Daily Notes for Sunday December 21st. Sunshine and 43 degrees....In Maine. (not a JOKE)

 We don't have any of the stuff to make these lovely beverages....  looks yummy.

1.   Addressed and stamped all my Christmas Cards... wrote things inside... remembering all of the wonderful friends I have...and all the places I have lived.  Have a few stamps left...for bills. A few.... will need to add stamps to the Grocery list on Friday.

2.  Sunday Pizza... Football (Buffalo).....and British Soccer....And  Movies...the new one with Pickleball in the title on Lifetime was actually entertaining...and I now know all about Pickleball.  Lifetime is a more touchy feely kind of Hallmark......

3.  Watched a great Soccer game this morning...I have more recorded...for watching while I continue to sew scraps of cloth over worn or shredded strips on that old quilt.....cloth does eventually decompose...if not protected. Not all of it but on this quilt- a lot of it.

4.   My front and back lawns have never looked GREENER or more LUSH....in December- I am 1000% sure I will be canceling Tru Green....and doing my own fertilizer applications....or not...perhaps give the grass a "time out"....as it was probably OVER SERVED.  

5.   An injury on the football field so bad they chose not to show it.... whoa. Right leg- 

6.   And on that note I will return to my cozy couch, down comforter and some dark chocolate. And a fresh cup of hot sweet tea.

daily Notes for Saturday, December 20th. Sunshine here in Maine. 30 degrees and no hurricane yesterday.

 Well, the Hurricane we were expecting....no show (we thought maybe we would get to see and hear the whole house generator work)...but we did get RAIN and now we have green grass.. finally- was brownish green all Summer but now- at the end of December a bright healthy GREEN.  What a strange YEAR...

These cards may or may not be going out today with the bills.  Three bills.  I think...nope four.   Lots of Sunshine today.. And a late Christmas Card is still okay, I think.

I found a recipe from the NYT for a Blueberry Breakfast Cake....I was watching Hallmark and quite a bit of baking was being done on the shows so I checked my supplies.....I can definitely make the Blueberry Breakfast Cake...if I want to..frozen berries in the freezer.  This recipe was from months and months ago...not recent.  And oddly enough I have eggs.

I might jack the furnace up another notch- chill on the back of my neck... I woke up at 5 am...Was awake thinking- not always the best thing for me to do....and then I woke up a second time and it was 9 am.  So I got out of bed and started my day......Oatmeal in the microwave and hot water in the pot for instant decaf coffee... paper, sigh......always dismal.....Suduko not as dismal but still unfinished.

My instant coffee is on it's third warm up...very very icky... I gave some serious (vaguely) thought to asking Santa for a small counter top Nespresso machine.  But always have second thoughts regarding one cup per day and not really picky about coffee....thought I did REALLY enjoy European Coffee. When I lived in Europe...it was very strong and excellent... I liked eating lunch at nice restaurants....I liked day drinking wine......I thought the men were so well dressed and so very friendly....of course I was so much younger and minimally attractive.  Then...... now I am old and often forget to comb my hair.

Good Morning....Friday December 19th... Almost 50 degrees and raining here in Maine. Hurricane.on it's way.

 Image of a few of MY Favorite Things....... on this Very Windy, Wet Friday in Maine... We are expecting a Power Outage, Strong Wind etc Trees falling across roads and power lines.... We have Oil to warm up the house...and we have a Whole House Generator which will be having its first official opportunity....to power the entire house for longer than the 20 minute weekly "test".

We will purchase grocery items for Christmas Dinner...closer to the day... I have what I need for grilled cheese sandwiches and canned baked beans.  And pickles...I wanted to buy some- Son showed me the  pickles I have in the cupboard.  I also have soup...in the fridge.  I had a big bowl yesterday.  

We WERE going to drop off books at the Library but I decided to keep them for another week.. for Hurricane Reading.  

Worst thing to happen here in Maine is Strong Wind...the trees here have shallow roots and the soil is sandy,....things will happen... Trees will fall on houses, cars, power lines and people.. After all the years- hardly ANY interest in underground power lines.... unbelievable.

So, I have a nice warm ( re-warmed) cup of coffee and my chair and my TV and eventually my books and my hand sewing..... I didn't ask Santa for anything but I might ask him to rethink the hurricane.

Daughter covered the twin couches with their cheerful red covers.. been in the attic a long long time... We also have curtains over the large door openings.  We have the furnace cranked up a few degrees now that we have oil in the tank- all the way to the top.  64 degrees.....I know- not much different form before but actually feels like a lot  WARMER.

The only phone calls I am getting are related to Medicare....I hang up..

Daily Notes for Thursday, December 18th. Sunshine and 33 degrees...

 My Winter Project.   I don't remember where this came from but it's been around for quite awhile...Some of the fabrics have decomposed.  And I began replacing them.... the red is replacement strips.In the lowest section to the left you can barely see the batting strips that will also replace missing batting.

This quilt like all the quilts made  decades ago- is quite heavy...  Keeps me and my old knees warm while I spend days on the couch.....reading, watching Hallmark Movies,  sewing strips to the quilt, listening to the boiler chug along...waiting for the Oil Delivery Truck...so I can get the temps above 62.

It's suppose to warm up into the high 40's today and tomorrow so..that will warm us up a bit more than usual.  I've gotten used to the very low 60's-inside the house. Back when we first bought this house...we hardly had money for food...let alone oil.  At that point....moving to Maine was actually a monumental MISTAKE.  Both of our children were in college.  Our life outside Chicago was secure and comfortable- we had food.  My husband had a JOB.  I had a JOB.  What were we thinking moving here????????

Daughter arrived yesterday looking for something to do- she ended up watching (for a second day) a Hallmark Movie with me and winding floss thread around clothes pins   My entire collection of floss.

Which goes back to my theme of the early days in Maine....I would visit the local 5 and Dime and go down the stairs to the spot they had for embroidery floss.  And I would take all the time in the world to  select 6 skeins.   My only personal purchase for the week.  Perhaps a dollar???? Early 1990's.  Daughter is winding some of them......around clothes pins...the ones I used in the garden when I covered rows of seedlings on cold nights.

Well, I have nothing more to type....I have read the paper and will make a strong effort not to watch any NEWS programs...I have British Soccer recorded......and a dozen or so Hallmark Movies...and this old quilt.....more than enough...

Daily Notes for Wednesday, December 17th,,, 34 degrees now and 40 later in the day... Sunshine.

 In the picture file....seemed cheerful..

I read the Vanity Fair  story in the morbid paper... laughing....... morbid paper- MORNING PAPER. Boy that's was an amazing typo....still laughing.  Great start to the day.

1.  Sun is shining brightly today in Maine...not warming us up but we are headed toward 40 today..

2.  Coffee is a bit stronger than I like it- so I am going to step away for a few minutes to fix it.  Needed a warming up and some extra sugar.  Not much because I have gotten used the bitter taste of this brand of instant coffee.  From the Health Food Shop.in Town.

3.  Daughter and I watched a Hallmark Movie while she stapled an iced curtain over th e doorway facing the front door.... a cold area even with a heater on the wall.  

4.  Snow is hardening into crusty ice.....the sidewalks and roads are clean and dry.

5.  Ventured into the Cloth Room several times yesterday for old looking pale pastels.  For a Vintage Quilt Repair.  Not sure just how old this quilt is but was and still is in very bad condition on the surface... Back side is great...the quilt  keeps me warm as I add patches to all the places that are worn thru or just shredded..... 

6.  I am having trouble with my iPhone....it  doesn't have enough juice to send a n image tot he computer. I will have the engineer see what's what.... picture of the quilt tomorrow....after I charge the MOUSE....

