Day 1...

It was a gloriously beautiful day in Minnesota today. Sunny, warm, the windows could be opened up, just wonderful.
We usually have holiday meals early, 1-2 p.m. but this year I had everyone come over about 3 p.m. knowing we wouldn't be eating until about 4 p.m. I wanted time to get things done (clean baths, dust, vacuum, tidy) without going crazy. I'm known to get a little overwhelmed when I have too much to do, and people (my immediate family) get in my way, or make even more work for me.
I was even bathed and dressed well before anyone arrived.
I used a brine my son had used (except I didn't use sugar and I guess I was supposed to - it tasted great anyway) and lots of herbed butter under and on the skin, then stuck it in the roaster. It was scrumptious. The dressing turned out great, the sweet potatoes turned out great, all the sides that were brought turned out great and my mom's Pumpkin Chiffon pie was superb as usual.
We were able to skype both Andy and Kira although not at the same time. The dogs behaved themselves, the relatives behaved themselves, everyone got along, no fights, no nasty comments and they all stayed waaayyyy longer than usual.

All in all, it was an excellent Thanksgiving and I am very grateful for that. (plus my house and porch got cleaned!!)

Day 2...

The way I've been counting down these days is a bit off. If I would post first thing in the morning it would make a little more sense, but Oh well.
I am grateful today for a little thing. Not very long ago, I got home from work, made myself a cup of coffee, warmed up a few sugar covered pumpkin doughnut holes, changed clothes and turned on my computer and proceeded to snarf down those doughnut holes. (No calories in the holes, right??) I figure before I start doing any of the things I need to do before dinner tomorrow, I had better make a list.
Ahhh, lists, I love lists. When I make a list and my hand writing is messy, I will sometimes make the list over, writing nice and neat the next time. I think I will try to stay away from the OCD tonight, or it will be next week and I still won't be done.

I bought this pretty little notebook at Target and I wrote my first words in it tonight...

Thanksgiving Countdown


I will sit in front of my computer as I watch 'American Horror Story' and I will make my list, as In order as possible. Hopefully I will be done by the time David gets home from work, because then we have to go for a walk (Annie can't survive without her walks-hahaha)
So, I guess I better get at it!

Ooh, look, it even has lines...notebooks with lines are the best. Well, actually, handmade paper notebooks are the best, but this is a very close second.

Day 3...

I just watched a youtube video about a pit bull in a California kill shelter. As I sat there and watched this poor dog with his head hanging down, his right eye puffed closed, his left eye puffy and oozing, dermatotic mange, red and raw in areas, a Cocker Rescue woman noticed him and her heart melted. Through her network of friends, their friends and her rescue knowledge, she was able to find a Vet that would donate his time and talent to treat his mange and neuter him, people to donate food, supplies, and money for his recovery. They were able to find a Pit Rescue in Canada that would foster him in their home, socialize him, introduce him to other dogs, love him and let him blossom, and they got enough donations to be able to pay for his flight there. He went from a sick, scared, broken dog, that had no reason to wag his tail and days away from being euthanized to a happy, healthy, much loved dog who found his forever home with a pal to run around the yard with, tail wagging non-stop.
This story is much, much longer, and if you would like to see it yourself, the link is at the end.

It's a story to make you cry and it's a story to make you smile, it's a story that will make you want to help and it's a story that confirms the fact that there are a whole bunch of wonderful people out there.
I am so grateful for these loving, caring people. People who donate their time, talents, money to help Just One Dog. Without them, the world would be a sad place.
I would like to live the rest of my life as one of these wonderful people. If I can just start out small, do one thing at a time, donate to the Humane Society the price of just one grande, skim, pumpkin spice latte a week...well, that would help a lot.
So I say Thank You to all the anonymous, giving, caring, loving people in the world. They were able to save Just One Dog and his name is Stanley   http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblip.tv%2Fcamp-cocker%2Fjust-one-dog-3033717&h=zAQFZmNfQ

4 days to go...

