Tuesday, March 18th. Halfway Point to being a year OLDER

Chocolate Guiness Cake. I've may have had this cake when I visited Ireland in the 80's.....if not....I think I really missed out on something great.  Instead of cake.....  I did get "propositioned" in an Irish Cemetery.... as my friend said- "only you, Joanne".  The guy was young and good looking so I was okay with it...but still said "no thank you" to what he offered.. (and what had to be explained to me LATER).   I really led a sheltered life back then.  

Every time my friend thought about it- she and everyone else laughed until they had tears running down their faces.  

Our Irish St Patty's Day Dinner was very good....the cabbage wedges needed a few more minutes but will be excellent after spending time in the microwave today.  

Daughter scouted around the house  and found some leather cleaning supplies (husband's stuff) and cleaned and whatever-ed all my Coach Handbags.....we also moved me into a smaller bag for spring into summer... I carry very little with me these days.. wallet, credit card, hankie and any lists I happen to have for books or groceries or things I might need to remember.....yes...ALL my Coach handbags.....the only one missing is a red one..I never could find the larger size in red ....I have brown, navy, green and black.  The black one was free.  A gift from someone I was having lunch with... "Want this????".   That's how I get stuff or get "offered" stuff here in America.  Laughing.

I think we took a TON of stuff to Goodwill.

Well, I have recorded British Soccer for today...a book to finish. "Funny Story" by Emily Henry. Followed by As You Wish by Jude Devereaux.  I need to find a hard cover copy of this book for my bookcase.

Well, I need to add socks to my wardrobe---make a bowl of oatmeal  and get a cup of instant coffee going....read the paper and then.......try a Suduko.   ...then the couch and my book and the Soccer.  And if ONLY I was able....a nice nap would be welcome.  But I have never been able to "nap".  You'd think that well into my late 70's I would be able to nap....just from being bored .....but NO.  Failure to Nap.

Bring on the cake,,.......

March 17th....Dark, Wet Monday. The crock pot holds our corned beef dinner...

My favorite of the many Trump Voo Doo dolls.  I'd be pounding nails into mine if I had one. Enjoying every whack of the hammer.... and using big thick nails.

Okay- I watched everything in my PBS file.....and then started in on Law and Order.  I'm saving the English Soccer for today.....Not watching news (at all) is limiting my tv watching...but the one minute- an actual minute- I did see news- I knew I had to STOP.   I did read the newspaper....usually only the headlines.

Daughter is bringing me a book from the Library...I just wanted something familiar.  Comforting.  Like a small kid with his or her blankie.   I just got an email about King George lll.  Resemblance to he who shall not be named.

Our Corned Beef is in the Slow Cooker....I got a larger piece this year- for leftovers and bigger portions with the potatoes and cabbage.  And carrots.  It's a meal I missed for many years......I stopped cooking meals when my husband stopped....... eating....meals.....with me......... It might have been when he forgot who I was,  Why I was always around.  Everything that happens reminds me of something I'd rather not recall......

I looked in a drawer and found a large handful of CD's- There will be rock and roll in this house...also opera and 40's men singing love songs.   When Son goes out to lunch I will get the audio UP and enjoy the music.  Looking forward to it.

Time for breakfast....
 

Sunday, Sunday- only it's cloudy and damp here in Maine. 45 degrees and 99% humidity.

Caryopteris with a Sweat Beetle.

Gathering pollen.   I feel like I am gathering dust.   This is what getting old must be like......I've never actually FELT OLD before but now...I feel like I have an expiration date stamped on me somewhere. And now I know how quickly death can come and take you away. Snap.

I watched three recorded episodes of Vienna something on PBS.  I'd seen them before but I do always enjoy a nice Period Drama. I have episodes of Wolf Hall recorded and waiting for all of them before watching...I usually read the book after watching......I have it in the bookcase...also the Mirror one.

I will be searching for a Jude Deveraux book- I know the plot but not sure I have the book here......It's one of those where two women and one guy- Ray are going to change their lives.....by making a wish to go back in time to the place where they made the wrong choice.   I have to go looking.  And actually buy the book if I don't have it.  I know exactly where I made my wrong choice......

The Boxes of linen etc arrived in Georgia at Deb L's Dye Works...... I was getting worried....but they all arrived.   She has PLANS......I love that about Deb- and she gets right to those plans...  I really wish I had a PLAN.  Any sort of Plan would be an improvement.....I feel like I'm stuck in neutral and if there is any movement it's usually in reverse.  Not forward.  I spend a lot of time each day in reverse...thoughts.

So Sunday Pizza.....recorded British Soccer and a book search.... I also have some additional closet cleaning to do.  How does a person who wears the EXACT SAME  THING  DAY AFTER WEEK  AFTER MONTH AFTER YEAR AFTER DECADE.....have so many clothes??????????   It's like they multiply in the closet....yesterday I found some "new to me" tee shirts......it's like some sort of Magical Closet Thing.  I wore a bright red shirt the other day.....I didn't even know I owned one....found it when looking for stuff to send Deb L in Georgia. For the Dye Works.  Can't dye a red shirt....so I put it on.

 

Saturday Morning....March 15th. Sunshine-40 degrees and melting snow.

 I'd love to have this cloud of blue in a few spaces in my garden beds.   It might not like MAINE.... It's Catmint....I think it smells like pee but I'll have to check on that to see if I am correct.

I sorted out the drawer I have filled with desk calendar ART.   At one time I drew pictures and colored them here on the desk calendar......at some point I started using images cut from magazines to the surface.   I have years of calendars in a box- I imagined an art display in some fantasy...just covering the walls with calendar pages.

At the recent Dye Plant Lecture- the walls in the Library Meeting Room were covered in ART.  All kinds of things.....I was enchanted.  Especially the black and white...stuff reminding me of my own art here on the calendar pages.  While listening to the lecture I drew images from the walls in my notebook.

Re-connecting with my ART.......I know REAL artists always have something to draw on and something to draw with ........My daughter would say right now- but you ARE a real artist.   I am.  And I should start carrying around a small blank page notebook and a pencil or pen.....and draw what I see and what I imagine.  

I watched a Hallmark Movie....A Car Mechanic finds out he is next in line for some British royal position.... so he goes to see what's what.... and fixes things....and fixes the old guy's (his new found dad) red sports car. The old guy still loves the mechanic's mom...so it all works out.  Dopey but I liked it.

Been awhile since I watched Hallmark...years.  But it's actually healthier than watching the NEWS. I have STOPPED COLD watching the news.....Until this Country starts electing intelligent people who know how to govern.....nothing will work the way we want it to.  And as someone who lives on their Social Security check......I'm worried.  That check pays for heat, lights, food etc. And taxes.

Daily Notes- Friday March 14th.. Sunshine and Melting Snow-

Amy Genser- Textured Pattern. 

Okay- the Sun is shining here in Maine...the snow is melting, the grass is brown.   On the South side- Snow and tiny daffodil shoots.  Odd that the South side has snow and the North side has grass.

I watched National Geographic yesterday regarding digging into the sand to find ancient tombs and possibly treasure....I came away with a very positive impression that I would NEVER go down into one of those shafts with so much moving sand.......another thing to cross off the list.

Things are looking tidy here in the living room (the dining room part of the L shape is where I am sitting now typing at my desk and where my couch is located and I watch tv.  Cozy.)   Daughter and I have emptied out the living room....now only two bookcases, a couch (pressed up against a wall) and a table and four chairs over in front the windows..  There is zero Living Room vibe.

In fact...on this particular street I have never visited ANY of the living rooms....always sat and talked in the family rooms. Always.  Which is why my living room is empty.  Of course I do NOT have a family room....my house is incredibly WEIRD.  And no one ever comes to visit. Well, the Twin Boys used to come pretty often to talk to husband.  They talked and he pretended to listen.

We are going grocery shopping as soon as Son takes his shower.......and the Library... I will have to walk about looking for books as I did NOT order books.... I have four books on the shelf I haven't read as yet. And of course I have my bookcase.