Daily Notes for Tuesday, December 16th. Plenty of Sunshine but only 26 degrees

 We might have had this one already but it's the last of the ones in the file- so tomorrow I will have  something "new"....make something new.  Actually address cards and mail some out... the card I chose mentions the New Year so..might work out if I continue to be TARDY.

Teeth Cleaning was better than usual.   And that says something because it is NOT my favorite appointment.  I've been tasked with trying to use the "buzzy" Sonic toothbrush......again...it sets my nerves on edge.....like being electrocuted.  Sort of..  very unpleasant.  Next appointment is end of August...

Sun is shining and snow is melting... The Oil Delivery is set for Friday...this Friday... then I can move the temps in here from the low 60's to the high 60's.  My hands  and feet will remain cold as that is the way they have been since birth.  Even in wool socks and gloves....Ice Cold.

I had Sweet Potato Pierogi for late lunch when we got home from Goodwill.  They were fine (I would have them again) but next time fried with some onion in the butter.  Today I will heat up Vegetable Bean Soup......I have yogurt and fruit but.. I need to eat something WARM.

I might also be repeating myself...this happens when you live --alone: and hardly anyone talks to you all day.  That was my marriage and now..it's my adult children.  Patty did call and talked to me for quite awhile.   I think she had a list  of topics in front of  her ......of things she wanted me to do.   That never works with me....... I was born stubborn.  And now I am old and stubborn.

How are you doing?????

Daily Notes on Monday December 15th, Son is out shoveling snow. 15 degrees

 This tree is a collage of Library date due slips under the tree........ I actually had fun making this years ago.  I brought home all sorts of scrap paper from the Library.....I found the trash basket unlessly interesting.   That's who I am down deep....

1.  Sun is shining but having little effect on the temperature.  Today is the day of reckoning...will they deliver oil or not...  it's the last gasp for this oil company we have- to keep us as customers.

2.  A delightful movie on Hallmark last night... ice skating, shopping, cookie baking...all the bells and whistles of a Hallmark Movie.  The  regulation "misunderstanding " was also there at the end.  

3.  My personal misunderstandings never end or progress as the ones on Hallmark do,,,,,

4.  Football was cold and rather good yesterday.. Mahome's knee injury on the same knee as the first one-  It looked bad but he was sort of walking, with the help of two big guys, into the  building etc. But those Football Guys like to Tough it Out on camera.

5.  Well, I need some hot oatmeal and  a nice cup of decaf to get the morning going... Son is out shoveling the driveway...he exchanged a daily walk for daily snow shoveling.... so far we haven't had really heavy wet snow...but we do get ice on the walk=ways...so the rule is..... I don't venture OUT.

6.  Today...I hope I can find something riveting to do with myself....I did uncover stacks of drawing paper etc in the sewing room- when I went there to look for something.....not sure what.  I also drew on five or so index cards and plan to add color today....until I can find another "amusement"  of the artistic variety.

7.  I have Soup (heated in the microwave) and cornbread for lunch....oatmeal in a few minutes for breakfast.   Coffee...each of these items heated up with electricity which we have....I recall living in States other than Maine and having Heat arrive the same way Electricity arrives......it's days and weeks like this that I wonder WHY we stayed here????????  

*. OH my gosh- today is dentist......in 15 minuts/

Still Very Cold and Snow Covered here in Maine....

 You haven't had this one yet.

Well, it's a COLD white Sunday here in Maine... Snowing.

1.   I did make Corn Bread to go with my Vegetable Bean Soup (homemade). and it was delightful.  Son was gone so I studied the line drawing he had made of the icons on the stove...while trying to recall the one for the oven...I finally did.  Bosch... so icons and not words.

2.  Yesterday was a good day until late evening and the college shooting....the pain and suffering of those parents worried it was their child injured or dead.  I cry everytime I think about it- like now.

3.  Today is Sunday Pizza and American Football.   

4.   I watched a Lifetime Christmas Movie yesterday...It's Hallmark with kissing etc.  Lots of ETC. I set the TiVo to record that movie and a few others.....For later.... 

5.    Well, aside from having a very stiff neck today- tension....I am doing fine...and I am now going to select today's Rom Com book and turn on the heating pad and take two Tylenol and settle into the couch.  Turn over the worrying about Oil Consumption to the Engineer...  They will either come or not.. I have zero effect on the outcome- which is why my neck muscles are so tight they ache.

6.   Bad Things come in--wha tis the number????  Well, heating pad, couch , book and re-heated breakfast coffee.......These are a few of my favorite things....... oh, and of course YOU!!!!!!

Saturday, December 13th.... I tried sending messages to those of you who sent them to me...

 Nothing worked....so everyone gets all the  info.

Heat Pumps are a lovely "idea" but here in Maine they don't work... perhaps it's the Summer Vacation Land construction of the houses (little insulation) but the heat pumps don't get the house warm... new people next door got them and have fireplaces going all day and night to keep warm.. same across the street- piles of fire wood.

I have squirrel nesting materials in my chimney and even though I call to have the chimney cleaned out... no one ever actually shows up...which I guess could be the Maine State Motto... We Just Don't Show Up.

On their behalf....most of the Actual Born in Maine Folks (really nice people) are spending the Winter in their Florida Houses. And these are the people who own heating oil businesses (and sell the business to people in Boston), do plumbing work (on frozen busted pipes) etc.  Before going to the Bahamas or on a long extended Ocean Cruises.  (my street neighbors).

I wasn't born in Maine but going somewhere else for the Winter sounds rather nice. Better than trying to hunt down several hundred gallons of heating oil.  In December.

I might suggest Son try and purchase an electric blanket for himself... tomorrow we make pizza so we will have the oven preheating etc so the kitchen will be warmer than usual.  We'll both stand close to it.

I have my down lap blanket and heating pad and British Soccer Matches to watch... I need to reheat my coffee one more time and then settle in for an hour or two... nice and warm... son says we have enough oil to heat the house  "as usual'' for a week.    Was fact checking the post and read this line just as the boiler kicked in....rumbling noise....

After a delightful phone call with my Master Gardner Pal....I set the oven to preheat and mixed up my package of Jiffy cornbread.... to eat alongside my homemade Vegetable Bean Soup.

Oven preheated to 400 and is now baking my Jiffy Cornbread... for 20 minutes.  Then I will be heating up a nice bowl of vegetable bean soup and having LUNCH.   Pretty close to the actual time people eat lunch.

I watched a Christmas Movie last night...I don't recall the title...it's a guy who wishes he hadn't gotten married... in his new "life " he lives in a huge house and has a fancy red sports car in the driveway- never even gets into it.  Has a driver pick him up for work and drop him off each day.  Runs into the woman he didn't marry...sees the kids they didn't adopt......still not adopted.  Sort of a Modern Business Scrooge.

What sort of Life do you think you would have liked better than the one you actually lived?????

Daily Notes here in Freezing Cold Maine. 23 degrees and the Sun is shining..... Friday, December 12th.

 A local shop is having a craft show of some sort.... the people attending will be making these cards. Or boxes...hard to tell what's what......whenever she posts images they seem so "familiar" to me- I think, did I draw and color that????????  No.  Sort of like my index card art?????

1.  The company that delivers heating oil to my house...has gone out of business???? Or just the Propane Delivery has gone out of business?  Will the Oil Guy come and fill the tank without office workers sending a service ticket????   I think the answer is No.

Will we freeze to death??? My Son says we have for sure a week's worth of oil and perhaps two weeks... The South facing Sun Porch looks nice and warm....... it's not warm.

2.  The office is closed and they fired the office workers..... the owners are in Boston.

3.  The stove is electric....I can turn on the oven and stand close to it... And I have a heating pad....For couch sitting and reading....and that down lap cover.  Or two of them....

