Yes, I’m Still Alive

Look what came in the mail yesterday! 
Don’t you just love getting packages?? Especially when they have SB’s signature on them. And just thinking about ‘spring’ helps to brighten my day!!!  Can’t hardly believe we’re already half way through the month of February!! 

My feeders have been busy these last few weeks. We figured they were filling up in anticipation of an upcoming snow storm. But thankfully we only got an inch or two each time. But .... there is always that old northwest winds that actually seem to shake the house. That dropped our wind chill temperatures way.....below zero. 

Here’s what our weather was like for awhile. Yes, it did feel like almost 40 below one morning. I’m so glad I didn’t have to get out in it. 

I did get out one weekend for the twinses birthday party! They turned 7 years old!! ( This photo was at school) their party was at one of those places that have all kinds of jumping houses. They (along with all their friends) were running from house to house. smile... oh...to have all that energy!!! Ha!!!

The following Saturday we (my son & wife) went to the fish fry (where Tom and I use to go). It was so fun to see everyone and of course the food was amazing!!!

Well, time for bed. I hope all is well in your little corner of the world. 

Bye for now. ....

Birds & Answer

A bird in a cage. Do you see the chick-a-dee in the round squirrel proof feeder? Always amazies me how they squeeze through those wires and get in there!!! 

Even the big Downy woodpecker has been at the feeder. There have been several of the smaller ones there too. Maybe his sons??? Ha!

This was why they were hitting the feeders!! This is about all we got. Not much...,thank goodness! Today we woke up to ice!!! Ugggg Schools started late, which was the responsible thing to do. But our temps never got very high today, so we’ve still got ice on sidewalks etc. 

Here was my birthday cake!! One of the ladies from our Bible Study made it for me!!! She left me a couple pieces and I finished it off today for lunch. It’s was so delicious and very thoughtful of her!!! (No candles-as I would have had way too many!!) 

My daughter shared this with me Sunday night. She said, “I looked out the bedroom window before church this morning and look at the visitor we had..  I must admit I felt a sense of love, weird huh..  Like Tom was here..  Crazy...  I very rarely see a Cardinal...

My house is full of cardinals, which I will show you in another post. Their suppose to be a symbol of a loved one who has passed. So to me it’s Tom!!!

Now to the answer you’ve all been waiting for......😁 My favorite, of course was the picture!!! Love those Grand Girls!!!!!

What is your weather like in your little corner of the world?? I’d love to hear. 

Bye for now....

It’s a Rainy Day in the City

Yes, it has been raining all day. And it was cold, our high was only 43. Not sure if you can see it, but the blue house still has a chimney and I love seeing smoke float out of it!! Most houses have PVC pipe coming out the side of their house. This is just nostalgic for me😊

I know this is not a very good picture of this Blue Jay, but was kind of excited when I saw it fly in!!! And of course it flew out just as fast!!!

I told you in my last post about our first snow, it was on October 14th☹️ We only got .06, but who wants cold and snow that early -ugggg

I have had some pretty colors out my window !!! These are the neighbors trees, I have mostly Ash and they drop their leaves early. (As you can see)

I did get out and about the other day and no snow or rain - thank goodness but... I had thought about wearing this new sweater coat I had just gotten. It is so pretty in all fall colors. So as I was getting dressed I looked at the weather on my phone and it said it felt like 25 degrees.  Another ugggg. So instead I wore my coat and scarf to keep warm. But later it really was pretty nice out. I even stopped at a store and did a little shopping. That was unusual for me😁 Seemed nice though. Then I stopped at BK and got and got a $3 meal. I sat in their parking lot and ate it (while it was hot) I did get a little boo hoo thinking of the many times Tom and I did the same thing. I don’t think a person ever gets over missing a loved one. 

Well, I need to change the few clocks I have that don’t automatically do it themselves and my calendars.  Can you believe it’s November already??? Where did October go????

Bye for now. ...

Happy Halloween

I had visitors this afternoon.... She (the clown) scared me almost to death when she walked in.  I didn't even realized it was my friend/caregiver.. ha! Then I knew when her children followed her in. It is always fun when they come by, especially on Halloween!! ha! ha! I thought their costumes were amazing... 

