Just a Short Update

 The first week of July brought good surprises as well as not so good.  B and I have been working through the not so good surprises while enjoying the good surprises.  When things sort themselves out, I will be back with a better update (I hope).

Happy belated Fourth of July!

Catching up

February started quietly which is always good in my book.  

On Thursday, the first, B took a large donation to St. Vincent DePaul store and 2 bags of groceries to their food bank.  I am constantly decluttering and usually have a bag or two to be donated.  I also look at sale items in the grocery store which not only we can use at home but I can also add to the bag for the food bank.

On Friday, Ground hog Day, we definitely got a laugh over the groundhog predicting an early spring for two reasons...one, the UP has never had a winter with springtime temperatures in decades like we are going thru now and two, our calendar on the four seasons and when they happen are usually just looking outside to see what it is doing.  Our weather never matches the calendar (or the groundhog).

On Saturday, we went to an antique show where the only thing we saw we liked was way overpriced. Then to the Hallmark store for Valentine cards for friends and family.  Craft Store was next to purchase some thread for some needlepoint projects I am working on.  Then B suggested we try the new Panera restaurant that just opened.  B had a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a bacon turkey sandwich. I had a bowl of tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.  Both were very good and we plan to go again.  We talked about the Texas Roadhouse restaurant which is supposed to be open in the spring and we will try that out.

Sunday was a sit around the house, watch movies and do nothing day (which is something we are quite good at).  Heard from our oldest son who lives in Nevada.  They got almost a foot of snow because of that storm moving into California and then into Nevada.  Since they never get that kind of weather, he did not have a snowblower so he was shoveling most of the day.  The only one really enjoying it was our grandpuppy Buster who likes to play in the snow.  I told my son that all the snow was so he wouldn't be homesick this time of year.  He told me he would rather be homesick for dad and me and not the snow.

Monday, we spent a good portion of the day on the computer trying to figure out when we could go to Nevada to visit our oldest son and dil.  What we found was more expensive than we thought and layovers in airports that were ridiculously long.  We will keep working on it.

Tuesday, the national and state news were full of good news which brightened our day.

Catching Up....

Having a no credit card month in January.  November and December had my credit card screaming so I decided to give it a vacation.  So far so good.

First blizzard of the new year.  Started last Friday night and lasted until last Sunday morning. 40mph winds, 26" of snow and very very cold.  Only good thing about it was we didn't lose power.

B went out on Sunday to start cleaning up after the blizzard.  We have two snowblowers. A small deck snowblower because the snow gets too heavy to shovel and toss over the railings of the deck and a large snowblower for the driveway.  He was out there for about 3 hours and then came back in to warm up and rest.  He then informed me that this would be his last winter to do this.  Next winter, we will be hiring someone to come in and do the plowing.  At 78 years old, B has reached the breaking point on clearing up the snow.  I was quite happy about this announcement as I had brought it up a few years ago and he rejected the idea.

Last Sunday night, we watched the premiere of a new mini-series "Monsieur Spade" and were quite happy with it.  Good carryover from the movie "The Maltese Falcon" with Humphrey Bogart.

After waiting 3 decades, my football team, Detroit Lions, have gotten into the playoffs.  Happy Day!!

I am reading a wonderful series "The Thursday Murder Club" by Richard Osman.  It is about 4 retirees living in a retirement community and they solve murders at the same time.  There are 4 books in the series so far and I have started number three.  I am enjoying them alot.  Another book series along the same lines is "The Marlowe Murder Club" by Robert Thorogood.  I recommend both series.

Wednesday is the dentist. We were supposed to go last week but the morning of our appointment, the dentist office called and canceled as the dentist was ill that day so we are rescheduled for this week.  We will still go to Hobby Lobby after the appointment but since we need to grocery shop this week, we will go to the grocery store across from Hobby Lobby before we head home.  We like to incorporate as many errands as possible in as few trips in the car as possible due to the cost of gas and the weather.

Hobby Lobby had a big sale and I was able to get many things almost 50% off.  Found a couple of things to put away for Christnas gifts for the youngest son and a birthday gift for my dil for this Saturday.  I am also trying to use up some fabric scraps so I decided to make potholders and picked up a yard of insulbrite for the inside while I was there.  Some other misc items and all in all not too expensive what with sale prices and the gift card my dil gave me for Christmas.   

It's amazing how quiet and less crowded stores are after the holidays.  I much prefer to shop that way.  But since the holidays get way too "peopley", I shop online for the holidays.  I dislike crowds where it's wall to wall people.

We have had to turn on extra heaters in the last two weeks.  I am not looking forward to my heating bill.  I am sure it will be way higher than we have seen it in the last few winters.  Isn't climate change wonderful?

Stay warm and stay safe.

 

Catching Up

My Christmas shopping is finally complete.  I still have wrapping to do but not as much as in previous years.  Previously I have waited to wrap when all the shopping is done but this year I tried to wrap as soon as I could so as not to have to do so much last minute.

From my shopping excursions, I saved plastic bags for kitty litter scooping and paper bags for the local thrift store.

I made appointments for B and my annual Medicare physicals for January.

We received a Christmas card from the new pastor at our church.  First time in the 50 years we have been members there that we have gotten one.

Dinner menus for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day done. For Christmas Eve, we are doing a seafood supper in honor of our dil who is vegetarian.  She offered to bring dessert which I am happy about.  One less thing for me to make.  Christmas Day we will have a turkey breast (everyone is partial to white meat) with all the trimmings and our dil is bringing her baked ziti which has no meat in it.  She brought it last Christmas and it was very good.  It is also great as leftovers the next day.  She says she is slowly introducing us to vegetarian eating.  I also got all the holiday dishware washed and set aside for both days.

Baking is done.  I made 3 dozen snowball cookies, 4 dozen different kinds of sugar cookies, and peanut butter cookies (B's favorite).

My family finds it terribly amusing how organized I have become but, to me, with organization comes a stress free holiday.  A stress free holiday means more time to enjoy Christmas movies, Christmas music and time spent with the most important people in my life...my family.

Catching Up...

Note to Maebeme:  I read your blog regularly and although I can't comment (my computer won't let me), I want you to know how much I enjoy reading it.

B & I went Christmas tree and wreath shopping with my son and dil.  It was so strange because there was very little snow on the ground at the tree farm.  A former student of mine works there and he said that this year was the first time he didn't have to get the snowplow out to make paths to the trees through the snow.  The picture is of my son and dil by the tree farm truck. We also took time from our shopping to have some hot apple cider by the fire pit.  It is a wonderful tradition we enjoy every year.

After the kids took the Christmas decorations they wanted, We donated the rest to various organizations around town.

We finished decorating the house both inside and out and it looks lovely.  I am starting to get into the holiday spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

We received winter tax bill this week and was surprised to see it went up almost $200. Good things it is not due till the end of February so we will have caught up with Christmas bills by then.

Speaking of February, 2024 is a leap year!  How awesome!