4.  Son is shoveling and chipping ice out front off the porch steps....(the back deck is dry and ice free- sunshine)

5.  I DID (finally) get a recording of one of my favorite old Hallmark Christmas movies....Watched it...Now if the other one will record...Christmas Joanne will be happy.  That's it from here....I have a full shelf of Library books....a full jar of tea bags and sugar.......an electric pot to boil water....a brand new oven to bake Sunday Pizza in...........wool socks...sigh....like I have always said- Living in Maine is Difficult. Not for the Faint of Heart......really only worth it in the Summer.

Daily Notes for December 11th......Ice. Covering the walks, porch steps etc.

I do not like when the curser wants to be center ...

So this post will not be very long.....woke up to ice covered everything and Son went out to buy salt. There are areas getting Sun  and snow has melted but the porch steps etc right by the front door close to the house is in the shade...shiny....Shiny equals Ice.  Son asked why I bought a north facing house... 

South facing back deck is dry as a bone.

This tree was a bit more detailed...I changed my style as Time moved on..I see something.... recall it and use it- not always sooner and mostly later.  I slept well but the right side of my neck is stiff and aches a bit.. So this post will be short.   I have Soccer and a TiVo movie to watch..I am seriously hoping the movie itself matches the title on the TiVo listing...it hasn't on a few more things that I recorded.

Son says this is what happens when a company decides to slow down and then stop operating...no longer any attention to detail... wow sounds like a certain man living in a white house.

An email from a former Library co-worker who retired and so kindly offered to drive Gary and I to his very last doctor's appointment... she waited in her car reading a book...it was a very long wait. I needed the doctor to be the second on the Hospice drugs my husband needed to get thru the night.

Nothing is ever easy... we had to wait forever it seemed.

She found a lovely place in Canada- (she is Canadian) and sent an e-mail with a map and all so I know where she is...exactly.. and a picture of her house and car.  This was always her plan when she retired.. 

 

Daily Notes For Wednesday, December 10th.... Snow overnight.

 White ink on a brown paper card.  I recall making these and enjoying the process of the white needles on the trees... I think I made 8 or 10 cards.  I still have a few blank cards--I think-- and the white ink pens but the ink inside might have dried up by now....  I sat at the table and worked on a card and felt peaceful. A gift to myself in the making of them....and added the tiny red heart at the last minute.

1.   I've set all the ingredients for my Simply Soup which I will be making soon....onto the counter top. The last time I made the soup I had purchased a few fat Brussels Sprouts and sliced them into the soup.  In the olden days I usually had a small cabbage in the crisper...not these days.  I have one carrot and one stalk of celery...and nothing else in the drawer.  Onions don't go in the fridge.

2.  A friend sent me a recipe for the soup she was making...garlic and leeks and some other items I don't buy or use... I would never make a soup containing two cloves of garlic...I dislike the stuff. She knows this.  Keeps suggesting it.  She sent the images of these cards to me....

3.  Daughter and I are traveling to the bank today to order more checks for my household bills. And there is something else we are supposed to be doing.....but I may have forgotten what it was... things that are recent don't "stick" but decades of old stuff is readily available...a reason my Son wants me drinking more water.

4.  I watch the very last 15 minutes of the movie "Rudy" ...... yesterday before going to bed.

5.  I continue my quest to record favorite Hallmark Christmas Movies and ACTUALLY GET The RIGHT ONE RECORDED.... The listing and the actual lineup are different.....I keep getting the same wrong movie each time I try for the one movie I actually want to see.

6.  My Lunch Buddy was in line behind two women buying FIFTEEN POUNDS of butter.....Christmas Cookie Baking.... I initially typed Five but then my friend corrected me-- 15 pound sized boxes of butter.

  

Daily Notes for Tuesday December 9th. Cold with Sun Shining. SIX degrees. (now 8 degrees)

One of the Six Homemade Christmas Card images my friend sent me.   I never kept one for myself. So I haven't seen this card in many many years.  This one used a quilted together bunch of green fabric strips from the wastebasket for the trees.   Mounted on a white card.  And polka dot fabric.  I stitched the tree to the card with a sturdy needle....my Bernina doesn't mind....  (she sent a Potato Leek Soup recipe this morning)......they always include several cloves of garlic....I do NOT use garlic in my food. Stinks.

1.   Daughter was here yesterday working on my table top tree- I think it might be four plus feet tall.  She looked around in the attic and found a number of items to use on the tree.  Branches with red berries. I unplugged it last night and might need guidance in getting it going again.........

2.   I continue to use the indent and numbers because a Reader said it made it easier to read...as I change subjects often and she got confused....so I am happy to make the reading easier for her and for you. (in answer to a comment)...

3.   I watched the wrong movie on  Hallmark last night....it was fine but not the one I wanted...so I looked in the listings and found the one I wanted and hopefully the right movie will record today.  Both movies have the SAME title in the listing.......one about a soldier and one about a blind man.  I wanted to watch the one about the blind man.....haven't watched it in many years......the soldier one was fine but followed the Hallmark Movie Recipe to the letter.

4.   Checked to see if Son put out the recycling....we had enough so I used the large rolling container... Been awhile since I used the big container. and filled it up.   

5.   I have additional books ready for pickup at the Library...all the books are from Other Libraries.  Selections at my library have dried up.  I also selected a book on watercolor painting techniques... I have discovered a number of pads of watercolor paper...and I never actually lost track of my many paint brushes or the paints themselves....just the paper.  So......in the Winter it's nice to have a "project" other than reading and hand sewing.  One year it was mending.  My sweaters and my socks.  

This year it might be painting..........

Daily Notes- Post number 5199. Snowed overnight, cold and sunny here in Maine. 19 degrees.

 A collection of Gingerbread House Images in the days to come? No. This is the only one.  I've never been around for the actual breaking off a chunk of the house and eating it part....I will assume the cookies are quite hard and stale by then.  The only one I ever made was not made of anything edible.  And I have zero idea where it is.  I recall some guy trying to break off a chunk of the roof....while the house was on display at the Library....I admit to wanting to see that happened when he bit into something made of wood...but I stopped him and held out my hand, palm up...and he gave the piece back to me... I turned it over and he finally noticed it wasn't a cookie.  He wondered why I had even "bothered" to make a house you couldn't eat. I wondered why I had stopped him from breaking a tooth or two.

1.   That's sort of the theme for my 79th year on Earth.  Zero idea of where anything I made in the past....is.  Possibly in the Mysterious Attic-  up the staircase I am not supposed to climb in my old age.... In case I stumble and fall on the way down........well, you get the idea.

2.   Football yesterday was strange, cold and not very interesting.....the Sunday Pizza was very good. Excellent crust.  I think British Soccer is more interesting....right now.  Green grass.

3.   I found another self made bookmark (considering making more)...and did finally finish Mr Perfect on Paper.  

4.   I found a card with one of my favorite quotes. "The floggings will continue until morale improves" on the other side of the card "southwest bacon whopper" @ Burger King.  I am laughing because...I actually haven't changed all that much over the decades........weird...I will always be weird.

5.  I also found a handmade bookmark...in excellent condition. I wonder where the other ones went????? I recall recently bumping into the assorted supplies for this bookmark project....in a drawer. I also recently sat in the desk chair by my sewing machine and looked down to see the perfectly stacked (daughter) supplies there..for all sorts of wonderful projects.....some involving very sharp edged tools. Some never used or used for only one very very nice project........

6.  I had a list of books....went on the library site to try and order them...none in any library collection here in Maine... so I am guessing the list was from Amazon and none of the books are "Library Type Books" Which has now gotten me very very interested in that list. Really terrible books??????

