tweak" the lights so they are just right.

I actually got hot while working outside.  I complained a little (in jest) to Rick about how hot I was!  Thinking about that, I need to get out and fold up the tarp that was over the tables on the deck.

Tonight we are having meatball 🌞 sandwiches.  Tomorrow we will cook hamburger for macaroni and hamburger meals and some for chili.

Nice day, it was so wonderful to see the sunshine and warmer weather.

-H

I'm gonna need a nap!

I was up this morning at 4:45 AM.  The woman who gets up between 7:45 and 8:15 daily was up and out the door at 5:10 AM to go to the grocery store for "senior shopping".  Giant Eagle told me I could come in anytime after 5 AM...if they see someone (of senior age), they can come in and shop.  When I pulled in and parked, an employee (outside having a cigarette) yelled at me and said they didn't open till 6 AM.  I shouted back that I called and was told I could.

I went in, went to the bakery and got some cupcakes to have on Friday when we FaceTime with the Plank family for Hadley's 12th birthday, and a package of hamburger.  I was glad to get both items.  The meat case had only about 10 packages of hamburger--if I hadn't been able to get in during the senior hours, there would have been none.  Most of our stores have very little meat.

Then I bee lined to Walmart.  I was there before 6:00AM.  They have "senior shopping" hour on Tuesdays from 6:00 to 7:00 AM.  I was in and out of there, buying everything I thought we would need for a LONG time.  I was home before 7.  I brought all the purchases to the porch, brought in all the cold/frozen foods immediately and wiped everything off with bleach water, then put away.  I then went to the basement, stripped off my clothes and put them in the washer.  Wiped off my shoes with a Clorox wipe, put my glasses and hair clip in the sink with some hot water and dish soap, then hopped in the shower and scrubbed any germs off of me.

I got all the groceries wiped down that hadn't been done and put them away.  I wiped out the grocery bags with my bleach water.  I left the gallon of distilled water, diet root beer and some fizzy water on the deck to kill off any germs, etc.  We'll put those things away a little later.

I bought donuts on the way home at Dunkin' and we had a cup of coffee and a donut for breakfast.

It's now 8:40AM and I'm going to relax in my chair for a while.  Hopefully a little later we will put up our Christmas lights to bring a little cheer to the neighborhood.  I also need to put a teddy bear in one of our windows...our neighbors are doing a "bear hunt"!!

It's now 5:15PM and here's how the rest of the day has gone.

First of all, I did get a nap.  I went to bed and slept for about 75 minutes of uninterrupted sleep.  I dreamed about my mama.  It wasn't a good dream; we went to a store.  I had forgotten something in the car so I left her at the store and went to the car.  However, I couldn't find my car.  I was gone for a terribly long time.  Then my dream went another way...I went to my older daughter's home (not where she really lives, though) and it was chaos.  She had someone who looked like her sister-in-law living there.  There was a man who came and went...and kids, so many kids running around.  When I woke I was a little frantic.  I don't like dreams where things are disjointed and unsettling.
 
It's not a sunny day here.  The temperature is in the low 40's, so it's not a particularly nice day.  We did get out and go for a walk with Sophie.  It was kind of cool and my scarf for my neck is still drying, so I was chilly.

We didn't put up the Christmas lights.  We are hoping to do it tomorrow.

Tonight we are going to get takeout chicken wings.

I'm kind of down about this Covid-19 pandemic.  I'm scared and today I'm not doing extremely well handling it all.

-H

Sunday of Shelter In Place

Sheltering in place.  That's what I'm doing each day.  We get up, we have coffee and play computer games, we eventually get dressed!

Today I finished the LOVE quilt(let).  I am pleased with the quilting and the way it turned out.

Kelly and Scott got a puppy.  She's a Bernedoodle which is a Bernese Mountain Dog and a Poodle.  She's adorable.  As of now, no name...they just got her today.  

And here...here is our Sophie girl!  Amazingly sweet dog.

We also cleaned up the yard.  Rick ran the mower for a bit.  It's harder and harder for him because of his lung issues.  I raked part of the yard and a few people walking stopped to chat.

Dinner was ribs in the oven, stovetop stuffing and I had some cauliflower casserole.

Now I'm in my nightie, sitting here, writing in my blog/journal and sipping a cup of tea.  

-H