A couple days before my twin great granddaughters came by. They were selling popcorn for a school fundraiser.. And of course grandma wanted to buy some.. This popcorn is amazing...we used to buy it at the Farmers Market, as they had a booth down there. Tom would say, lets try this one and this one..ha! It's a wonder we didn't gain a million pounds!! ~smile~

Normally whenever kids come to the door to sell their items for school I buy them, as I know what it's like to do that. It takes courage to knock on that door!! I don't remember doing this, but my girlfriend Mary, told me I sold hers along with mine, as she didn't have the nerve to try and sell them..ha ha  Did you ever do that??

Another bird....we call it a "snow bird", because it has a dark body, with a white belly..Their official name is a 'dark eyed Junco'. They too are pretty though.

Our weather has been pretty nice. I have to get out tomorrow morning. But it sounds like we're to get some rain/snow tomorrow night. I feel it's way too early for that again. I will share pictures of our first snow we had tomorrow.

Bye for now... 

Visitors and MS Walk

This was Rusty on April 18th! Yes, he's covered with *snow*... uggg  And my granddaughter Ashley and her husband Ben from Georgia, were flying in the next day!!! Ashley was hoping they'd get to see some of it, but by the time they got here, 99% of it had melted. ha! 

 

 The kids had come up for our MS Walk. Ashley always designs the t-shirts every year. I hope you can read the verse she wrote on it. Very beautiful and moving. ("feathers, cardinals and butterflies too, these are all signs your angels are walking with you." She did all the drawing and writing herself. The fonts are all her designs.

  

Saturday, April 21st was our walk. It was soooo cold. Everyone, well almost everyone had jackets, gloves, scarves, and ear muffs on. Poor Ben, who was born and raised in the south, certainly was not expecting these kind of temperatures!!! We were greeted with these signs.. My team was one of the top five teams last year (as well as this year!)

  

We were able to get a picture of our team. (One lady, her boyfriend and her Mom had already left before we had everyone gathered together. :( ) You probably can't really see it, but as I said it was so cold, and my neurologist was there and she covered my legs with a throw...which I kept on, all day! ha! What a blessing!!!

 



That night, we saw we were on the news! We didn't even know they were filming us! ha! Ashley was taking those first pictures of the sidewalk...leading to the shelter. She said the lady behind us was in a hurry, probably since it was so cold and there Ashley was stopping to take a photo...!

 

Here is Ben one morning..fixing biscuits and sausage gravy, plus Ashley made scrambled eggs. Yumm I could keep them around. Ha!!

 

Rusty loved Ben...see his little foot propped up against Ben's leg while he was sleeping!!

 

One day we went up to War Eagles Monument, they were looking over the interstate, river and city.

 

Ashley took this selfie of them when they were up there. (Great photo!!) 

We also went somewhere else, as I wanted them to see the Canadian Geese. They are so pretty!! Ben loves nature..

Here we are the day they were getting ready to fly home. That was a thankful and sad day. It was amazing having them here. We did some other things too, Ashley got to join my Bible Study on Friday, we went to church Sunday, out to eat afterwards and to visit her aunt and uncle. Ben worked on my shower and deck.. They are such beautiful children, inside and out!!

And then it was over.... there they go... heading into the terminal and me heading home.

 

Now you see some of my busy time last month. It was just wonderful though.

 

Today was nice, it was 82 degrees! My son and DIL were here. He took me to do some of my running. (He's such a good boy!) I have my air-conditioner going with these high temps. And I finally got the pilot light for the fireplace shut off last week. I really believe spring is finally here..

 

Bye for now....

"Happy First Day of Spring'

Finally got a picture of a robin. I've been hearing them singing their little hearts out, but could never spot them.. Then once I did, I couldn't get a picture of them.. However, last Friday we woke to an icy world. You might think this poor robin was froze to the tree, but trust me..it flew off right after I took this photo!!