 

Thursday, March 13th. Clouds with a bit of a chill in the air...

 My Lunch yesterday was delightful....the waiter was a bit over the top but- it was fine.  The wine was wonderful in a very very fancy glass... everything was several degrees fancier than we had at the former restaurant which still has NOT opened in their new location.  Might never open.

Colder and Cloudy here in Maine- yesterday we didn't even need to wear our coats....strange weather.

I have soup to eat today and tomorrow is Library and Grocery Store.  And then the days will be quiet until next Friday.  The soup is a bit more tomato than I like so...next time I will use less of whatever it was that was tomato like....

That's it for today....I haven't had breakfast as yet or read the newspaper....but I do have the stock market on the computer now since our newspaper can NO longer print the stock quotes.  No idea what is going on with STUFF anymore...  fewer and ewer things to watch on tv so I might have to buy a streaming service--  I used to enjoy Netflix but that was years ago and no clue what it would be like NOW...there is no chance of a trial offer either...that is how I got it years ago.  Decades ago.

Take care- enjoy the day.

Wednesday March 12th. A Fresh Start.

 Elena Ray- Abstractions.

I think I have reached the Tipping Point...I wish "The Man Whose Name Shall Not Be Spoken" reached his. But perhaps Down is the only direction he knows.  And his Down is very very DEEP.

My Own Tipping Point was a shower, clean clothes (not my usual size- not worn in the last decade or more) and a lunch date in 2.5 hours. I felt strong enough to brave the shower.....there is a safety chair in the shower stall "just in case" and I have had to make use of it....I won't deny that....I do not want to fall and smash my head etc..... not the way this story ends.

I FINALLY made the SOUP yesterday and had two bowls and then two 4 inch square frozen waffles... 

I am reading "Wait For It" by Jenn Mckinlay.  All the characters have been described....Now we find out where this story is going.  I haven't noticed the "funny" that is written on the cover blurb.....yet.  Perhaps that is where the "Wait For It" comes into play?????

Daughter deconstructed a tall black table in the far corner of the living room....where my husband had his coloring pages and pencils etc.   Now it has gone to Goodwill.  The two tall black barstool chairs  that went with the table are now in my bedroom...on either side of my old Sea Captain Four Drawer Dresser.

I emptied the drying rack where one chair now sits and put all the clothing in the closet....I sent away three boxes of clothing but the closet is still packed..........it gets like that when you have three sets of everything in three different sizes. The shirt I have on- only four buttons from the top meet......I am wider at the bottom- so need to wear something under the shirt.

Well, I need to eat something...oatmeal.   And take my pills.....and read the paper and try the Suduko.  I managed to get all the numbers in a second puzzle...... feeling like a Suduko Rock Star --on the very very very lowest level......but I got all the boxes........that's a WIN.

Warmer and Snow is melting...a bit of Sunshine here in Maine.

 The Soup I am making today will sort of resemble this image.  Won't be as red.  Might not have any dark green leaves in it.  My cabbage is pale.  I envy the people eating THIS soup having that nice bread.

Daughter used my Air Fryer to crisp up some Tater Tots in the freezer for me.  Had to do them twice. There are frozen battered chicken pieces in the freezer also....not a fan of chicken...so we didn't do anything with them.  I have never used the Air Fryer myself.

I read Deveraux's  Knight In Shining Armor.   I'd read it once years- decades ago...I cried at the end. No idea what today's book will be-  The Deveraux took me two whole days.... I kept having to stop.

Our taxes are now in the hands of Our Banker....an assistant drove up here from Portland to collect them.

Tomorrow My Lunch Buddy and I are going to have lunch.... we have no idea where.... the long sidewalk replacement project in Town...sort of destroyed the businesses on the Main Street.  No where to park, difficultly walking thru construction areas and even routed (on foot) into one lane of on coming traffic etc. We are going to see What's What with surrounding Towns.  There are three close by.

I haven't chosen a book for today- I might rest up and hand sew another scrap square.  It's very restful and even seems a "bit" creative.  I don't feel like returning to my coloring book work.....I know I will at some point in Life but not right now.  Eventually, I look forward to painting...watercolor.  That will be what I do in my 80's.  Abstract loose watercolors.  It's nice to have a plan even if it's a very loose one.  

I saw Tony Bennett on PBS- they were selling a CD of his ...but while they filmed him he was painting....and drawing.  And, it felt like a message to me..."you can do this" and yes, I can.  The duets were good....wish they had let us hear one entire one and not just bits of several.  I never buy anything when PBS does these Money Grabs.... I stop watching PBS during the fund raising...which gets longer and longer as time passes.   Someday the Saturday Cooking Shows will reappear selling their cookbooks etc.  My Gardening Friend says I should buy the PBS streaming service.  I don't even know what that means.
 

Happy Monday to Alll...... Sunshine here in Maine with melting snow on the grassy areas...

 I have been checking out recipes for a nice loaf of bread.  I don't have a bread baking basket that makes this design....and I don't feel like baking and eating bread....old habit that leads to weight gain. 

My Lunch Buddy and I are trying to think of a place to have lunch...the great one year sidewalk project in Town closed most of the businesses....no where to park...difficult to walk....Poof- new sidewalks and no businesses.

I am cold all the time these days.... I should look that up and find out if its symptom of something or just what happens to people as the get OLD.  I have on a wool sweater and wool socks but my neck is freezing cold and my fingers as well.

I collected all the necessary bits for the taxes....I could do them myself but I "just don't want to" plain and simple.  Just Don't Want To is my New Life Motto.

My Atomic Clock did the time changing....I was completely unaware.  That it was time to change the clocks.  Which means the little clocks here in my watch tv and read area....are wrong.  Nope...Son must have walked around and changed them all.

Well, I have a book to read and soccer games recorded to watch...and a down lap comforter to keep me warm.....and I might even fall asleep......gosh- I might become a NAPPER.

Sunday. Dye Plants for cloth dyeing. I thought we were learning about the Plants.... we actually were learning about not much.

 Good Morning- Well, actually Afternoon.

We just put the Sunday Pizza in the oven..... 40 degrees outside and a bit damp.... Gloomy.

The lecture was actually about Dyeing Clothing with Plant Materials.....not about Growing Plants to USE for Dye Clothing.  My bad...... I was thinking Dye Garden......Something I actually would like to have in the backyard.  All sorts of Marigolds for sure.

DebL uses dyes and I use paint to color clothing.....dye was a bit dangerous for someone with lungs not functioning at 100% already.......My favorite "dye" is actually canned or bottled grape juice.  In a large pot with the items at a slow simmer..  until the items are as blue as you want them...  No rinse.  Just wring them out and let them dry.  Once dry- you can wash with Ivory Soap.  Rinse. Dry again.  I revitalized my old faded blue work shirts with grape juice- I also sent two off to Deb L to fancy up..... they are Way Fancy.

Ot easier still just paint the DAMP fabric with one of those small craft bottles of blue paint....let dry and then press with a hot iron.

Next time they have lecture-- I will have my daughter read the text and then we will compare notes.

BUT....I got out of the house- I chatted with the former head librarian seated next to me....It was very pleasant.  It felt normal.  And that felt good.

Well, pizza is getting close to ready to eat.....I have collected everything for the Banker to do my taxes... Sam will bring her's tomorrow.  My Master Gardener Friend is sending me recipes--- one for cornbread just arrived....  I was thinking about cornbread- I was also thinking about a round loaf of bread...I have yeast.

Saturday Wind overnight and now sunshine.=ISH. 37 degrees- snow on the ground.

I  didn't buy yeast...wasn't on the list.

But I do love TRYING to bake Bread.....  and I especially love EATING BREAD......Why my bottom is so wide....no matter what I weigh.  We could have bought bread. Like this image.

