Reheat the Coffee

Reheat the coffee.  I've got three sips left.  Isn't it amazing how drinking coffee can be a good excuse to do nothing?  I'm two hours late on getting an early start on my day, but there are three sips of coffee left in my cup.  So...off to the microwave to reheat.  Can't drink cold coffee, but remember, I'm just three sips away from starting my day.


Just as cigarette breaks are a plausible excuse for no productivity, so is my morning coffee.  So here I set, writing a silly blog post about nothing more than my excuse for not getting up and conquering the world.


Well that three sips turned into five.  I'm feeling it!  I'm almost ready!  And here I go!  I've got to mow, use the weed eater, water the flowers, sweep, mop, do homework, slop the hogs, etc. 


I love you!  

These Moments

Well another Saturday has come and gone.  It is just me or does it seem the days just fly by.  Soon my shopping will turn to Christmas, but today it turned to TRADER JOE'S.  In case you think I am going to write about Trader Joe's tonight, you are wrong.  No, a Trader Joe's story requires an entire post all its own.


Tonight I just want to tell you what a great day I have had.  It was a day of shopping with my daughter, but it was more than that.......it was moments, happy, sweet moments.  Home Goods was our first stop and we arrived as the store was opening at 9:30 which was a surprise to us.  We'd talked about what we would do for 30 minutes, but instead we walked right in and pretty much has the store to ourselves for 30 minutes.  We were able discuss and visualized every object without having a cart rammed into our heels to move on.


Then on to Trader Joe's, but I'm not going to go into detail yet........another post.......keep posted.


We went back to collect my little 2 1/2 year old granddaughter for a bit of furniture shopping.  Earlier in the day, that sweet girl had asked in her little girl voice if we were "going to take me".  She was so excited that we came back for her which made me excited, too.  Another moment.  So we ended our shopping day on a perfect note............the note of my granddaughter's happiness.


After I dropped my precious girls off, the radio was softly playing an old Eagles song, somehow perfect for my quiet ride home.  A time for me to reflect on the day, to remember how precious my family is, and to enjoy the twilight of a perfect day.  Another moment.


Every day won't be this perfect, but perhaps I can try a little harder to see that life is about these moments and what we make of them.  I am indeed grateful for these moments.


I love you. 

So We Have Had a Good Day

Good evening family and friends.


Well, we finally......and I do mean finally, got an estimate on painting our house.  It is much more than I ever thought it would be, but it will be done............we hope...........and in a timely manner.........we hope.  Let's just put it out there........we really haven't had much luck with painters in the last few weeks.  Nobody seems hungry enough to even call us back, let alone give us an estimate.  Today, the guy came only one day after he said he would and he was able to give us an estimate in 5 minutes.  We have seen his work since he painted the house across the street........SO...... with fingers crossed, in a few weeks our house will be painted.............finally.............after 38 years.  Let me explain.  No we have not had our house painted in 38 years BECAUSE it is cedar siding and it was in fashion at the time.  Time for some changes.  So we are finally going to paint the house, probably 30 years since it probably needed it.  We did get our value from the cedar.


So, we have had a good day.  You know a lot of purchases of this cost really cause me anxiety, but for some reason I feel really good about our decision.  So, we have had a good day.  Hope you have as well.


I love you.


By the way, we have almost always done our own home maintenance.  Not only has it saved us tons of money throughout the years, but the contractors we have hired often did not do the job as well as we would/could have done ourselves.  So it isn't without a little angst that we signed the dotted line, but we are at the age when we need to watch instead of hold the brush.  And we do NOT need to be on a ladder 20 feet above the ground.

When in Doubt, Throw It Out

Hello on this fine Labor Day--2016.  Our day has been pretty lazy, but hey, we're retired.  I've got some allergies going on so I might as well blog.


When in doubt, throw it out!  I've been cleaning closets which might have caused all the allergies (dust anyone??).  Nothing is more therapeutic for me than getting rid of stuff which has become junk to me.  Last week I started with the pantry.  You'd be surprised at what all I found...........or maybe not.  So many memories are in these photos. 

If you looked at the first picture, then you know what this is.

A very nice pecan cracker in great condition.  The trouble is I don't crack pecans anymore; nobody does.  I have more income than I did in 1974 and I don't have to watch my pennies as I did then.  As my hubby said, "People don't grab a bowl of pecans and crack them while they listen to the radio programs."  So very true!  Almost sad.  Almost sadly, I am giving this to charity.

 

Next are two nostalgic items that I am keeping although I don't really know why.

Remember when the Italian restaurants had these wine bottle drip candle holders?  And all those matches from places we've been.............can't throw them out.  They mean nothing to anyone but us, but we enjoy finding them in the closet when we clean.  It gives us meaningful conversation for a few minutes plus it causes us to recall a younger "us", our beginning.

I was rereading this before publishing and I noticed I hadn't written about this.

This.................being my grandma's bread bowl.  I am not sure if this is the bowl in her kitchen or one we found in an outbuilding near their house, but I like to think that it is one in her kitchen which she used all the time.  Years ago I had it hanging on my wall and it dropped and split so we used wood glue to put it back together.  Of course, I am NOT going to give this away.  Wood bowls are in style once again so I might drag it out of the closet and use it in my fall decorating.

Grandma had flour in this bowl.  When she made biscuits, she'd add the ingredients right in the center and mix the biscuits right there.  She'd form them by hand and put on a baking sheet which had melted shortening, turning so that both sides had shortening on them before placing in the oven.

I didn't throw these out either, but I put notes in them to let our children know why I have them.  They were on Mrs. Tucker's what-not shelf.  We think they were Aunt Shirley's toys.