We had a square metal table that was without a top, it had a glass top once upon a time, but it freakishly broke. (not going into that, too boring) I've been searching for an end table for the family room without any luck. I wanted something old and or used because I have an antique trunk in there so pretty and new just wouldn't cut it, plus, I'm cheap!
A couple of years ago I installed slate tile behind the wood burning stove and I was looking at it the other day when I remembered the metal table in the garage. Blink-lightbulb over head-I'll make a slate top for the table!
Today I made a stop at The Tile Shop and headed right for the slate. I found the color I needed, Copper Rust, and played around with some designs on the floor to make sure I got what I was looking for. I also picked up a piece of Chiaro Travertine for the middle.
Once home, I spread newspaper all over the kitchen floor, brought my laptop down to the kitchen (so I could be entertained while I worked) and spray painted a layer of Dark Walnut on the metal part (I was very careful).
David had already cut the cement board last night so I was able to start laying the tile in the design I wanted.
I put the board on the floor, with a couple of extra tiles under one edge so I could pick it up easier later on, and layed out the design. I covered it with a piece of newspaper and started to apply another layer of paint. As I was moving around, I heard a loud crack. I had stepped on the newspaper that was covering the board and because of those extra tiles under it, (just so I could pick the darn thing up) when I stepped on it, the big Travertine tile in the center cracked. I contemplated going out to get another tile, but I figure this will be a conversation starter. hahaha
I'll let the adhesive dry overnight and grout it tomorrow after work. I think it will look pretty nice and it cost a whopping $29.00.
I am very grateful that I have been blessed with some imagination and skill, and a little stupidity too.

Here is the table top pre-grout.

Oops, 5 days...

Hmmm, I forgot to post yesterday.
I worked yesterday and it was a sleeper of a day, which is good, seeing as how I work in a hospital, but it's also not so good because the day just seems to drag on and on and on.
I'm grateful I have a job to go to, boring or not.

Day 6 and counting...

I'm grateful for a couple things today, one is the website Project Free TV, where I can watch just about anything I desire, even HBO's True Blood and Syfy"s Warehouse 13. If you haven't seen Warehouse 13, you really must give it a try, it's funny. There was a website I found last year where I could watch True Blood, I even forwarded it on to several friends, but this year it just would not work for me. When Andy was home last, he was watching something on his computer, when I heard the familiar HBO sound. It would be an understatement to say I was a little excited. I tried it, it works, I love it!! Enough said.

The second thing I am grateful for today, is the fact that I am still alive and in one piece. I worked today and we were commenting on the fact that it will be busy tonight at work because of the first snowfall of the season. People totally forget how to drive in snow, as did a man in a pick-up truck that I happened to be following down the ramp onto Hwy. 100 from Bottineau Blvd. There were three of us, a pick-up, then me, then another car. We were more than 1/2 was down the ramp and I was looking at the truck, then I noticed that the ramp wasn't wet, but shiny with ice. I put my brakes on just a tad and apparently the pick-up did the same thing except he put them on too hard. The pick-up started to fishtail back and forth and my first thought was...I just got my car fixed a couple of months ago, I don't want to crash my car, then, it will cost me money, Oh my God, what if the pick-up hits the wall and flips over, how can I get out of the way, there is no where for me to go. Thankfully he either knew how to drive well, or he was used to fishtailing with his pick-up. What ever the case, he was able to straighten out and not hit anything and I think it kind of scared him because he was driving real slow once we got onto Hwy. 100. I continued driving home, said many 'Thank-yous', and watched additional pick-ups and some cars just speed on past me. Jerks!

Day 7...

I had a headache from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It was one of my Fibro headaches that I get when I put pressure on the wrong part of my head. I had coffee, an Excedrine extra strength, more coffee, a burger for lunch, and finally, in late afternoon, it just went away. That's the way this kind of headache works, no matter what I do or take, it will be there until around 5:00 p.m. Very strange.
I got to leave work early because I went in special last evening to get all the Mayo work taken care of. They were switching over to their new lab system today and they took their old system down at 10:00 p.m. last night and would not be up and running until noon today at the earliest.
I would have just stayed at work, because it's not like I couldn't find something to do, but my head hurt so bad I just wanted to leave, and I had a Target and Petco run before I could go rest.
I got all my errands finished with my headache intact, got home and put everything away and decided I just had to get outside. There is snow in the forecast and there were things left in the yard that shouldn't be there so I changed clothes and went out to pick up apples. I got them all picked up and raked out the wood chips that David dumped out. I tidied up rakes and buckets and stuff and noticed that I no longer had that nasty headache. Now, I could say it went away because it was such a beautiful day out, pleasant, mild November weather, the fresh smell of Autumn, the concentration of picking and raking, but I would be lying. The headaches are an entity all by themselves.
I do have to say that the beautiful day certainly did lighten my spirits though and I'm hoping that the snow misses us for the time being. I'd like to wait until after Thanksgiving to get snow.  ;-)

I downloaded a new camera app and here is something I was playing around with:

Only 8 Days...