7.   Found a site with directions for the Basic Shortbread Cookie Dough from Gourmet Magazine December 1993.   I made the full recipe and the six varieties of cookie... packed them in a pink bakery box and carried the box on the plane to the Florida house my friends owned. (it was Winter).... I arrived and the McDonald's men who (never noticed me before)...noticed me... and I handed over the box...they circled and ate cookies.   They were very very good cookies... I guess....I was never offered one.  The card here on my desk has the recipe for the cookie dough....one pound of butter makes two varieties... that was it.... none of the variety instructions.

8.   Perhaps one of you has a copy of that December 1993 Gourmet Magazine..????? I'd really like to bake the cookies one more time...and eat some of them before giving the remainder away as a gift.

Daily Notes- Sunday December 7th... Sunshine and still Cold and snowy here in Maine. Dry sidewalks.

 A little square painting of mine... returning via email image from the gal it was given to years and years ago.  To celebrate her new little house....  She might have had a blue door?????  Which I always wanted...at my house but never actually got.  I did get Southern Blue Porch Ceilings...which continue to delight me. Inside porch and outside porches.  Makes the birds crazy as they think it's the SKY.

1.   Woke up and decided I needed a Morning Shower and washed my hair twice... The blood pressure stayed steady- no heads hit the floor.  My hair feels amazingly 'soft".  Really nice. Great Start to the day.

2.    Son figured out how to make the Dollhouse lights go on-- husband never could.  It was an exciting surprise.....I still don't have tiny Christmas Trees for the dollhouse....someday.  And need to find the boxes filled with the Dollhouse Furniture....when we had a cat...he tried so hard to fit himself on the tiny chairs and the couch.  And the beds. I would walk past the dollhouse and see his black fur tufting out the windows.  He liked napping in the dollhouse.

3.    Sorted thru several cardboard packing boxes to try and find unused Christmas Cards... I did find a Hallmark  box with 16 cards and envelopes in it.  Nice ones, cream and gold... rather elegant looking when I prefer "jolly".  But I found them and I am going to use them..... 16 cards...I like the abundance of that number.

4.    Sunday pizza.  I like the regular-ness of Sunday Pizza.

5.    I watched British Soccer and so help me....Home Alone...the Christmas Movie.  I'd seen bits of it but never the whole thing.....I was tempted to watch the one after it but...no,.....just no...... it was a four digit channel on my cable- I usually only watch the 3 digit channels.  Had quite a few Christmas Movies....

6.    The TV is recording something for me to watch- I'm curious as to what it could be.... I've eaten breakfast but haven't had my coffee as yet.  So I will make that and perhaps some TOAST with butter and jam.   If I have bread.......ah, son gifted me two slices of his wholegrain bread.... I went and looked....he usually gives me the two butt ends........and that's what I will toast...........Soccer and then Football....today.

Have a wonderful day!!!!!

Daily Notes- Saturday December 6th. Still cold and still snowing.

 Examples of seven years of handmade Christmas Cards.  One is commercially made- can you find it? I hadn't seen most of these in a long long time....happy to have the image.

1.  Well, I haven't created this year's card as yet...the Great Neighborhood Snow Plowing Conundrum has kept me busy (in emails). I have paper and art supplies....but I also have a box of unused commercial cards...so maybe yes and maybe no.  More than one box to use up..plus the card drawer.......

2.  Long chat with my Master Gardener Co-Pilot.  Patty finds me to be incredibly NEGATIVE these days. It's who I am...always wanting to improve whatever it is I am doing, seeing etc.  Seeing the mistakes. Wanting to fix them.  Erasing and drawing a new something....  I think it's good that I try new things. Even if I get very grumpy when things don't work as I want them to.......grumpy is okay...but not all the time.

3.  Son helped me resize the image here...it came in as "side of the barn" large.... from Patty..as big as the Mac screen.

4.  Since there is a chill in the air even with my choice of heat levels..... I will for the third day- say I am finishing the book I am reading huddled under a down lap quilt.....it's NOT a thick book...it's just taking forever... and it's one I actually love reading..... so perhaps I am reading slowly so it does take me three days to finish it??

5.  The usually very quiet fridge is making more noise than I am happy with...Something is going on.. and it's not going to be something I enjoy.  The motor....damn.  Quiet now......make no sudden moves...... and now the furnace thing is blowing on the floor near the sink- to keep your feet warm while you wash dishes...  who ever installed it there....thank you.

6.  The clicker for the porch wreaths is now working...Son took care of it....Now I can have the lights ON when I want them and OFF when I don't.  He resized the picture up top as well....now he's back upstairs. 

Daily Notes for Friday, December 5th. I stayed home--- it's Way Too Cold...My "reactive" lungs....

 I found an image of Assorted Cookies.... when I was growing up, we made all sorts of varieties of cookies.. and my grandmother deep fried up some other European fancy things and then put powdered sugar on them....

1.  Now we don't.  Do any of that.

2.  Son has a list and is buying me things for my SOUP and  Ham and Swiss Roll ups.  He's also doing the Library.  Perhaps the gals at the desk will suggest some books?

3.  No one arrived to "plow the driveway" yesterday.  The day before ALL sorts did arrive.

4.  And that's all I have for you...I'm tired...my neck feels unhappy and stiff...so I'm heading for the couch and my heating pad.... I found some Very Nice Christmas Cards in a drawer. To send to people with a few lines of words from me to them (if I have addresses).  I enjoyed sending the four Thanksgiving Cards I found. Wished I had had more.

5.  As we age....getting a greeting card with a few lines of words- is pretty damn great........ gives us something to pin to the wall.......I'll start working on them....

Daily Notes for Thursday December 4th. Wreaths. Snow. 32 degrees (a warm spell)

 And a full moon.   Sam also brought down the small fake table top tree we bought last year.... It came with lights. We just need to add ornaments.....but Santa isn't going to visit.....we three have enough...

My oatmeal is beeping and I need to pull on wool socks....I've nothing much to say here.  But DebL and I have chatted about an Apple TV show Ted something who coaches a soccer team...Lasso?  anyway, my Library has all the seasons on disc and might even have a disc player available....

For after Christmas...right now Hallmark Christmas Movies.......and the Soccer Games.

I also have a Shortbread Cookie Advent Calendar....one sweet cookie each day.... Son has a Star Wars Advent Calendar-  with little tiny figures he has to assemble....each day.

My morning oatmeal is beeping...and I need to pull on my wool socks....it's December. In Maine.

Daily Notes on Wednesday, December 3rd. Snow on the ground. 32 degrees. Sunshine.

 We might have had this image already but the picture file is close to empty.  It snowed.  I think Son is having trouble with the snowblower....and is now using a shovel.  I can't go out and help...as I usually did. Because I'm old and might slip and fall and break something.... Life can be really crappy sometimes. I suddenly want gumdrops.  Like all the ones in the picture.  And the M&M's.......

1.   Right now....crappy is a good word for how I feel about blogging.  About being public facing. About being "dumped" on by others who actually think something's going on when it couldn't be further from the truth.  Nothing is going on... I do NOT need a Psych Evaluation.

2.   Famous last words (about 2 hours ago)  as we had several purveyors of snow plowing stop by and plow after Son had done the snow blowing.  They even plowed NEXT DOOR by mistake- very unhappy neighbor. Son went over and apologized.... they used wrong address on their mailings... of contract I didn't sign or return.

3.   I pasted snow images on the desk calendar......over number one and close to number 2. I changed the calendar this morning ...a bit TARDY.  Day three is under the desk top computer stand...