So...big wind last night.....Son got to experience it on the second floor....with skylights.  I slept thru it.  For the past few nights- I get in bed and then wake up and it's morning....sleeping- a new experience for me. Literally, a new experience....sleeping.  No dreams.  

I am re-reading the Runaway Groomsman...by Meghan Quinn.  I am enjoying reading it but not as much as usual.  I may have outgrown it....that is happening....my appetite for books is changing....and some books I never get past page 11.  This is something "new"......something to consider and think about. Page 11.

Well, I was planning to make soup today but I think I might just. cook some rice and add green peas and butter to it... call it a meal.  I am feeling too lazy for all the peeling and chopping involved in soup. I didn't buy ham and cheese for tortilla roll ups either.  I actually didn't buy anything for the week's meals. I am positive this is a sign of depression....no Planning.  no Interest..   Lots of Sleeping.

I was VERY HAPPY to see the backyard daffodil bulbs returning for another SPRING.

And I did change my bed sheets and I washed them and dried them and put them back on the bed...I did do that......and it felt like "enough".

 

Friday March 7th....Feels like a decade since I last sat here typing....

Mine sometimes looks like this....usually not as tomato red...but I now own a tube of tomato PASTE so son says Future Soup will have a deeper color....... I finished the previous pot of (pale) soup yesterday.

I don't think I have anything green.... but today is Grocery Day.  And Library Day- 2 books to pick up. And  I will wander around looking at books.....

I went to bed at 9:30 and was up at 5 am.  Not the best of Lifestyle Changes.  Nothing on TV and. the book I was reading...well, if I continued I would have been up too late...so I stopped before any of the good stuff started.  Background stuff, especially if you are reading a book for a second or third time....really do need to skip it.

I have my bedding in the washer/ some in the dryer.  Takes a along time for king sheets to dry.  

Then...because it was So EARLY......I sorted paperwork for the Bank Guy who does our taxes...and NOW I am wondering if I did it correctly.... I learned my lesson years ago- Put Nothing In The Shredder Until The Taxes Have Been Signed and Sent Away.  Though I have heard that having NO paperwork is possibly the best excuse for whatever went wrong with your taxes.  I still have 2022 and 2023 papers in the drawer.

I'd rather NOT test that Theory.

Son was correct we did have IRS. paperwork on the one stock we own....paper copy. Life is Good.

I watched a Hallmark Movie yesterday...and it was actually good...not great but decently good.

The book I am reading.... the male character is a script writer for a "Hallmark-ish" company but Movies not cable tv.  I need to buy this book for my Assisted Living Collection...I am hoping I can still read when they put ME the there.  But perhaps, I am already enjoying an Assisted Living Situation here at home????? 

Well, my KING bed sheets should be dry.....I'll make my bed (usually Quite a Work Out) before settling in to the couch cushions. I also have- daughter found it....a book about a woman who finds an old coin and then visits an ancient cemetery and the Knight buried there (Thomas)---somehow is standing next to her.....alive and hasn't a clue about modern life.  I haven't read that book in decades....should be fun.

Sheets.......Library......Grocery and then possibly a nap....getting up at 5 am is WRONG is so many ways.

 

Thursday, March 8th. I've been up awhile, read the newspaper paid the heating bill had breakfast and then a "Breakfast Cookie"

I have tried so many times to get the text over to the left......
 

And now I seem to have succeeded.

Daughter and I went out shopping yesterday...I got two packages of old fashioned lemon drop candy. she got 5 or 6 cans of spray to keep her from getting Lyme disease while she works as a Landscaper.  Lots of ticks on the Atlantic sea coast.  And most of the client base is on the coastline.

This orchid lived on the window bench across from my sink....I would look at it while washing dishes.

I am reading an ancient Jude Devereaux from 1985.  A "Book Club" edition....I was okay with it until page 30 or so.... I am now on page 71 and I can't believe this got published.  We are bouncing all over the place and she writes about something and then- nothing....never finishes or connects it to anything... a woman is hired to sew unfinished items of clothing the MAN ordered...she arrives once and takes one item. Never heard from or seen again.   Woman hears people in bottom of the boat are sick etc...goes down with water and soap and takes care of things and then never goes back down....  what I have here is a collection of story parts (like index cards) made into a book.   I have it here on my desk and the chance of me picking it up again...slim.  Also no one wears underwear or takes a bath.  At least in the other Pirate Ship Romances from the 90's- there was aways a bath (after they took the chain off the woman's ankle)..  I means this woman- young lady is walking around in a dress...just a dress. no slip no nothing. And it's the same dress....for DAYS.  And no one has mentioned a toilet or a bath.  And I have ten more of the same.....in the bookcase....sigh.  I said no but....they are here.  I did say NO....sigh. 

Books were CERTAINLY Not politically correct back in the 80's.  (and 60's and 70's)- but I lost all those books in a fire.....I lent them to someone and her apartment caught fire.

Well, I have the Runaway Groomsman to read- from the library and written only a few years ago. And three to pick up tomorrow on Library Grocery Day.

I had a nice Burger and excellent Sweet Potato Fries yesterday at lunchtime.  At a place by the river...The scenic area out the window would have made a lovely watercolor.  By me.  Black, white and gray as the water and trees were dark and the snow and sky shades of gray.

I may make up a kit of sorts and carry it at all times- if I start leaving the house on the "regular"..  I also got books- new (2024 25) ones- at the book store. And an Edna Lewis Cookbook- there is an Edna Lewis program on PBS right now.  About the woman and her cooking.....watch it if your station still has it running.... I am going to start with her biscuits....and then perhaps some grits....and on the PBS show she did something amazing with tomatoes........

Wednesday. March 5th Snow on the ground and rain falling.....

New scraps.  I visited the Sewing Room...

black and white and gray.  and some other colors.  Need to be cut....

Gloomy.   Chilly..... I am having decaf coffee this morning (almost noon as I type).. My Library friend Janet is not sure she will attend the Growing Plants to use to Dye Fabric.  I signed up and will attend- it's my first real decision. Can't back down now.

My Master Gardener Pal (also not attending) is driving to Boston to care for her sister who has COVID.  So many people I know have gotten COVID repeatedly (my Lunch buddy and her entire family..very often)....it's a  puzzle that I try and figure out.  Each time it's stronger not weaker.  Obviously no immunity.  I may have had a very weak case of it- or I am remembering having the Flu.  The Flu, with me, is pretty awful.  I get the flu shot every year.  No repeats wanted.   The only thing all of the infected people have in common- they got on an airplane or car and traveled. OR know someone who did and spend time with that person.

I watched The Hunter.  A new series at 10pm....Like watching a (really) crappy daytime soap. You know- they stand and talk and over to the left is the back of the head of whomever they are speaking to.... I stopped after 15 minutes and deleted all the episodes I recorded on TiVo....switched to Law and Order and then moved on to a  repeat Tracker episode.  Then went to bed.

Trump has now increased the price of heating oil (trade war with Canada)...how most Mainers heat their houses....I'm sure they will remain loyal Trumpers as they freeze when they run out of money to fill the oil tanks. That Fireball liquor should warm them up.  My last oil fill was almost $800.  And that might not last until Summer.  And I need oil all year to heat water, for showers and washing dishes.....and clothes.  Electricity here in Maine is even more expensive.  I ask myself why I still live here??????  I have no good reason. I remember another trade war where a tank fill was nearly $1200.  Back in the early 90's.

I have a book to finish reading and I might refill my decaf coffee cup...stuff is good.....Daughter got the  jar of  instant coffee at the Natural Food Market.

Daughter got me some 1980-'s used Jude Deveraux books.... I have a bad felling about them.

I am going to look for husband's radio.....I KNOW the Sports Talk Show is on the radio so- just listening to them talk might be good enough...since I am usually coloring, sewing or writing when I used to "watch".   Now wondering what the radio looked like.....
 

Daily Notes- I'm fine- I got distracted by emails ....forgot to post.