 

I have been so...so busy, after my basement flooded it was madding around here. Workers were here cleaning up, removing the carpet, running commercial fans and dehumidifiers for a week!!! After those were removed, I had them clean the basement. (Which they did an amazing job doing.) My daughter and granddaughter were due to come for 10 days on the 9th of this month. So, I wanted the basement re-carpet-ed (new word...meaning put down new carpet! LOL) I finally decided on one (which I love).  To do this, my chair lift had to be removed and put back on. Since it was over 15 years old, I choose to put a new one in at this time. The new ones have a battery backup, which is very comforting to know. This way it will take me up or down even if the electricity is off.

 

While they were here, we went down and visited their aunt Lela and uncle Bob. This was St. Patrick's Day and Bob's 86th birthday!! Lela will catch up with him and a couple weeks!! They are such lovely people, and we always enjoy our time with them.

 

Here they are with me. It was a fun day, she had made supper (as we call it - do you still use this term or do you use dinner for the evening meal??) She had made loosemeats, baked beans and a macaroni salad. And poke cake for dessert!!

 

I have much more to share, but here we all are when they left Sunday. My son and his wife took them to the airport on their way home. The house is so quiet...my granddaughter and I had some silly belly laughs and my tummy muscles are so sore...but it's the best kind of sore I know of!! It's been a long time since I've laughed that much. I told her I want her to fly home once a month...LOL But we'll do the next best thing...we'll Facetime!!

 

How has your weather been? We woke to a dusting of snow this morning. Glad that was all we got. I finally (in the mix) finished the newsletter and got all of them mailed off today!! It is now time to focus on our upcoming MS Walk. Calls need to be made and letters need to go out!!! My other granddaughter and her husband will be here for that. It will be sooooo much fun..having them here!!

 

Bye for now..

A Good Day

Today was a very good day! Our weather was soooo nice, with a high of 57 degrees! We always have Bible Study on Fridays...and am always nervous about the weather. (Especially since I live on a hill..I never know if they can make it to my house!) But today was perfect!! Normally, as we study the word, we'll have some sort of treats! Well, today Sandi surprised me with a birthday cake! Even had candles on it!! 

It has been many years since I've had to blow out candles!! Ha! Ha! But I got them all with one breath! Guess my lung exercises are helping...smile... (And I'm very thankful that she didn't put one for every year on it!!) I'd probably still be blowing out candles.. hee..hee!

Pastor said she wanted to take this picture! And that my shirt even matched!! 

Sandi...the same lady got me this cardinal globe for Christmas! It is so beautiful. She lost her husband a few months after Tom passed. So when we spot a cardinal out my window (at my feeder) it reminds us of our lost ones...

Isn't it pretty??

Speaking of birds, she said she heard a robin when she came in! Oh boy, will they be sorry! Today was gorgeous, but by Sunday we are to have up to 6" of snow with 45 mph winds...uggg However, it is January!! And it is normally a winter day on my birthday! (That was always one of the reasons I could never have kids over for a birthday party...) But....finally when I turned 17..my girlfriends came and we had a sleepover! We fixed homemade pizza...and had pop (which was a very big treat!) We all crashed on the living room floor...while my very good looking 19 year old brother was asleep in the next room on the couch!! Oh, such simpler times.. 

Bye for now...pray is all well with you...

I had soup today...

It is so cold  and yet..look at my shamrock plant! It is blooming in spite of that cold window behind it!! I know it's kind of hard to see..but the bloom is sprouting out to the right.. 

We have been having such beautiful sun rises. Makes it all worth getting up early!! Ha!

So pretty, huh??

And this one, I think was my favorite! 

I did get to see the super moon...but it was too cold and snowy for me to step out at night and shoot it. I would have been in soooo much trouble if I had done thst! My kids would have really scolded me...lol But, I know better anyway... Did you see it? Or take any pictures??

I did make the soup today. I used the breast from a rotisserie chicken (boy they've gone up in price!!). I will make chicken noodle tomorrow and use the chicken up! I plan on freezing most of the soups. Makes for a nice meal any day for me! I love soup year round. How about you? Do you like it only in the cold months? Do you have a good chicken noodle soup recipe? The one I have, Tom and I changed it up a little to fit our tastes. 