4.  DebL is telling me all about Ted Lasso on Apple TV.  Raunchy Soccer something... Son mentioned all the various hoops and etc that need to come together for me to have Apple....I don't have Netflix anymore because I got tired of all the "mess" long before Son lived here........at that point in my Life I had little experience with tech... and it's frustrations...now it's a daily thing...and yes, I do yell up the stairs to say "we have a problem" but not as often as in the beginning....and I was really easy going about the computer change over....even though I expected it to be AWFUL.  I like the new Mac.  It likes me, I think.

5.  Well, I have stuff to do- It's Wednesday.....I know I am missing a Soccer Match....and my back up plan is Law and Order Oldies.  And my neck is cold so a scarf would be nice.  A friend sent a plan to make A HAT from an old sweater....think I have one??????  No old sweater but I do have a nice hat...well, more than one.... good enough.

Tuesday December 2nd. Snowing here in Maine. Everything covered in white.

 You get my little ball of thread ends....  It's right here on the desk...

1...I watched some old Law and Order yesterday....back to back... and then something else. Not something I usually watch...but right now I can't recall the name of the show.... perhaps a Law and Order spin off.

2....I had three meals yesterday...which is an improvement and I drank all my glasses of water.... to keep my brain hydrated.  I tend to go off track without the water.  I am still not interested in reading...it happens every so often.   I haven't read a book straight thru in days.  A full week????  My eyes are tired.

3....I am annoying.people.....which is okay as they are annoying me as well.

4....Patty is sending messages re: A Miter Saw.   Hoping there is one in my late husband's workshop. She sent pictures....so I or my son might go looking for such a thing....in the workshop.  For cutting firewood into smaller pieces.....for her woodstove. Which heats her house.

5....We will have to shovel snow today...  well, Son will....he doesn't want me to do ANY of that. I might fall and hit my head.  Be even weirder than I usually am.....

6.   I never did finish the large rectangular cloth  (well placemat size is large for me right now) and didn't even considered the pile of blue strips for a small square.  I took the large rectangular cloth apart.

7.   I will be having oatmeal, decaf coffee and the newspaper....putting my socks on... keeping myself to myself......and Connie I might give thought to making those cookies.......but we still have pumpkin pie. and best of all- Cool Whip.

Daily Notes for Monday December First. Sunshine, wet streets and 36 degrees in Maine.

 Cranberry Grilled Cheese and Turkey.   Not being served HERE.  But could be if I had bread....but I hardly ever actually have bread.....I have flour tortillas.  It could work.

1.    I collected the garbage a day early.... mea culpa.  I blame the Hallmark Christmas Movie I was  SORT  OF watching..... the last of the Season...... then back to Law and Order.   I just needed to get up and "do something" and not watch.....anything,

2.    Soccer was "less than" yesterday and followed by "dismal" Football.  What IS GOING ON????? Soccer and Football are my "Fall Back" positions for when I have absolutely Nothing to DO...I even broke protocol (my own) and watched the shopping network try and sell me the new and improved VitaMix. I don't use the one I already own..........I used to....but I used to do lots of things I no longer do.

3.   I always make my bed. Before I leave the bedroom to read the paper and eat breakfast and do the Suduko.  Always.

4.   We still have Thanksgiving Leftovers.... and we have Pie with Cool Whip.  Life is good.  

5.   I have plans to actually finish reading the book I have been reading for two days now....today I finish it.  I have no plans for additional reading.....I have been wanting to make a new square...blue this time. I have blue strips of fabric ready to go......all I need to do is thread a needle.

6.  Finally a good Hallmark Christmas Movie...I recorded it and will watch it again... I also have the Holiday set to record...I believe--I hope--- it's the movie I think it is.....snowy cottage etc. Jude and Cameron.   If not- I will delete it and watch Law and Order.

Daily Notes- What Happened At Our House.....Saturday November 29th. Leftovers

 People were posting pictures of their "leftover"  Thanksgiving sandwiches. 

We had a bit of a disaster here with our annual Pumpkin Pie....after the full baking time the filling was still SOUPY ....BUT I did enjoy a pile of Pie Crust and some of the thicker filling edges. (and Cool Whip).... I was the only one having that delight..... We might be able to build a sandwich (like the image)--if we had bread.........this is what happens....and actually typing this has me laughing.  Wondering if I have a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese in the pantry?????

Most of the Successful Menu items are Vegetables so I have lots of things to eat.  No worries.

It's very cold here in Maine....even with the sun shining.  In the 20's overnight.  I have on wool socks, corduroy long pants and a fleece pullover over a thermal long sleeved shirt.  I have a down TV watching cover for when I settle back on to the couch.  I'll be cozy.  

It's 33 degrees outdoors and 70 inside the house (with the sun shining on the temperature machine)..

Today's book is a "leftover" from yesterday......Meg Cabot's No Judgment.... I'm midway. She's about to decide to get on the small scooter and go check on the guy- no cell or landline service after the hurricane hit over night.. worried about him.

Soccer (British) is set to begin anytime now...two matches.  Back to back.  Manchester City and Leeds coming up in a few minutes after all the "chat" the Brits are having and I can't understand any of it.  The two talking guys are wearing extremely TIGHT fitting suits as usual..  Look incredibly uncomfortable.  I noticed the NFL Talking Heads also in one size too small suits the other day...and Brady wearing glasses.

I deleted the blogs "formerly" on Typepad....in my sidebar...I do get something every so often from Jude...as an email.  Grace might need help setting up something new....hope someone steps up.  If it was me- and the Computer Engineer was still in California-- I would want someone to help ME out in this situation.......sigh Winter is here already in Maine.....I need a second cuppa hot coffee.

Still Friday the 28th.... Another Pomegranate

 

Image only- (from a magazine) I bought this year's Pom Model for my collection of annual Christmas Pomegranate  drawings.  Some are painted...etc..., some with conte crayon....Some just colored pencils.. One or two are watercolors..It's a thing I do that is artistic and seasonal.   I'd love to do a woodcut but--the blood letting deters me.  I'd also like to make a Lino print.  Cut into a soft surface and then print.  The cutting tool is very very sharp........

In the days and weeks ahead you will get to see whatever drawing, painting or whatever I make......I have all of December.. And I have all the older ones.  Which could be used here...????  For December Post Art.

Son is making pie crust and we have to wait 2 hours before it's ready to roll out- "at least two hours". He made it last year and it was the most wonderful homemade pie crust.... ever.  Hydrated.

Daughter is adding 100 colored lights (each) to two large 48 inch wreaths....eventually three wreaths that size will be on my front porch to bedazzle the neighbors.  And assist planes landing at the Executive Airport next door. (hopefully joking).. The center wreath has its weight in light bulbs on it.  The side ones will have less??????

We were happy to have found a pre-roasted half turkey breast at the grocery store today...... 

We didn't get sent home with a plate of leftovers.....I did ask for the soup recipe...we had soup as a starter. It was very very good...  I am probably repeating myself so I will stop.

Daily Notes for Friday, November 28th. Cold and Damp this morning.

 no image.....I'm tired...it's cold and dark and I should still be in bed... asleep.

Cincinnati Won.  Burroughs is working on his anger issues for the turf toe.  Baltimore-- I usually enjoy watching them play but last night was awful.  The fans left the stadium before 4th quarter.  Previous to the game I watched a Hallmark Movie....but perhaps it was a movie that just SEEMED like Hallmark???? There was snow, a blind child and people falling out of a boat into the cold water... and the happy ending... Not much dialogue.  Lots of long stares.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving at our neighbor's house...two other neighborhood guests who were delightful.  The table conversation was a nice change for me- I had only one glass of wine.

We are doing some grocery shopping today.....and the Library visit to pick up and drop off books. Another quiet day...I am hoping for some British Soccer but.......

Well, cereal and the newspaper....we didn't get one yesterday...so today's will be packed with invites for shopping.   I need socks and oatmeal and a cup of hot coffee.....it's all downhill from now.....