Monday, March 3rd. Sunshine and 10 degrees. Japanese Rice Cooker is doing it's job on the counter... tiny beeps.

this image has been here....but I didn't like any of the others.

While watching tv......I got bored and returned to my tiny print book.  Yesterday's pizza was delicious and I had it with the box of salad greens.....from Friday's shopping.  Just greens...they stayed crisp... the mixed salad gets soggy.  Lesson learned.  I added some olive oil and Balsamic vinegar.  

Today I will finish off the homemade SOUP..... topped with some Parmesan cheese.

I selected scraps to make a black and white square.  More white than black but I might find another mostly black scrap. Or just work with the white with tiny black accents, while I watched a Tracker episode on CBS. Fun to figure out what day and time Tracker will be on each week....High Potential has disappeared.  Will Trent has stabilized on the same day and time..with repeats.

Only one book has arrived at the Library...three more are in transit.  Pick up on Friday.

I finished True Love and now going to start in on For All Time.   In the hardcover edition...easy on the eyes.  And there might possibly be some European Soccer today.   

I'm here late- I was up early but lacked enthusiasm for getting out of bed.  I know from experience that is the first step into Depression.  Having nothing to look forward to other than a romance book...truly sad. But I did get out of bed and I did get dressed and I did comb my hair......and I made and ate a bowl of oatmeal.  No newspaper on Monday.....well, I have my vitamin pill and statin to take.   Then the couch and my book.....for the remainder of the day......perhaps a toasted bagel around 2 or 3pm.

Life in the Barely Moving Lane.  But I have dark chocolate as a reward.

 

Good Morning on a Chilly but Sunny Saturday in Maine. Lots of March Snow.

Someday soon..when the snow melts.  IF the snow ever melts.

No Soccer today as we seem to be having BASKETBALL.  The High School Variety. Humbug.

I stayed up late (for me) reading but then decided I needed to sleep.   This morning I discovered I was up MUCH earlier than usual and could watch ALL the Food Channel Saturday Food Shows.  Not that I have an interest in cooking or baking anything.   Eating?  Yes.

A few emails this morning....one from my Master Gardener Pal....she actually is under the impression that I am driving my car.   No.  I am guessing I COULD drive the car if it was a desperate emergency... but that is the only way it might happen.

I have to keep reminding myself it is NOW MARCH.   I have a new fresh page of the desktop calendar to add images to....I have some flowers and a political cartoon of a guy saying since Musk has all our personal info now- this guy is going to let Musk do his taxes......

In BETTER NEWS.... my former neighbor Peggy gave us Amaryllis bulbs a year (possibly two) ago and they bloomed beautifully.  I kept them in their pots and watered them etc....just in case they wanted to bloom again.  And this morning as I cleaned up the plant table (by the south facing window) and watered things... I noticed tiny green shoots coming out of the center of the bulb.....leaf shoots.  Once a Gardener...Always a Gardener.

I need. to tell daughter to find a hard cover copy of Jude Deveraux's True Love....I am wearing my eyes  out.trying to read a small paperback with tiny print.....late into the night.  But the hunt might take awhile- months or even a year.....so I will continue reading after the food shows are over.

That's it from Maine.... Where everything is covered in snow and it feels really COLD. Even in the house.

 

Daily Notes for Saturday, March 1st. Son still chipping ice offf sidewalks.

Pile of scraps....mostly strips.  For that square making project that has gotten stalled.  Mainly because I can't find a "certain scrap" that I think would make a perfectly lovely square.  Virgo all the way.

Right now it's Soccer at 3 pm  (if available or one of the recorded games). Today is Saturday so it's PBS Cooking Shows (prior to Soccer at 3pm).  My son has taken pity on me and will upgrade my cable selection( if I say yes) so I can watch the Sports Talk Show I have enjoyed for years....  My Life is shrinking by the day.  I really did enjoy the Sports Talk Shows......nothing ever happened...they just talked.

I have a list of...something....really I made a list and now can't recall ---oh....info for the TAXES... Paperwork I need to dig out of the bill drawer.   Not today.  Too ditsy today.

Oil Delivery Yesterday- might have already mentioned it....also a shower this morning and conditioned my hair......Breakfast was Oatmeal and a Banana.  At times the Banana gives me Acid reflux.  Not today. I had homemade soup yesterday for dinner at 4 pm.....  I will have more today....at. 4 pm.

I'm going to stop typing as I am boring myself and I imagine boring all three of you still reading this blog. I try and imagine myself going back to coloring the circles my husband left unfinished.....I also imagine making more patchwork squares.......I even think about painting a small watercolor of an orange...

I pasted small squares of yellow paper over every image of He Who Shall Not Be Named in the newspaper this morning.  That's actually troublesome behavior even to ME.  I  enjoyed doing it. I think that makes it even more troublesome behavior.

Yesterday's book " Is She Really Going Out With Him?"  Sophie Cousens.  Strange title. Nothing to do with the book as the two characters never actually "dated" ..  I finished reading it but......massively needed a much better proofreading team.... the typos got annoying and the use of the wrong word......"much" instead of "make" etc. Characters just appearing and then disappearing. Also vast portions of the text could have been deleted. Replaced with better things.

I think I read it before the Mystery Proofreading Library Patron got her pencil on it.  So annoying.  I like to find the mistakes MYSELF....and leave them unmarked for the next person. To Find.

 

Daily Notes for Friday February 28th. Heating Oil Delivery. Sun is shining during the day- melt freezes overnight.

 Oatmeal Date "Smash" Cookies......but can sub the dates and use chocolate chips.

Was going to buy eggs...but didn't.  This recipes needs one egg.  But I can add some ripe banana as an egg substitute.   The egg case at my grocery store was FULL.....  the cookies puff and you smash them down and then return the cookies to the oven and turn the oven off.

All of these recipes are very labor intensive- I read the comments.....no one follows the recipe.

Grocery Shopping but no visit to the Library....no books to pick up and I wasn't in the mood to wander the stacks.  Next week the possibility of three or more reserve books.  Coming from "other" libraries.

Another photo in the paper of the Toilet Chair Sitting of you know who.  Two might be the start of a "collection".   And I have only been looking for them for two days.  IF I was watching the news--and I am NOT, I could grab images to use in the collection every single news show....  I'm already bored with the idea.

So..........that's it....I didn't SEE any listing for Soccer today.....bummer.

Thursday February 27th. It snowed- there's ice.... Doing several loads of wash because...

Daughter hauled all the clothing from the Attic down stairs yesterday afternoon.....all I had to do was sit and say "yay or nay" and today I have the "yay's" pile in the bathroom going into a cold wash. Three cold washes so far... I am charged with removal of 20 years of  DUST from the articles of clothing I kept....Goodwill is getting a very very nice donation of lovely things later this week. Dust included. 

Right now some VERY expensive linen, hand sewn, loose tops are in a cold delicate wash.  They were VERY expensive........I should have purchased a white tunic as well.....but...I didn't ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. And they didn't fit when I decided to wear them- as I had gotten FAT.....I don't know if they will fit now, either.  But they will be clean.  I have new to me pants, tops etc to look forward to wearing.

Then I watched European Soccer.... And at 3pm today- another European Soccer Match.  It's amazing how the hours go by watching little figures running about on the grass.  And I really need the hours to go by.....

I was going to reheat soup but the expiration date on my prepared meatloaf meal- changed my plans... it will be meatloaf... with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  

A new series of Dark Winds begins in a few days....I have the TiVo set to record the episodes.

I am reading "Is She Really Going Out With Him?"  By Sophie Cousens.....very British.  Somehow she has been tricked into writing a "Dating" column in order to keep her job. She has ZERO interest in dating.

Daughter told me...our Little Maine Town has ZERO Dry Cleaners.  All gone...So the blazer I wanted to have dry cleaned........nope.  We did have two....one on the right side of the street and one on the left- almost across from each other.........we must not have any rich people left?????? My husband took all his clothing to the dry cleaner.....I had to stop and pick it up on my way home from work.  Pay for it.