I am sure you are SHOCKED at this photo!!  Yes, Nana is a lush............NOT!  These bottles have been in my cabinet up so high that you'd have get a ladder to reach them.  They are probably 30 years old..............and time to GO!  You know what, we opened them and they still smell like they did when I used them in recipes way back when.  NO, WE DID NOT TASTE THEM.  And no we didn't give them to charity.  They were used to clean the plumbing. 

Wow, here we are at the green waffle iron we received for a wedding present in 1972.  It probably should have been thrown out years ago, but hey, we still use it.  Who needs a new waffle iron when this one works perfectly fine.  After all, I only make waffles every five years or so, and when I need a waffle iron, here this beauty is.  And we can have a conversation about how old this iron is and how much longer it will last.....they don't make 'em like they used to.  This was a present from my office and that color was very popular back then.  The plates can be turned over to make a griddle, all Teflon lined.  Perhaps I had a Panini pan before it was called a Panini pan.

I threw these glasses out.  I bought these jelly glasses a few years ago at an antique store because this is what my family used for everyday glasses when I was a kid.  I felt nostalgic for a few days; they served their purpose.  Now they are ready to bring memories to somebody else.

Surprisingly, these glasses are really a sturdy glass for drinking and holds exactly enough and I kind of liked drinking from them again, but alas, you can't live in the past. 

....................So I kept some things, threw out some things, found some outdated food, and had lots of fun reminiscing.  But when in doubt, throw it out!


I love you.

The Music

Hi friends, 

 

I have had a wonderful day despite how it started; shaken awake by a 5.6 earthquake.  Wow, that will put you on your feet in a matter of seconds.  At the onset I thought the hubby was getting up, but I couldn't figure out the abrasive sound of someone wadding up plastic sheeting.  We both jumped up and ran to the window where we saw the outside umbrella really swaying.  At that point we both said "earthquake" and ran to the living room where we confirmed it by the swaying of cords inside the house.  Wasn't long before the local channels were delivering the news of this 5.6 quake.  Not fond of earthquakes and a little afraid............this coming from a girl living in tornado alley. 

 

So many posts to write about all stemming from my awesome day, but tonight I want to talk about all the old music and musicians.  Yes, you know it, I am watching PBS and their fund drive.  They may not have this on any other time of the year, but they have it tonight and I am reliving my life, my Saturday nights, through this music.  The younger years that is.

 

It is almost comical that some of the featured rock and roll artists from my day are so aged.  How times flies......  One of these days, this music--my music--will disappear.  Already, it is hard to find on the radio.  KOMA used to be the station, but yesterday when I was in the car, the music was more for my daughter's generation which, despite her denying it, is now 20 years old........

 

Tonight I thought it would be fun to list some of the musicians that will be disappearing soon, some already gone.  So off the top of my head here are some that I remember.  See if you remember any of these.  Can you name any of their hits?  I will help you out on some.

 

• The Bellany Brothers
• Neil Diamond
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Chubby Checker -- Peppermint Twist
• Perry Como  -- Too many to list, but this time of the year ALWAYS reminds me of him.
• Buck Owens  --  Not real crazy about him, but he was a headliner in his day.
• Righteous Brothers --  Do I even have to tell you what song comes to mind?
• Patsy Cline  --  So many.........  Crazy, huh?
• Frank Sinatra
• Billie Joe Royal -- 1966
• Dolly Parton -- Every Saturday evening.
• Glen Campbell
• Jim Reeves
• Percy Faith
• Marty Robbins
• Red Folley
• Tennessee Ernie Ford -- 16 Tons
• Patty Page -- Sang one of daddy's favorite songs.
• Dinah Shore
• Glen Miller
• Roger Miller
• Mitch Miller -- Remember the sing along show?  The Yellow Rose of Texas
• Dinah Washington
• The Ink Spots
• Tommy Dorsey
• Brenda Lee -- Rockin Around the Christmas Tree
• Guy Lombardo -- What would New Years Eve be without him?
• Gogi Grant -- The Wayward Wind
• Louie Armstrong
• Burl Ives
• Doris Day -- Whatever Will Be, Will Be
• B J Thomas
• Jimmy Dean
• Hank Williams
• Bing Crosby
• The Lennon Sisters
• Frankie Lane
• Tony Bennett
• Eddy Arnold
• Dean Martin
• Roger Williams
• Bobby Vinton
• Neil Sedaka
• The Platters
• Bobby Darin
• Roy Orbison
• Herb Alpert & The Tijuna Brass
• Marilyn Maye -- The Lamp is Low
• John Gary
• Dave Clark Five
• Simon and Garfunkle
• Floyd Cramer
• Chet Atkins
• Pat Boone
• Nat King Cole
• Rosemary Clooney
• Ed Ames
• Petula Clark
• The Carpenters
• Teresa Brewer
• Andrew Sisters
• Liberace
• The Beach Boys
• Sony and Cher
• The Mills Brothers
•  Elvis -- He's been dead for almost 40 years, but he is iconic.
• Henry Mancini -- His music was in so many movies of the 60s.
• Peggy Lee -- Is That All There Is?
• Beatles
• John Denver -- One of my favorites
• Ray Charles
• The Mamas and Papas
• Rolling Stone
• Supremes
• Paul Anka
• Everly Brothers

This is by no means all of the music of my life.  I could have gone forever, but I had to stop.  Yep, some are gone, some are much older, some are almost forgotten, but some never will be.  I may forget them myself someday, but for now their music lives on with me and what great music it is.


I love you.