Daily Notes on Thursday November 27th.....Sunshine here in Maine and 44 degrees

 Well, here it is finally.....the Big Day.......

Watched some British Soccer with daughter yesterday...she played soccer in college.... I think she even got a red card????  and I am guessing quite a few yellow ones.

Anyway.......I've had my oatmeal, there is no morning newspaper, I am NOT turning on the TV because I do not want to see ONE SPECK of NEWS. ......I have a book that I paused reading and should finish it.  Before starting something new.

I'll be ordering library books today.... but doubt any will be there on Friday...I have a few favorites to reread on Holidays.  No idea when we are walking over to the neighbors for dinner... but it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....today.

Best Wishes to all of you reading this post- Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Daily Notes for Wednesday November 26th. Dark, Damp and Dismal.

 We have Gravy today.....as an image....why is there never enough gravy???????

1.  Cold chill on back of my neck the morning.... furnace is now starting up....

2.  Watched Law and Order yesterday and ignored Slow Burn- the book I am reading.

3.  I'm actually hungry and want to eat breakfast so this will be a very short post.  Three minutes that it takes the microwave to make oatmeal and another 2 minutes for it to "setup" and then I am hitting publish.

4.  Law and Order yesterday was NOT as good as I remember.....I will have to seriously consider Netflix..I refuse to go over to the dark side of the Big A....even though they have purchased everything available and have it ALL....right there- ready to go...

5.  Microwave is finished....you and I have only a few minutes left together....

6. Slept well on my freshly made bed....fluffy pillows etc.

7. The oatmeal is ready, sugared and surrounded by a pool of cold milk... have a lovely day... I will be watching Law and Order.....or reading Slow Burn.....I think the part I skipped is the Slow Burn part...

Daily Notes for Tuesday, November 25th. Dismal outside...and 43 degrees

 I don't have an image for you....

1.  Have the washing machine going- finally changed the sheets on my bed..was procrastinating ..OMG...looking for fresh sheets and pillow cases in the packed FULL linen closet....I had a NIGHTMARE thought that I had sent my own King sheets and pillow cases to Georgia.... by mistake.

2.  It took awhile to calm down and actually make the bed... the top sheet looks too small. The pillow cases were FINALLY found under so much stuff...the bed is made.  I wish I was a Drinking Person but I am actually worse- A Sweet Eating Person.  Or they are the same addictive persuasion?  anyway...I'd be eating.

3. Addiction runs in the family DNA.  Deeply embedded in the DNA.

4.  My only addiction besides candy and cookies is sleeping.  When things go sideways I climb into bed and try NOT to EVER get out.  I slept all day when we moved to Germany- after getting the kids off to school. All Day.  Then some nosey woman from Texas rang the doorbell for like 30 minutes and said- take a shower, get dressed we are going to lunch...she also mentioned her kids in the car being hungry and now very very cranky.  I showered, dressed, went to lunch and somehow got signed up for the next day's BOWLING League.  And, I was okay from then on...still cranky but awake and dressed. And NOT at home.  A few years later I was elected President of the American Women's Club.and my husband gifted me a Gucci Briefcase.

5.  It still feels like a MYSERY to me....how my Life evolved and then just stopped.. 

6.   I have an email and som says daughter is coming over to do something....no idea what...perhaps the False Indigo will get chopped down?????? or pulled out...  no idea.

7. Amazon allowed me to see the Romance Book Offerings again. Then cut me off but by then I had run thru what was interesting.   Four large index cards of author and titles.  December and January are covered.

Daily Notes from Maine on a Cloudy Monday ......

 Had to work on the centering..

1.   Yes, I need help.  Like everyday.  

2.   The book I ordered is at the library and I intend to coax my son into picking it up when he goes out for LUNCH. It's the one with the woman with pink hair.   I had to move the Pencil Sharpener...he clipped it with his hip....it's now safely installed to my left.  No one walks over there.  Sunday Pizza was as wonderful as usual.  

3.  Football.   I tried...but it was not that interesting.   I did watch the Vegas Car Race.   Beginning to end.

4.  I am going to remove the border on the rectangular thing...it isn't working...and nothing else works as the next to it border.   So it has to GO.  And it's a rectangle not the usual SQUARE so that might also need to be corrected. So much for thinking I can be "flexible".....also missing British Soccer.

5.  Reading Slow Burn by Julie Garwood.  So far the lead woman character has just missed being blown up by a bomb-- TWICE.  Other than the violence and the sex- it would make a fantastic Hallmark Mystery Movie...and I say that just because I am a visual person and can SEE how it would play out on the screen. All the characters staring at each other..........and the guy brought pizza. Garwood's men always bring food.

6.   Well, I need breakfast....and I need socks (ankles are getting chilled) and then...well I have a few Suduko Puzzles that are stalled and perhaps I can add a number or two to them and then come back here and read my book.  I could even drive myself to the Library and get my book....No.  Not ready for driving. Still WAY TOO JUMPY.  And my attention span?????  Wow.

Daily Notes for Sunday, November 23rd. Sunshine here in Maine. 39 degrees.

Green Bean Casserole.  One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner and leftovers.  I like the thinner French cut beans and not the chunky ones in this image.. I like lots of the onions on top...like this.

1.  Furnace is running and running and running.....trying to get us up to 65 degrees. Might need to upgrade it to a larger unit.  I was short of cash when we needed to replace the original boiler.  REALLY short of cash.  Like worried when bills needed to be paid.  Long ago....but I remember how that felt. I got a job. Paid the bills.  Moving to Maine was a Financial Disaster for us. Two kids in College.  Etc.

2.  I am having lukewarm coffee and.... just warmed it up a second time.

3.  Watched the race in Las Vegas last night... lucky for me the Hallmark Movie I was watching was a repeat.  Ended at midnight. Or around midnight.

4.  Today's Suduko wasn't great....I'll give it another go later...

5.  I read a book.   Now have to choose one for today...possibly two....just to keep me occupied.  I'm figgeting.....happens when I get bored... which is why all the pencils got sharpened.  I might choose a series- that would mean several books from the bookcase..........or I could read the ONE that makes me cry.  Every Single Time.  I try not to read it.   I also could sew strips of cloth into squares....

6.   We'll make pizza at 4.   Watch some football.  Get thru the day.  That will be enough. Will have to be enough.  Furnace stopped running...it's quiet.
 

Daily Notes Written Very Early in the Morning. Saturday, November 22nd.

 Alcohol free lemon tonic something or other.  Need a preserved lemon to make it.  And olives. I have it here this morning because I just like the WAY It Looks.!!!!   In an alternative LIFE I would make this. And have one in the late afternoon before thinking about what to have for dinner.  Like people my age do. In An Alternative Life.

1.  I am re-reading  Meg Cabot's No Offense. And now I want to read the previous book. No Judgement. The title was in tiny tiny print on the back cover of this book.  I am going to order it.  Next up for reading is the Little Beach Street Bakery.   In Love with Love this week.

2.   I saw some British Soccer in the tv listing for this afternoon.....so I am set for the afternoon.  I have cloth strips to sew and my down lap blanket to keep me warm.   It's cloudy and looks damp outside. I tried Hallmark yesterday and lasted only 5 minutes.....I want to watch the long  American Revolution series on PBS but...it's too much (sadness) for me right now so it is being recorded..   I had ZERO Law and Order to fall back on...so I set a long list of them to record.  The red light is on so I think they are being recorded.   

(one thing I got right....when I thought for one semester of being a History Major....)