I was usually covered in sand and dirt ....they double bagged everything....after looking at me... was the right call.....

Daily Notes- Wednesday February 26th. Sunshine melting snow- then freezing and Ice.

I went looking for an image.

I like this one and might actually try my own "color" spin on a heart shape.  (not orange)

I wrote down a NYT cookie recipe... Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies minus the egg.  Since EGGS are difficult to find....my grocery has lots of them here in Maine....organic ones.......but I am NOT baking so I didn't BUY any.  And I do have a ripe banana handy and a fresh jar of extra crunchy peanut butter.   Makes 20 cookies...  The NYT's recipes usually make a small amount of cookies....20....wow.

It warmed up and then rained and then went below freezing outside ... Sidewalks and front porch steps- very very slippery. Supposed to get up to 40 during the day....freeze overnight.  Delightful.  It was a day like this when husband slipped and landed on his face on the ice covered front steps....we drove to Urgent Care. Lots of blood......

Memories.

I finally (yes, it took weeks) made SOUP.  I had two bowls...very very delicious with lots of vegetables. I will have 2 more bowls today....watching British Soccer at 3 pm.  Liverpool...I hope the crowd SINGS..... Crystal Palace won yesterday's game.  A small amount of singing.

Yesterday's (and today's) book is The Summerhouse (Deveraux)...three women in Maine...They get to make one wish to change something in the past that they regret....... three women and a wish happens in another book also....I hope it's one on the shelf here in the house.  After reading I always thought about what my one wish would be.  What would yours be?  To change something you regret.  A choice made your regret.
 

Tuesday, February the 25th. Cloudy with melting snow- which means ice.

 No image.

Either I have to find some on the internet or I have to remind myself how to take and transfer images here.. the problem with that is that there is nothing here of interest to take a picture of........ snow?????

I've started to collect images of the man in the White House sitting in a chair with wide spread legs- like he's using the toilet.  My Portland Maine newspaper likes to feature these images on the front page. Daring behavior for a Republican State. (Laughing)

I clipped one and will have it here tomorrow- No...no image of him will ever grace these posts.

I had forgotten to do my one permanent JOB here--- collecting the recycling and garbage for the Monday Morning pickup....so I had to hurry. And managed to get it ready to move to the curb.  Son walks it out as he and his sister worry I might slip on ice and crack my face open again.  Me, too.

That's about it.  I picked up my prescriptions yesterday then sat and waited, daughter walked over to the Library to get my book (icy unshoveled sidewalks).  Only one... I have been reading out of my own bookcase- Jude Deveraux.  I have one more set of three and then I will be done with that. (unless there is  another set of three).....I always forget how much I enjoy reading Deveraux.  All the books came from the Library Discard Shelf.....Yes, my library threw away almost new copies.....I wish I had been able to snag more of them.  Daughter will make a survey (list) and then- in the Summer buy more at the various Library Book Sales.  The Bath and Topsham Libraries have Excellent Sales. 

I have one British Soccer game to watch today. at 2:30.   I am now going back to the kitchen and peeling and chopping things for  SOUP......I have procrastinated long enough.  Vegetable Soup.   Best Served on an Ice Covered White Snowy Tuesday in February.    Take care- stay warm.

Monday Morning....February 24th. 36 degrees.....clouds. No socks on as yet.....

Reading the recipe for Triple Chocolate Brownies.  I don't have any white chocolate in the house. And I'm not a fan of it anyway- too sweet.

My oatmeal is beeping....then...phone ringing- I have been selected to win a "valuable reward opportunity". Just a few details I have to give them...I hung up. I hope there is a special place in Hell for people making these phone calls....especially the "Grandma, Help me I'm in jail " calls.  I use my best four letter words when replying to those calls.

Moved from rom coms to Jude Deveraux.   From the bookcase.  Most are books that appeared on the Library Discard Cart.   I removed the Library covers etc and now have these discarded books in my bookcase.   Read the first one-  after watching Rugby.   The guy in the book is described as having a Rugby Body.  Love when things like that happen.  Next up, the injured doctor returning from Iraq.  Then the final book.....reading them in order.  The last one is my second favorite....My first favorite Deveraux's latest book....My Heart Will Find You.....I keep hoping a new book will show up.... Let me know if there is one?  Okay?

Oatmeal is ready to eat...no Monday paper so I'll go straight to Suduko Puzzles....I have three or four in different stages of fulfillment.  Have a nice day......now to pull on my socks without falling forward and hitting my head on the floor......

 

Good Morning- in the thirties this morning-- but cloudy- no Sunshine. (sunshine by the time I hit publish)

 No image. 

I woke up thinking dark thoughts......

I haven't put the oatmeal in the microwave as yet.   Watched three soccer matches. then watched something else and then finished off my book.  I had read it before...realized it when some events showed up..... I wished I had had a red pencil- because this book is the first where I can see the mistakes made during editing and publishing....dead ends that never got removed....characters that showed up for no good reason- a boyfriend that gets into the plot only to confuse us as most Readers had forgotten his name entirely by then.  I even said outloud- "who is this guy?". because he was a couple hundred pages out of place and the billionaire with the rancid shark meat......WHY???

Love by the Book.....Just say no.

I haven't had water or breakfast as yet...the Sunday Paper is waiting for me.... The Three British Soccer matches were interesting.....the middle game, I think- the visiting team got three goals right at the start and the crowd in the audience got up and walked out.....I'd seen a bit of that before but this was like everyone just getting out of their seats and leaving.

I have three delicious books waiting at the Library....

Well, not much I can do about any of that....so Oatmeal and Tea and five glasses of water....the morning newspaper....pizza later with no football.   

Well, if you needed any other PROOF that I have something wrong with me.....you got it now.

 I don't even have an image......I'm awake. I have eaten breakfast...Still need to drink my water and take my pills.  One tiny statin and one daily vitamin.   My oatmeal was "just right" today.  Not too thick and not too soupy.

I did a load of wash yesterday- I might have mentioned that????but I actually don't think I ever completed yesterday's post.   I'll try to finish this one.

I have two books to pick up at the Library and my prescription refills at the grocery.  Will anyone allow me to do that??????

I have the TiVo recording two British Soccer Matches....They started at 7 am.  

I seem to have decided to read books with red covers..... yesterday Kiss Me At Christmas and this one Love by the Book.  Oh and I seem to have bought the second book by the author of the Rosie Project.--a book I really didn't expect to enjoy reading--but  the Rosie Project surprised me.

I can't think of anything else to type..... I drew horns and fangs on a certain person's picture in the newspaper.  Well, I need to work on drinking my water- at least two glasses to get me hydrated....then a glass every hour or so.....I do feel more alert.... A bit more alert than usual.

And now I've begun to worry about the Income Taxes.  

It's REALLY FRIDAY. I woke up thinking it was Thursday. Sunshine, Snow and the Generator kicked on for a few minutes. (Power Outage was short lived) Possibly a Squirrel.

 It was this on repeat or nothing.

I think tiny four inch  pizzas are a good thing- more crusty edges.

So, nose is stuffy.  Still a bit dizzy on standing........hair looks pretty decent.    Reading Kiss Me @ Christmas by Jenny Bayliss.... British Rom Com.   I was put off by the first few pages the first time I tried reading this book... but too lazy to get up and look in the bookcase for another so I kept reading..... now I am wondering when this plot is going to heat up...........

Thursday, February 20th. I thought I had posted but must not have pressed publish. Thursday February 20

 I am fixated on loaves of bread.  One of the True Basic Items of Happiness.

I think I wrote a post but...it's not here- so I must have just written it inside my head....as I do- I live inside my head way too much these days.  It's safer than what's happening.  All around us.

We have lots of snow. sunshine and if I had a good view- perhaps blue sky....let me go look.... yes, not as blue as it could be but blue sky.