I am so grateful for technology. With two of my children living hundreds of miles away, it is a lifesaver to be able to text and talk with them at any time we choose.
I remember when I was a little girl and faithfully watched The Jetson's, I thought that being able to both talk and see a person on a t.v. screen while making a phone call was amazing. I never really thought anything would come of it, even when there was talk of being able to see the person you were talking on the phone to. I always thought that would be a bad idea...what if someone called me and I had my hair up in rollers, or was in my pajamas, or had just got out of the tub? Besides, it was talked about for so many years, I had forgotten all about it, until I started to hear the word Skype. I thought, what in the world is that? When I found out, I thought, well, I'll never need to use that. Who would have thought my children would not only move out on their own, they would move way, way out.
We don't Skype that often, but it seems that we all know when it's time. Skyping forces you to pay attention to the person you are talking to. Often, we are busy trying to do several things at one time and tend to only half listen to the person we are with. It's much harder to multitask when you are on Skype because you need to be in front of the computer's camera, unless you want to be extremely rude.
I've gotten to see a tour of their apartments, be introduced to new pets, be introduced to room mates and boyfriends. We were even able to do a three way Skype once. We could do it again, but our free trial is over and no one wants to spend the money to do it again. If it only needed one person to pay, I would gladly do that, but it's an all or nothing sort of thing, and as we all know, money is usually pretty tight with young people.
Because I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish today and pretty much wasn't able to do any, I didn't want to talk when Kira called, so instead, this afternoon Kira and I Skyped while I peeled and cut a bunch of pears. As you see, I didn't make much of a dent in the mound of pears I have. They are sooo delicious!

Day 9...

Today was my day off, and although it was cold, it was sunny and for most of the day, it was nice and felt pretty good. I had a wonderful time wandering around by myself.
This morning I checked my computer for possible movies to see but I didn't find anything I felt like sitting through. I didn't feel like going to the zoo, because I wanted at least part of the day to do a little shopping, and I can spend the whole day at the zoo. I decided against driving to Stillwater because I told myself it was too cold to enjoy myself walking the sidewalks from shop to shop. Wimp! I would have stayed home to catch up on some TV shows I've missed, but I knew I would just be mad at myself for not getting outside.
So...I hopped in my car and drove to Dunn Bros and got a small, skim, pumpkin pie Icecrema with a little light whipped cream. Mmmmmm, I have to figure out how to make these myself, or maybe I shouldn't. Then I drove the few blocks to Bachman's. I picked up a couple of  'girl gifts' for Christmas while I was there, and the makings for a candle centerpiece. Next I went to JoAnn's and got some greens and flower stems for one of the huge ceramic pots we bought this summer. After JoAnn's came Michael's for glitter and spray paint, Pier I for a candle then LeeAnn Chin's for Lemon Chicken, Fried Rice, Cream Cheese Wontons and a Strawberry Lemonade. Yum..this was both my lunch and dinner, so I didn't feel tooooo bad.
David had dropped off the vacuum at Oreck last week and they called to say it was ready to pick up, so I did that. It's cleaned, adjusted and has a new Hepa filter bag all ready for more dirt and hair. My last stop was Target for some batteries for one of those triple candle holders that sit on a windowsill that are popular for the Holidays. It even has a dusk to dawn sensor, Yippee.
All this wandering took me seven hours, it was lovely.
I got home, put batteries in the candle holder, cleaned off the glass jar for the candle centerpiece, put other stuff away and went for a walk. I didn't have a choice about the walk, Annie wouldn't give me a choice. She knew it was the usual time for a walk (early actually), and she let me know by staring at me, her head tilting from side to side, crouching down with her front legs straight out and her hind end up in the air. All I said was, Walk and she went nuts. I had to layer on some clothes, put on gloves and a headband, grab a dog treat, clip on her leash and, most important when it is totally dark out...put on the reflective vest. So fashionable.
It was realy quite pleasant while walking east and south, but once we turned west, then north, it was very, very windy and cold. It felt good anyway and I'm glad she let me know she wanted to go for a walk.
So, I am grateful for nice days, getting to do what ever I want to.

I'm also grateful that I have only One clumsy pet. This lamp was just sitting on a cabinet that Little-Bit wanted to be on. Being Mr. Clumsy, he tried to jump on the cabinet from the sofa (a foot away) and couldn't fit his pudgy body in the space the lamp was in, so now it is broken. It isn't anything that can't be fixed, but geez cat, really??? (I have found out that it is an Old Wives Tale that all cats are graceful!)

Thanksgiving Day 10...

I am so very grateful that I have tomorrow off. No work, yay!!!
I'm trying to decide what I want to do with my day off:

a). Take pictures of animals at the Minnesota Zoo
b). Visit antique stores in Stillwater
c). Wander around Bachman's with a Dunn Bros Icecrema
d). Draw with my huge set of Prismacolor pencils
e). See a movie
f).  Stay at home and catch up on TV
g). Clean the house
h). Cut up and freeze tons of pears

Hmmm, I think I've already figured out how I'm going to spend my day off...I think.

Day 11...