(I forgot to get a picture of my soup today...by the time I got my laundry and exercise finished and made the soup....I was starving... ha!) So I am very tired tonight! (And by the way..I added the can of green chiles, which made it 8  Can Soup..if you don't want to add them that's fine too.) Here is the recipe. 

8- Can Chicken Taco Soup

1 can (10 oz) Enchilada sauce, green (use ½ or all)

1 can (12.5 oz) chicken breast -drained and flaked *

1 can (15 oz) Black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) Pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) Sweet corn, drained

1 can (14.5 oz) Tomatoes, petite diced

1 can (14 oz.) Chicken broth, low-sodium

1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles

½ tsp. Chili powder

1 packet Taco seasoning

½ tsp Cumin

½ tsp. Garlic powder

 Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream and avocado.

*Notes:

Use 1 ½ cups of your own shredded chicken if that’s what you prefer. 

Bye for now🍲

We've Been in the Deepfreeze Here

(This is looking out my kitchen window this morning..as the sun was rising!)

How was your New Years? Did you celebrate the coming in of a new year? Or did you go to bed early and pray that you'd wake up to the new year of 2018?? With our inclimate weather of wind chills of minus 45 below plus record setting temperatures of 23 below zero ...uggg...I choose to dig out my flannel pajamas and snuggle in my bed early!! 

Here is a picture of my daughter Brenda, along with my granddaughters Amanda and Ashley celebrating Christmas in Georgia. That is where they live. But even they had low temperatures. (In the 20's and 30's) 

And back here in Iowa, here are my other 3 grandchildren. Wendy, Jesse and Lacey. It was so nice to have Jesse home from Colorado to celebrate Christmas!! 

And here they are with my great grandchildren! The twins, Ivy and Eden and Maggie and Lorelai..what a fun day that was!!

And back to my house, and Rusty's yard..ha! We did get about 6 inches total of snow. It seemed like it was every other day that we got some😟 But our totals were nothing compared to others east of us. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

I hope you're all doing well!

Bye for now...

And So It Has Come To An End

 

Another year has sped by like these cars. Some are glad to see it end due to all the negative and sorrow that were experienced. But through those things we grow and hopefully become stronger. Personally, I've experienced another loss again this year, but have also found blessings galore. I do have faith and hope, and with these things God will help and watch over me.

 

I pray that in this upcoming year you will find good health, love, understanding and happiness.

 

"As we look ahead to the new year, lets remember that God has always been and always will be faithful." (from Our Daily Bread devotional)

 

My morning started with the sounds of the snow plow dropping it's blade against the cement of the street as it made another sweep around the block and by my house. (along with -35 below wind chills and 3 and a half inches of snow) and so the night ends with the sounds of fireworks going off around the city! (Not as many as the fourth of July...probably since it's 18 degrees below zero, with wind chills of -33...)

See there are blessings all around! ha!!

 

Bye for now...

What a Wonderful Thanksgiving Day

~Maggie Sue and Grandma Gert~

Wow! Can you believe Thanksgiving is over a  

week behind us??  I know, everyone says..."time is just flying by!" And I have to totally agree.

 

My Thanksgiving was amazing!  My son and his wife Vicky spent a couple nights with me. (which I absolutely love!) We went for a little drive before we went to Vicky's mom's for dinner. I made a salad and had gotten a Perkins apple pie. (my neighbor girl was selling them as a fundraiser for her school.) Sue had the full Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole...etc..etc..etc.. Way too much food-as always!! ha!  The weather was so...so nice. We even hit a *record high of 63 degrees. Speaking of highs...I was on one. Having all those great grandbabies around...that was just too delightful!

 

~Here is Miss Lorelai...she's growing up way to fast...~

~And here is Meme..playing cards with all of them.~

~The twins Ivy and Eden..stepping away from the game to poise for a picture for me!! Aren't they just the cutest???~

 

Later in the afternoon, my son and I watched a little football, rounding out the day.

It was such a nice day...and it just reiterated how much I have to be thankful for!!

 

I hope your Thanksgiving was good and that you were able to share it with friends and loved ones! Oh yes, and that you 'over ate' and were stuffed!!!

 

Bye for now...