I am still "under the weather" as they say.  I am drinking plenty of water....I now have a shortened straw in my glass and that's an easier way for me to drink 8 ounces of water...over and over again.  I still get dizzy. so I try to stay on the couch and not wander around....I am also sleeping- napping I guess...so that is fine. the cough has gone away......I managed to get my new very short haircut into shape this morning....overnight things get wacky.

I made a large bowl of salad for my mid day meal....later I had a banana.  Today I have a prepared Pot Roast Dinner.  A try out of a different store's prepared meals.  I still haven't felt STURDY enough to stand and peel and chop things for home made soup.   Still have a feeling I might tip over.  Light headed.

So, that's what's what.  Reading the brand new Tessa Bailey...might actually have hit the stopping point. The Bounty Hunter mystery was. pretty good.... Dream Girl Drama......not so much.  I find myself putting it down.....looking for something else to do.  Hello Sunshine was 3 out of five points.  This one is 2 out of five--just don't like the main characters.  

So-- I need to eat breakfast....read the paper.....put on socks....have three 8 ounce glasses of water....

Daily Notes- Half Way into The Day....Wednesday, February 19th. Sun off and on.....

 Roses today... Brightly colored as everything outside the windows is white grey or black.

Daughter found me two new books....she enjoys hunting for books.

I am Still feeling off kilter....like walking on a gently moving boat.  But I am not coughing, my nose isn't running and I don't feel overly warm- feverish.   Like I was feeling the past few days.

And I've managed to stay wake until past 4 pm.

I am reading Hello Sunshine by Laura Dave- same author of the Last Thing He Told Me book I enjoyed reading.  This book "feels familiar" like I've read it before.  Time will tell.  California Wine Country and a Cooking Show....and a chef who doesn't know how to cook. An Instagram FAKE.

I haven't turned on the TV....4:30 and still no TV.  I saw some stuff yesterday, by accident, about the Orange Faced Imposter....so now I need a deep cleaning.......I didn't hit the clicker button fast enough. I did get to watch Will Trent and High Potential....... later yesterday,  That's about it for me....going to finish my book-- a little short of half way....then perhaps take my usual late afternoon nap.  I am sliding my way into Old Age. It's pleasant. Enough.  Plenty of Book Reading Time.

Pretty soon, I'll fill my pockets with candy to give to any children I happen to see.  And their mothers will say- "stay away from that weird old woman...and don't eat the candy".  Some things never change.

Daily Notes- Tuesday, February 18th-- Sunshine....Lots of snow and still a chance for WIND.

Cake.

Well, I know I have a cold and feel a bit under the weather...but I did a few things yesterday that I don't recall doing.   I was honest about the not remembering when my Son asked me about it.  

Could be the cold or could be that I am starting to forget.  I often wondered about what that would be like. Forgetting.....but it feels like nothing.  Just nothing.

The newspaper was dull....NO one has stepped UP to being our Government Hero as yet.. I don't expect a cape or anything but a sharp sword would be of some help.   A Mutiny.  That's what always worked when the Pirates took over a ship at sea....a mutiny...unless they were all thrown overboard.  I am thinking that would cause any Hero second thoughts.

Well, I am still lightheaded from my "cold" or whatever it is bothering me...  I couldn't read yesterday so I watched...well, I think I watched something....don't recall what and perhaps I did some reading but no book is sitting here with a bookmark....I do know that I fell asleep.  And I don't ever do that.

I also cooked something and ate it...meatloaf.  A precooked meal.  I fried the meatloaf patty in the pan..much better than the microwave.   I am now out of food so I should start chopping vegetables for SOUP.  I got everything at the grocery to make soup.  Sigh....This is a lot to take in.....forgetting.

Wow.

 

Monday Morning...February 17th. Sunshine, Snow, 20 degrees. I have a cold.

I adore baked potatoes....

Especially if the skins get all crispy.  So happy to see this image in the cooking feed from NYT.  If these were in the house I would have one or more of them for breakfast......

They aren't.

In the House.  so I will be have microwave oatmeal.....No paper on Monday....No clue as to if the generator went on last night....you know...a power outage from ICE and WIND.

I fell asleep at 4 pm and eventually went o bed much later and then woke up at 5 am.... and fell asleep again and here it is- 10:14 and I haven't made oatmeal yet...  

My nose is stuffy and I am coughing....I think I picked up germs at the grocery store yesterday- lots of people had on masks....but it's their hands that spread germs.....HANDS;

Generator didn't go on last night but this afternoon- 50 mile an hour gale force winds...Old trees- gonna be exciting.  I have to eat, hydrate and medicate.... and I think take a nice NAP.
 

Sunday. February 16th...20 degrees, cloudy......still have power....

Same as yesterday....

I watched British soccer games yesterday..  the crowd cheered until they realized they had zero chance of winning and then they got up and left......

I haven't found anything to read that holds my interest....I enjoyed the Laura Dave book- The Last thing He Told Me.  But Eight Hundred Grapes?....not so much.  Same author.  I got another of her books...after I try and slog thru another dozen pages of Grapes- I'll give up.

When I turned off the lights and went to bed last night I could see snow falling under the street light ... just really light snow ...perhaps the BIG HORRIBLE PART comes later in the day?????

I was up around 5am.... thinking I heard the next door generator which they thoughtfully placed near our bedroom windows.   I don't even think they are in Maine right now..last year they went to Colorado for the entire Winter and early Spring.  

After popping oatmeal into the microwave I will work On pulling my wool socks onto my feet....bending over and not face planting on the floor- it's my new routine.

I watched a science show on PBS about aging....it included an artificial heart that beats....they added human something to the materials used to build the heart and the stuff multiplied into heart muscle.  As my Son says- If you are really interested in something you should actually pay attention....and then I might remember- growth hormones.....see I did remember.  From a newborn, I think.  Not all hormones are the same...each organ or muscle group has its own...specific ones.  My body was programed to be as tall as I am- before I was born.  In fact, everything about me was pre loaded before birth.  I'm pretty sure that's what they said.  Nothing I did as a child or adult changed anything.

 

Daily Notes- Saturday February 15th... Sunshine here in Maine- Storm Approaching.

My desktop calendar,

We got The Saturday paper bundled with the Sunday edition....that's how BAD the powers that be think the weather will........this might be the Maiden Voyage for the new whole house generator.  Everyone reading this- cross your fingers!!!!!!

We have Sunshine right now and 24 degrees. Snow, Rain and then Ice.  Ice always knocks out the power as most lines are still above ground here in Maine.  Hanging near old easily busted up tree branches. Cause WHY put them underground like intelligent folk do??????  Why?

I have some Soccer games to watch....so this post will be short as I think I missed the first half of the Arsenal Match.   But...let's hope I set it to record.

I cooked yesterday.  Made a pot of jasmine rice.   Today I have a grocery store meatloaf dinner... includes mashed potatoes....I love mashed potatoes.  Sunday...with the Generator going-- pizza as usual.  Brave New World here @ My House.  Every house on the street--all 14 of us---have whole house generators now.  Gonna be hella noisy.........when they All start up.

So.....Arsenal....My book. Eight Hundred Grapes.  Down Lap Comforter.... Big hot mug of sweet tea. I might miss some of the PBS Cooking Shows or I can record them.....whatever,,,,

 

Daily Notes on Friday February 14th.... Cold, Sunshine, Snow Plowing.......

 For You ...from Me.    Happy Valentine's Day.

Sigh..Snow and more Snow...... if I wasn't aware of my adult son knowing lots of swear words- I know now.   The California Man has a continuous relationship with the Snow Blower and the Snow Shovel. And yesterday he ...well,  he wasn't a happy man.   The plow truck came and ruined his plan for the driveway NOT being ice covered..... this morning....and he needed to shovel out the entrance to the oil tank fill pipe. He also had to shovel out the generator and clean off the Propane tanks.

Okay, enough of that....the only color outside my windows is White.  The Bird Feeders are full and the birds are back- they had been missing for the last few days while it snowed.  Trails of tiny animal feet are on the surface of the fresh snow.