When Bodywise Theraputic Massage closed it's doors at the beginning of this year, I was worried that I would have a difficult time finding someplace to get relief. David had given me a gift certificate for a Hot Stone massage at Massage Envy and he knew what happened to Bodywise, so he kept pushing me to go get my massage.
After the first one, I got sucked in to signing up for the membership. It has turned out to be a good thing for me. I pay a certain amount each month and I get a massage each month. I make the next massage when I'm checking out, otherwise I tend to put off making the phone call.
I'm not sure if the way they massage is different than Bodywise, or if my Fibromyalgia has gotten worse, but I do know that the massages Hurt! (I actually believe it is the Fibro) Both arms, parts of my legs and my glutes have this cold, white pain, I can't say red-hot, because it doesn't feel like a burn, it feels very painful, intense, almost cold and sharp. Not very pleasant at all, but...I guess it is what it is.
I've had Amy the last two times and I'll have her again in a few weeks, and she is very good at getting my knots loosened up. She says that my shoulders and neck are very tight, and that I might want to do some stretching and maybe use the tennis ball in the sock. hahahahaha I'm stretching constantly and I have a Theracane, my muscles just start tightening up as soon as I walk out the door of Massage Envy.
Anyway, to make a short story long, I am grateful for walks and massages, my energy pills, and B vitamins, Fish Oil and sam-e. If I take all of my vitamin/supplements, loosen up by going for a walk and get regular massages, I feel pretty darn human, and for that, I am very grateful.

Thanksgiving countdown - Day 12...

Caroline, from http://www.nowordz.com has been posting daily about things she is grateful for.
Thanksgiving will be here in just 12 days, so I figure I still have time to think of some things I am grateful for.



I am very grateful for a husband that can ignore the bad side of my personality.
He has a 'thick skin' and is able to let not so nice comments just slide off his shoulders.
He doesn't take things personally, so he's able to be himself where ever he goes.
He is comfortable around people, so he is able to converse easily with my co-workers, yet he has learned to let me be and not bring any attention to me when we go to a gathering with a lot of people that he knows and I don't. 
He can be silly, and goofy, and sweet, and that is Okay!!

Cleaning windows...

I thoroughly despise cleaning windows. I guess it's not a wonder then, why I can barely see out of them most of the year. hmmmm
I only clean them twice a year, unless Oliver sneezes a big honking goober on one, or Annie decides to use the window to wipe her wet nose. So twice a year, Spring, when it's time to open up the windows to the fresh spring air, and Autumn, when it's time to close them for the season to keep out the cold.
I started with my bedroom at about 14:00 and finished only five windows by 17:00. That sounds like an awfully long time to clean five windows, but not only do I have the regular windows, I also have combination storm windows too. I have to remove the inner windows (thank God they come out), then remove the combinations. I  vacuum off the screen section and wipe down the frame, then I clean both sides of each of the other sections. I clean the sill and any visible gunk. Next I clean both sides of the inner windows then put them all back.
If I just did that much, I would have gotten a few more done, but as long as I had the wood cleaner out, I cleaned the wooden frame, then dusted the rest of the room. I also had to vacuum behind the nightstand that I pulled out to get to the window.
I did Kira's room next (we decided to call the rooms our kids vacated by their names, it was easier than renaming them), and I had to pull out the love seat, vacuum, and re-arrange a bit.
Next was Andy's room. The window was no problem, but when that was all shiny, I took a look at the blinds and decided they were way too disgusting to leave, so I clean one of them too. It looks like new!! I still have the double windows and blind to clean in that room.
After Andy's room, I only have two more upstairs, then I can proceed to the main floor. I only have 24 windows and a patio door down there. Thankfully though, only six of those windows have combinations, the rest only have a screen (which I hate).
I really would like to finish tomorrow before it gets too cold. It's too hard on my poor fingertips when it's cold.

It's so dark...

Damn, it's happening already.
I'm going to have to plan all of my outings to be over before it gets dark. I don't see great during the day, when there is ample light, so in the evening when it's dark, with the lights from oncoming cars in my eyes, and Haley's Comet tails on all the lights, it's a little frightening to try to keep my car in my lane, while I try to determine just how close other cars are to me.
I am exaggerating a bit, but not by much. This Salzmann's Degeneration I have on both eyes, but way worse on my left eye, gives all lights a smear to the left, much like the tail of a comet.
During the spring and summer and even early autumn, I have freedom to go where ever I want, when ever I want. Even the middle of winter is tolerable, but after early autumn through to early spring, I feel that I am at the mercy of my husband if I want to go somewhere in the evening.
It just hit me tonight at 18:00, when I drove to Culver's to get a burger, that I had to concentrate very hard on the road. If I just had a hard time seeing in the dark, I would at least feel like most of the older drivers out there, but the comet tail smear just blurs all the lights and makes things even worse.
So...it's going to be a very long winter.