3.  I do LOVE my TiVo. Best investment I ever made.   I did also like Netflix when I had that.... cancelled it when I went back to WORK full time.... the greenhouse job was strenuous.  Lifting carrying etc.  I got home and just wanted a long hot shower and a nap.  I could not stand, walk, carry and lift for 40 hours a week NOW.  NOT AT ALL, if I am honest with my self.

4.  I've hit bottom on my first cup of tea for the day- need a second... My Son is correct- I am much more coherent WHEN I am well hydrated.  4 ounces of water many times thru out the day keeps Joanne from wondering where she left her socks (and she is wearing them). and DID she have breakfast??????  And not forgetting to eat LUNCH.  I need to fill my glass a third time.  Soccer!!!!!!

Daily Notes on a Sunday Friday in November. The 21st.

 Baked Sweet Potato with walnuts.   I should have nuts in the fridge to add to food.... Today is grocery day so why not buy some nuts????   And that might be cheese melting in the center?????  Bake the sweet potatoes with the Sunday Pizza. It worked out last time.

1.  My books are in the Library Return Bag.....I have ordered a few that are ready for pickup. I don't have a good feeling about them.....I might not like them........walking the stacks- is pretty useless. I'll read things in my own bookcase I guess.  Second reading of Every Tom Dick and Harry was even better than the first reading.

2.  My Lunch Buddy and I never did get to have lunch.  She is still driving husband to appointments.

3.  I found a package of Thanksgiving cards in the bottom drawer- was looking for art paper.  Did find a small pad of watercolor paper- postcard sized....good enough.  I do love painting.

4.  Mended the hole in daughter's sweater...I didn't wait- as soon as she walked out of the house with her brother I went looking for black yarn.  She found boots she likes at the store she took her brother to..... and they were her size and on sale....she was very very happy. I think they also had lunch.

5.  Well. I have to get going and eat breakfast so my blood sugar doesn't tank....

Daily Notes- Thursday, November 20th. Sunshine and 42 degrees in Maine.

 I recall making one of these...once. It wasn't fun.

Library tomorrow....hopefully some books....that I actually enjoy reading....the ones I picked last week. were not so great.   I'm not sure it's the books...it could be ME.

1.  Nothing much going on... five flies on Monday but haven't seen any since.

2.  Daughter and Son have gone on a roadtrip.....for something-  would be nice if they brought home cookies.  For me.  I did get a locally famous Jelly Donut earlier in the week ...was fantastic.  Son said it was the last one- the Donut Makers go to Florida for the Winter.  Every Year.  Before Thanksgiving.

3.  I found my scrappy recipe cards for Microwave "cake" made in a coffee cup.  Looking forward to making one. Not today....Today I still have grocery food to eat....before Friday. 

4.  The Comey Comedy Show is a DELIGHT.  Who knew (gasp) Trump "lawyers" would have so much trouble with the LAW.  Understanding it.  Following it....etc.  This is what happens when you surround yourself with butt kissers??????  Who will ever hire any of them after all this is flushed????

5.  I need a scarf- a chill around my neck....I have a sweater to mend...daughter's.  Black yarn... well, best get to it....and then a book???? or some Law and Order (more likely)...the Hallmark is a sad disappointment.  I've outgrown it.....never saw that happening.  Wow....maturity can be a real bummer.

Daily Notes- Wednesday. November 19th. sunshine and 41 degrees

 I lost the name of this pie but-- talk amongst yourselves and give it a title.   Looks like a Brownie base (crust) and then chocolate ganache topped with whipped cream.   Has my name all over it.  Joanne. I wish it was here......

1.  Well, I paid bills this morning...and I have my fingers crossed I got them in the right envelopes.  My attention span is getting so narrow....that it's hardly any attention at all. Perhaps time to hand bill paying over to someone else.  Or have them check things before I seal the envelopes......

2.  Ironed wrinkled fabric and cut strips to add to the rectangle shaped "whatever" I am sewing....by hand... It's here near where I sit and perhaps I will actually add the strips.....it's NOT a tiny 8 inch square.... I thought about using the sewing machine...for about 10 seconds..... I did use the iron, ironing board and the spray starch.  Amazing.  I really do love eight inch squares.  Actually Nine inch ones.

3.  The Soccer players look exhausted.  The fans in the stadiums look exhausted. World Cup.

4.  FINALLY made the next pot of Joanne's Vegetable Bean Soup.....then had a bowl.  And then another. It could use more salt but then....it would be too salty.  I tried explaining that to my son- he said salt was a good thing....we decided to disagree.   I added sliced large Brussels Sprouts this time.. nice addition.  Bit of "cabbage".  I'm thinking some grated Parm in the bowl- would add a salty-ness????

5.   My hair is "doing things"---like making curls.  It's why I skipped my last hair cut appointment.  Curls. When you are born with naturally curly hair- go with it...... I am seeing a number of women on tv- Hallmark-- with naturally curling white hair...NO hot curling iron.- (so Hallmark) and thought "why not me?"  It's still quite short but another few weeks and we'll see how it goes. My Winter Project-- perfect timing if I need to cover the project with a HAT.  (in public) or (in the SNOW)

6.  Library has requested the return of several books....I plan to keep one of them- for another week. The others are already in the return bag- the bag Deb L sent me.  Which goes to the Library with me every week......all year long.  In warm weather I wear the matching work shirt.

Daily Notes for Tuesday, November 18th...Sunshine and 42 degrees today.

 Dairy Fat- Good or Evil??????   My milk is whole milk.  I use Butter and not mechanically made "margarine". My Cheese is not processed hopefully..  I'm Elderly and Disease Free.  Knock Wood.

I prefer less than five items on the ingredient list on ANY food I eat..  Cheese should be cheese.  Butter should be butter and Milk should be milk.  I read the list in the tiny print- if it looks like Chemistry- I TRY NOT to buy it.  Even if I WANT it.  Cookies are an exception. And Dark Chocolate. Very dark.

1.   Now that that is off my To Do List-  I'll get to other stuff.  Why is CNN showing 9-11?  I was changing channels (terrible football game) and there was the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. I wasn't expecting it and ...so I cried.  Recalled the Fall of Marigolds book...And the woman watching the plane hit as her husband waited for her in the restaurant  Windows on the World.  

2.  Five additional black flies yesterday.

3.  Found another fabric to add to the orange square.... it's in the very tiny center square....so a repeat. I always like a repeat.  Connie, if only there was a table in my house that deserved a runner!!!!

4.  The book I opened to the very center and started reading was not the book I thought it was but is a book I have read before...... and I had given up on Hallmark and Law and Order.  And CNN had made me cry.. And I will likely give up on this book as well.  I've read it before- more than once.  Always by mistake.  It's never clear WHY he is attracted to her...so as a Reader I am wondering why????  For the entire book.

5.  Daughter is on repeat with stores selling soup....which I should be buying...I have soup that I make myself.  It's simple and easy and not great.  It's soup.  I'm content.  

6.   Soon I will move on to Toasted Cheese Sandwiches.  With extra pickles.  Toasted and not "fried in butter" Cheese Sandwiches.  And then?  Not a clue....I do have things that I could put in the Air Fryer....and eat those...but easy enough to just fry them up in the frying pan.   Or leave them in the freezer.

7.   And even at that...my Life is MORE interesting than it has been in decades.  REALLY.

Daily Notes for Monday, November 17th. Clouds and temps around 39 degrees.

 I have ALL of these.   I found the Williams Sonoma catalogs on the Internet this morning.  Same block but not the same knives.  I use them all.   My son's knife block sits next to mine.

1.  I made Strawberry Rhubarb Jam yesterday and it needs a bit more thickening...I don't have pectin but information says I can use lemon or the peels from an apple.  To get the mixture thicker.