I watched PBS last night about the new Egyptian Burial places they are finding.  No Pyramids over the top.  Just a deep hole in the sand....

Son just dropped off the morning paper.....no 72 hour wait any more to buy a handgun here in Maine. Does it ever get any stupider????? Living in Maine????  But then the Police gave my husband an open carry permit........during the Trump Years.

So...Grocery Shopping later today....items for Soup making....I finished off my first Winter pot of soup and am now looking forward to making a second pot.

Jane by April Lindner arrived in yesterday's mail....a Valentine Gift from a dear friend.  She knows how to order things from Amazon....now I have four modern re-tellings of Jane Eyre.  I have YET to read the original.  I know.......so weird.  My son says I could learn how to order from Amazon....it's not that difficult.  He says.   

I am buying myself a bouquet of flowers today at the grocery store.  And Jelly Doughnuts if they have any.  I am also dropping off books and selecting new ones today.  I finished "The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave late last night...  I will see if I can find her first book at the library today. Eight Hundred Grapes.

Very very Snowy here in Maine. Cold. White........February 13th. 26 degrees and Zero Sunshine.

 I should have turned the camera sideways.  Learning curve here, Dear Readers.

But not much to see as everything is covered in snow--usually birds all over the feeders..  That  curve is the design detail of the porch and the thin black items hanging from the curve are the two bird feeders.  

I often wonder where the birds go when it's this cold and there is this much snow.  They were here yesterday eating.  But not now.

I was catching up on the Chicken Flu this morning and the Egg Situation in Morning Newspaper..   Daughter mentioned that a few people she knows (with chickens)- are having to lock the coops...Egg Stealing........is now a "thing".

The Geek Squad has sent along an invoice for Geek Squad Stuff- $799.  Husband Stuff.  Son will take care of it.  He's the In-house Tech Support so I might not need a SQUAD.

Daughter reported in that the large JoAnn's in the shopping mall on the other side of the River Bridge (under construction for a few years) has closed.  I would buy some things there but the NICE printed cotton fabric was in short supply- acrylic/poyl was what people wanted....nothing like wrapping oneself up in spun plastic.  I did buy batting... not that that matters anymore.... what I have left, not much, will be enough for this Lifetime..

The in Town Quilt Shop closed.  Daughter went by to ask if the owner would quilt our 30's antique quilts on her long arm......Shop was empty.  Everything gone.  We'll have to find someone else to do it. She was the only person I knew.

I have books to read....Tomorrow is the Library/Grocery trip.  My fresh haircut looks GREAT.

I watched a program on whales yesterday but once we got to the part where they were trying to get a seal off an ice float so they could EAT him or her.......I moved on to recorded Tracker episodes.  And then went to bed.  I need help getting my little pillow out from under the bed....it fell thru the headboard....Perhaps the long tongs... I could grab an edge....I could easily get the pillow if I got down on the floor but...easy going down and hell on wheels getting UP.   Tongs to the rescue.  I consider the day a WIN when I get both of my socks on my feet.  Without face planting on the floor. Perhaps I should have kept the walker husband was using?????  Just for getting up and down.

Cold and Colder here in Maine. Sunshine and 14 degrees.

 This image has been here before-- and this is the final curtain for it....the original went into the trash just moments ago.  I do not feel caged but when I cut this image for the desktop- I DID.  And today I noticed the woman is not IN the cage...the door is open.  She seems to be saying- "just TRY to get me back inside that cage"

Now that I am NOT the second member of an unhappy married couple--now that I am SINGULAR.  Not responsible for the care and safekeeping of another soul....I feel lighter and lighter as the months go by.  Shedding my  responsibilities.  Just as I am letting go of Gardening, Cooking, Decorating  and Quilting books.  And yes...I was unhappy. All those years.

Whatever knowledge and ideas I have in my head right now....those are ENOUGH.

I can work with whatever I have stored in my head.  Let go of anything else...things that were once very interesting but are now excess baggage.  I have a recipe card here to the left for Roasted Cauliflower Soup and halfway thru the instructions I stopped writing (whenever I was writing this card).......but my handwriting is very very nice.

As usual, my daughter has left the piles of books we are NOT keeping by the window on the floor... And as usual, I take one or two out of the piles, look them over and consider keeping them....

As we are going thru this- as we did with the tubs of clothing.......some stays and the rest goes. But we take our TIME.  So far, I have kept all the cloth...and all my FICTION books (I even have added MORE)...almost all are rom-coms.  I like the romance and enjoy the comedy.

Well, It's cold...here in Maine...and I need my first 8 ounces of water and then my oatmeal and tea.  And the newspaper where Susan Collins has AGAIN shown her true weak colors........but this is Maine and I am an outlier.....not a Republican.  And I have NEVER in all these years..... voted for her. Or respected her.

In the past 10 minutes, outdoor temp has gone from 8 degrees to 10. Tuesday, February 11th. Sunshine.

 Well, already the morning has been "not what I expected" but..in some ways that's good.  The expected can be boring- comforting...but boring.

I am clearing out the picture file....  I seem to not do that and then one morning- it all goes in the trash can. I would prefer my own photos...... my own images... here.....but I am hardly making anything besides oatmeal, pizza and sandwiches.  Yes, I could photograph them.

He Who Shall Not Be Named and the Other Genius- now think Social Security is their own property to take and spend..... I think that is called theft....as they please.  I have a feeling both men are short of cash these days....personally....so stealing from others....is okay.  Who will stop them....that is the better question to be asking these days......who will stop them.  We need a Hero.

I am getting my haircut today- a few days early as another snow storm is approaching the Northeast coastline.  Daughter took all my books to Goodwill....mostly Gardening (which I won't be doing other than a few clay pots on the back deck) and Home Decorating (which I also won't be doing).   The next bookcase...possibly today is Quilting, Cooking and some other stuff.   Letting go of things that you have collected...it's quite difficult at first.  The empty bookcases....?  Daughter arranges things in them.  They look nice.

Daughter and Son ask- when is the last time you opened any of these books?  Cooked any of this food? There are a few complicated quilting books I might keep......I have TIME, now.  Lots of it now but perhaps not for long....I should enjoy making....creating, sewing.....I should......I probably won't.

I always thought it was my husband's care that kept me from "doing" and "making".   I might have actually been using him as an excuse to not do any of the "things I loved".   This is a serious thing for me to contemplate going forward.....taking care of my Own Happiness as I grow so much older.

Well, oatmeal, tea, the newspaper and the Daily Suduko.   I have things to do and places to go.  I am grateful to be dressing myself, walking without assistance, using my brand new microwave....enjoying the Sunshine coming into all the south facing windows.  Yes, it's cold.  Yes, it lonely.  Yes, it the last chapter. But good things happen in the final chapters of my books...so why not for me as well.

Daily Notes- February 10th. Monday Monday. Not Snowing...but lots of snow on the ground.

Super Bowl Sunday Pizza.

It was fantastic....and the game was rather fantastic also...time flew by which I can't say has been true of past Super Bowls.... I was reading a book during half time (My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey).  While the pizza baked.  I lack enthusiasm for the half time crap.  Son went up to his room and did computer things.  Then the game resumed.

I would love to see some of Tessa Bailey's books made into movies.  Killer Vacation begins with finding a dead body in a Cape Cod vacation rental.  Then the motorcycle riding detective (ex Boston cop) shows up. They are going Scuba diving...when I start reading....the three characters are waiting for me to get back to the story line before they go diving.......and they are having waffles for breakfast and suddenly I want waffles for lunch..  I think I have everything to make waffle batter.  Will I?  Doubtful.

NO snow fell over the weekend.....PLENTY on the ground.  PILES of it-several feet deep..  A few Future Storms are lined up and coming our way this week...my haircut has been re-scheduled.   

I watched season one of Law and Order (several of the single digit episodes) before football... Like going back in time to the 1980's.  The hair....the make up........geez.

I cut (tore) a few pages of images from another book on the Goodwill pile...for my desk calendar.

Today I might make another scrap square.....will have to pick thru the scrap cloth pile to find a color family and a center.......I didn't plan ahead to have Valentines to send....Must try and remember for next year......well, I'll forget before I even hit publish.........

Trump wants US Treasury to stop making pennies. Good to know he has his attention on Important Issues.

 

Sunday February 9th. Snowed again- Sunshine now but.....lots of snow and more coming.

Board Talk Studio Image.

I feel this way most days.   Okay, I had to check and see if I had already posted.  Nope.

I read my book straight thru until (past) bedtime..... Mrs's Quinn's Rise to Fame.  The British Baking Show book. But it's more about Mrs. Quinn herself.

Super Bowl today....we'll be making pizza.  Son has made rice with his nifty little electric rice cooker.  I use a saucepan to make mine.  I still have soup.  I will be cutting or tearing strips of cloth for a new "square"....now that I am spraying the finished work with starch and then a hot iron.... and also using the cutting table to trim and straighten

I clipped a few more Sudoko puzzles from the newspaper.  I work on several whenever I sit at the table...  sometimes I actually can fill in spaces....most times- no. I was on a "roll" for a few days- not finishing a puzzle but filling in spaces.....felt great.  I keep trying........

Life goes on....If I was feeling stronger, I would help shovel...but I'm not.  So I don't.

I am sleeping quite a bit....tired.    I have a bag of corn chips and need something to eat them with....A dip of some sort???????  I have to check the pantry and see what's what.  We'll have Sunday Pizza with the Football.  I can look up "dips" on the internet.... I don't have any sour cream but I do have cream cheese.

Oh, and I have the green shoots from that onion....still growing over in the back sunny window.

Sour cream and onion...corn chips.  Maybe.

 

Sunshine- Plenty of it....On Saturday, February 8th. 22 degrees with Sunshine here in Maine.

 Image from Board Talk Studio on Instagram

This image makes me think of  "talking heads" when the Powers That Be in DC are Moving Their Lips. An article in the morning Maine newspaper details the complete Trash Can Fire of Musk when he destroyed Twitter in his "buyout".  He didn't "learn" anything (comment in the article) .....just moved on to the United States Government.

I recall someone saying. "If his lips are moving...he's lying"........ now who were they talking about??? Nixon?  Someone out there reading this knows who it was........let me know.

Oh and Twitter has never recovered.

That's it for any politic opinions from here....Sunshine and Cold. Another BIG Snow Storm scheduled for February 13th.  Let the Good Times Roll.  My haircut has to move to a new day and time.... I was going to have Valentine Hair....but now I'll just have regular hair.  I have to check the card drawer and see if I have any Valentine Cards....I think perhaps I used them all up.

Saturday Cooking Shows today so that is a "good thing".  Also found the phone number for the Coin Collector Guy..... cause daughter and I found more collected coins in the bookcase. Lincoln Pennies.

That's it for today....I think I slept for 12 hours yesterday........I hope it was because I was tired and not depressed.  Pretty sure I was tired.

Still Friday, February 7th.......Made soup

OMG it's Good Soup....

Brussels sprouts (sliced) instead of cabbage, one peeled white potato (diced), one large carrot (sliced into coins), three maybe four inside celery stalks sliced,  very well rinsed can of white beans, ketchup since I didn't have a can of tomatoes- and I'm glad I didn't just a big squeeze..  I didn't add salt.....but did season with Japanese Seven Spice Togarashi seasoning mix.

I COOKED.....wow.

Friday Morning (after the snow yesterday) Sunshine and 25 degrees.

Not my work but interesting.

Well, the plow guy arrived late last night to get the driveway cleared. (so over 4 inches of snow)....son is out there doing the sidewalks and decks this morning..  Looks like 8 to 10 inches of snow.  Looks dry.  Not the heavy wet stuff.   

Finished my book....before going to bed..  needs to be returned today.  If the Library is open- I will pick up my reserve books....never know after a heavy all day snow....if they will be shoveled out...open.

I looked thru some of the books in the book pile....to see if I wanted to tear out pages...just a few images interested me.  Otherwise I watched some Soccer- 0 to 1.   Then read my book.  A real lack of TV programing unless one wants to watch "news" which I do not want to watch.

Son has now started up the snow plow.  I recall the first snowfall after he arrived here in Maine... the swearing.  Now...he seems to just suffer thru it silently.  I liked shoveling snow on the sidewalks but he prefers I say safe and warm in the house.

I just checked my placemat.........the morning paper and my pill dispenser...  So I think I will complete the process and get my bowl of oatmeal in the microwave and my hot water pot boiling for my tea.  Read the paper, do the Suduko and be ready to go to the Library and Grocery....It's Friday.

Furnace just started up....did you have snow yesterday? 
 

Early, cloudy and 2 degrees here in Maine. We know how to keep the population down...

The book pile.

Daughter is visiting a friend from social work days.... there is also the possibility of more dog shaped shortbread cookies..... from a store in the friend's neighborhood.

Shooting at the Maine Mall...we have only  a few in the entire state (mall)...and every police vehicle and helicopter was on the scene.....no one wanted to miss out.  I'll find out the details in the morning paper.

In the mix of books a calendar type book with pictures and the days with room for a short paragraph scribble.  From before we moved here to Maine....I read the tiny paragraphs...husband was already on his way to whatever it was that killed him....accidents, dropping car keys into a river, speeding tickets etc etc.  Earlier than even daughter and I suspected....... the 1980's.  Well, that certainly gave me so much to think about. Too much.

I do recall driving from Maine to Florida a few times and....well, it was pretty much getting lost over and over and over again......until I said enough and turned off the messed up navigator system he had installed and we drove by paper map....and got there....finally.....and that was the last time we drove....to Florida..we did drive to Ohio when my dad was dying.  Big traffic thing near Buffalo- garbage truck tipped over spilling garbage all over both lanes.  Amazing.

So, the messed up thinking etc...goes back to the 1980's....sad but true.  And possibly was ALWAYS the way he got thru days.  Which is just so terribly SAD.

I have the furnace turned on and can hear it running....Son is up and having a bowl of cereal...he walked down to get the newspaper.....I knew better than to go out and get it myself...there is ice on the steps etc. Well, I am hungry ...so I am going to pop my bowl of oatmeal into the microwave and get this Thursday Started.......
 

Sunshine and ice covered steps- 20 degrees. I am SHOCKED...it's Wednesday. February 5th. Where has the week gone????

So....a late post as my Personal Assistant came over and we emptied my bookcase... Decisions upon decisions.....Keep or let go.  Since almost everything had to do with my Master Gardener Training (interests) and then the Greenhouse Job for 10 years (teaching classes every Saturday during growing season)......a lot of gardening books....I wanted to take some to my Library (the really nice ones) but daughter just looked at me and well, they would have tossed them all.....

So they are going to Goodwill.  Where they will have shelf space and a decent chance at a new home.

Other books were from the 1980's.... Martha Stewart.

I have lots of images for the desk calendar....pretty flowers. Folders of art to look at and cut into desk calendar sized pieces.  Pasting art on my desktop calendar is one of the things in my day that actually "sparks joy". A nice cookie does also.

That's about all. I did have a shower this morning and washed my hair.....also we found a wooden soap dish/drainer in the bookcase and now it's in my bathroom next to my orchid.....looking very Oriental. Peaceful. Holding my French bar of soap......

My bedside phone now has a longer cord and is on my side of the bed.....so I don't have to roll etc to try and answer the phone before it stops ringing.   My little clock has a fresh battery....so I know what time it is...once a day.  That's as often I as look at it.  When I get up.

I haven't actually sipped my tea and had it be HOT all day.   That's how the day has gone. I am thinking about a cookie.....I had lunch awhile ago- a tortilla wrap of ham and cheese...and now warm tea... I think a cookie would be nice.......