2.  Watched Curling yesterday the regular, always wins USA team, did not win.  A new team won. And they deserved to win.  Great Job.   I also watched some European Soccer- World Cup.  Norway and Italy. Norway, as one team member said, got fed up with being pushed around and scored two goals. That was that.  Big tall guy with his long white hair in a bun (Manchester United)...  and that happy note ended my day yesterday.  I may or may not have Soccer set to record.  This was a first for Norway in World Cup.

3.  Oatmeal this morning and more recipes from my Master Gardening Partner.  She must have a different system on her computer and phone..  Not MAC.  Nothing translates as being "easy"...she mentions a "jump to recipe" thing I should press...well, I saw nothing like that on my screen.  And, honestly, I don't need the recipes.

4.  I never think cooking with vegetables actually needs a recipe...they all taste great together in my opinion.  I chop and stir in a pan and eat.  Add water if I want soup.  Which reminds me that I have one jar of soup left....for lunch today.  I might be wrong- NO SOUP.   I need to make more. I do have salad greens and grocery store made chicken nuggets- crisp those up in the toaster oven and dinner is served.

5.  While watching American Football (Chiefs and Broncos I think) I sewed strips to a large center square and now have something larger than usual that needs spray starch and a hot iron.  Not a clue as to how to move forward with this cloth...after I iron it.  I don't need potholders.  I don't need placemats. I sure don't need quilts.......and I sure as heck have TONS of fabric......

Daily Notes on a Damp Cloudy 41 Degree Day here in Coastal Maine. House temp is 65. Heating Oil is extremely expensive this year.

 Something colorful.   I noticed the flowers at the grocery store on Friday but nothing as bright as these. And it'a actually pretty dark in my living room right now...I have one lamp turned on and will do another and be right back.  Yes, that's much better.

1.  One black fly and son "reported in" yesterday that he had flattened one on the front door glass...so added that to my totals.  Five yesterday down from a high of 15 on Wednesday.   One so far today.

2.  The numbering helps one reader of this blog post keep track of subject changes. I do what I can to keep the small number of you all happy.

3.   Soccer yesterday and - World Cup behavior (of one game) was unsportsmanlike.  I might have given out a second red card. To the guy who got the first one. And I would have had words with him.... sorry excuse for sports conduct.  The Ref usually refuses to talk to the guys. Just holds the red card in their face. The guy argues and he holds up a second?????  Or just escorts him off the field????

4.  I noticed a missing button on my very old sweater (during the soccer argument)- one of the sweaters rejuvenated by the cold water gentle cycle in my new-ish washing machine.  I went shopping for a button in the button box by the sewing machine. I also had my Grandmother's Button Collection (from after she died).  Could NOT find the same size but did find an almost color match- larger button and it's now on the sweater.  While sewing the button I enjoyed looking at all the variegated colors of the mending....holding the sweater together.  Wondering what "mending" is holding me together.

5.  My daughter has my Grandmother's  Vintage Treadle Sewing Machine at her house...as a table----I doubt she will ever use it to sew anything.. it's a really old Singer and could sew thru layers of wool or leather. What a Machine!!!!!  It could also sew right thru your finger nails...... My Bernina can also do that and I did sew right into my finger nail.  Getting the needle out was worse than it going in.

6.  I need to reheat my coffee and settle into my space on the couch....pull the down lap quilt over myself.

Daily Notes- Saturday. November 15th. Sunshine here and 35 degrees.

Okay, images of Winter Seed Sowing...  top image is of seeds (way more than needed) on top of a nice potting soil mix...second photo is of the MANY seedlings produced over the Winter.  Notice the little weed seedlings between the bricks??????  This might be how the idea was discovered.

NOW...when I was teaching I always suggested using clear plastic milk bottles.  With the top half cut open with a hinge uncut so the top could be folded back giving you space for the seed sprinkling. Also making it easier for snow, rain and sleet to moisten the soil and the seeds.  I'm not even sure those exist in these days of recycling.  But the black plastic pots are just as nice.

You sprinkle the seeds on the soil and then put the pots out on the back deck or the front walkways or up against the house or foundation or where ever they won't get knocked over.... but will get some Sun and will get rained on or snowed on.  No need to check on them.......unless you worry about some animals knocking them over.....????

We usually were growing perennials.  Plants that came back year after year all on their own...  Seeds and seedlings that have more gumption regarding staying alive in unpleasant weather.   Herbs?  Yes.

Okay the Master Gardener in me is finished for the day.....

No British Soccer on USA Today... Gigantic Bummer.  I have books and I once again.....travelled to t the sewing room looking for a certain color of fabric with black dots......as FATE would have it- the light brown with tan dots was actually a much better choice........for ONLY one specific square....but one is better than NONE.

I made Rhubarb Strawberry Jam yesterday using the frozen fruit, sugar and water.  Set it to simmer gently for a long time..... some pectin would have helped but...all fruit has some in its DNA so...it looks and tastes great.
 

Daily Notes from Coastal Maine- sunshine and 42 degrees. All the snow melted.

 I was interested in these small items.  At one time I had a hand carved collection of these...it was fun until I needed stitches.  One knife slip and...well, not fun.  ER visit. Stitches on fingers- very painful.

And I had places and pages to add little stamp images... it's fascinating and sad to see how narrow my Life is now.  And how open and full of things it once was......now everything is boxed up and well, Life goes on.....and then it's over.

Today is Grocery and Library Day.....  I haven't ordered any books...from other Libraries.  I still have some from last week that I haven't read as yet....and the bookcase is full so there is always something. To Read. I am keeping the two Lipman books for another week....like having some extra dark chocolate stashed.

The Black Fly count is diminishing.  I had five or six the day before yesterday and then none (or one) I can't recall.   I watched NEWS....OMG...... I had to stop.....  "hell in an hand basket"...I did LOVE watching him sleep thru a meeting .....on camera.

Daily Notes for Thursday November 13th. Cloudy and Damp here in Maine,

 I think this might be a ZEN FOOD CHART.   Oats, eggplant, beans, and tofu.

It's also the last of the new images in the right hand side of the screen where I keep things..... had a second chance at the one slow moving black fly of the day (so far). Got it.  FIFTEEN YESTERDAY. Yes, 15 flies yesterday - an all time high...

I accidentally watched some news out of Washington DC.  Super big mistake.

1.  I had to wait to see the newspaper to know what day of the week it was.....losing my grip.

2.  No Soccer.....Law and Order episodes get deleted as soon as I recall the episode details.... I've watched them all so many times..... I watched 15 minutes of Karate Kid.  Then moved on to Hallmark and  The Angel Tree- GAG.  And then I turned off the TV and started in on Ms Demeanor by Elinor Lipman.  I was super happy to have two Lipman books back to back.  Every Tom, Dick and Harry was a delight.  And I always love Ms Demeanor.

3.  I went into the mostly destroyed Fabric Room- tubs are everywhere etc.  I can get them off the shelving but no way can I lift them back up..... I was looking for a specific color and pattern ...I knew I had that particular fabric in every color variation it was printed in..... I did find yellow.  And eventually pink. I also have it in pale blue and dark blue... and a very lovely pale green.. and a dark green. If I work hard enough I will just make a pile of this particular fabric on the shelf....not in a tub.... and then in a tub when I finish this project....at the pace I am going..that will be never.  I have to make several of each color....sign... I have already run out of a particular  fabric that looked fantastic in the first square I made.  I have enough to add it to one or possibly two more squares...then I have to find something else.

4.  The  prompt for this project was using up what I have and actually like working with.  Dots.  I was tempted to just make the finished square (3) into potholders....but I noticed the gifted ones- are still in pristine condition in the homes they went to.......not used.  The ones in my house get dirty.   This would all be finished if I used the sewing machine....I am hand sewing because I actually prefer it.