It's wonderful to have the day off. However, I had to break my staying-in-jammies all day to go for groceries. That's the problem: if I don't have anything scheduled, I do nothing.
Today I began with some housework (I really wish the house would vacuum itself) and then went for groceries. Luckily, after having rained all day yesterday the ice had begun to thaw today. I was able to get the trash barrel out and in without falling in the driveway.
At Stop and Shop, it soon became apparent that the college students are back. There is an enclosed part of the store at the entrance that normally has at least 50 shopping carts. There was not one cart there tonight! I had wheeled a cart in from the parking lot, so I was o.k.
And the end of my otherwise uneventful shopping trip: does anyone teach their staff how to bag groceries? Nobody seems to understand that the foil lined, zippered, recycled bag is for meat and/or refrigerator items. And if they do happen to use it properly, they never zip it up. But just once, I would like to see all refrigerator items in one or two bags -- not mixed in with the canned beans and canned tomatoes! (Did you know there is no "d" in refrigerator? I do now!)
******************************************************
I was so happy to get an email from Natsumi who lives in Japan! She even sent me a picture of her new granddaughter. She already has one grandson. It was a life time ago when they were first here. My Debbie was two and a half years old and their son, Hide, was a bit younger. (I was pregnant with Emily and they got to see her as a newborn.) Now they have three adult boys and I have two adult girls. It is true that time flies!
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And now for something entirely different:
http://fox2now.com/2015/01/15/surprise-receptions-erupt-after-pop-band-crashes-the-wedding/
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I got a call from JetBlue yesterday. You may remember that Emily and I went to Orlando and did the theme park thing last August. At that time, coming home, the airlines damaged my almost new walker. Yes, if I want to do extended walking, I need that walker so I can sit for a bit. Leaning on it seems to help my back as well.
It wasn't a lot of damage, but it was frustrating because I had only had the thing for a couple of weeks. We must have spent a half hour giving them my information and taking pictures. Then: nothing. Until yesterday. It seems that they will replace the walker entirely. This is good news because then I can give the old, hardly used, walker to the Senior Center for them to loan to people who cannot afford one. But it took another three phone calls. I finally just let it go to voice mail.
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I'm off to work -- it's Tuesday! And it's a balmy 29 degrees.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Simply Sunday
What a great day! Phyllis, Ann, and I decided to go on an excellent adventure. While Phyllis and I were waiting for Ann, we set my clock in the car. Now that it's not an hour ahead, I hope I don't freak out at the real time!
We went to Costco. I went to buy big food -- mainly the boneless skinless chicken breasts that come two to a package and pop right into the freezer. But I also wanted to get multiple cans of something for the Amherst Survival Center. The Library is doing Food for Fines and if you bring in canned food for the Survival Center, your current fines will be forgiven. No, I don't have fines, but I would like to contribute. I finally settled on chicken noodle soup and cans of tuna fish. They both were 12 to a package so maybe more than one family will get to use them. I considered Spam (it said 25% less sodium), but it still had 900 grams of sodium!! So, no Spam.
We had LOTS of taste tests at Costco, which is really fun. I felt very virtuous in refusing some, such as the Greek yogurt with honey on top. Then I remembered that I don't like either. Oh well. I could not refuse the freshly baked multigrain bread. I noticed that the woman had slathered the pieces with melted butter. Yum. I didn't buy it because I would eat the whole loaf at once!
I did buy pizzelles to go with tea at my first book club meeting. (Wednesday, 3 p.m. at the Jones Library.)
Then it was on to the Olive Garden. That was the main goal. Ann and I laughed about the last time we had gone and I couldn't figure out where to park. This particular complex is a maze of little driveways and MANY restaurants. That time, we ended up parking at Kentucky Fried Chicken. This time we found the right entrance and were able to park near the door.
The place was jumping! It was quite noisy but we didn't let that phase us. The food and conversation were good and we all had a great time. Ann Showed us her prototype fleece hats that she had made. They look great! The decorative flower really makes them special.
When we came out of the restaurant, we noticed that the weather is glowering. It really feels like snow. So far there isn't any snow. I really hope it doesn't snow ...
Still reading my books. Later.
We went to Costco. I went to buy big food -- mainly the boneless skinless chicken breasts that come two to a package and pop right into the freezer. But I also wanted to get multiple cans of something for the Amherst Survival Center. The Library is doing Food for Fines and if you bring in canned food for the Survival Center, your current fines will be forgiven. No, I don't have fines, but I would like to contribute. I finally settled on chicken noodle soup and cans of tuna fish. They both were 12 to a package so maybe more than one family will get to use them. I considered Spam (it said 25% less sodium), but it still had 900 grams of sodium!! So, no Spam.
We had LOTS of taste tests at Costco, which is really fun. I felt very virtuous in refusing some, such as the Greek yogurt with honey on top. Then I remembered that I don't like either. Oh well. I could not refuse the freshly baked multigrain bread. I noticed that the woman had slathered the pieces with melted butter. Yum. I didn't buy it because I would eat the whole loaf at once!
I did buy pizzelles to go with tea at my first book club meeting. (Wednesday, 3 p.m. at the Jones Library.)
Then it was on to the Olive Garden. That was the main goal. Ann and I laughed about the last time we had gone and I couldn't figure out where to park. This particular complex is a maze of little driveways and MANY restaurants. That time, we ended up parking at Kentucky Fried Chicken. This time we found the right entrance and were able to park near the door.
The place was jumping! It was quite noisy but we didn't let that phase us. The food and conversation were good and we all had a great time. Ann Showed us her prototype fleece hats that she had made. They look great! The decorative flower really makes them special.
When we came out of the restaurant, we noticed that the weather is glowering. It really feels like snow. So far there isn't any snow. I really hope it doesn't snow ...
Still reading my books. Later.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Furious Friday
Ever have one of those days that goes by fast and furious? This is one of them. (No, I'm not furious at anyone.)
I decided to share lunch with you, so I'm still physically at work.
Laugh of the day: So I zip into a parking space at the north end of Town knowing that I'll only be 5 minutes or so because I'm picking up a pre-ordered sandwich. As I get out of my car, a woman shows up and says, "I think I can get my car past yours." Understand, she is driving a car the size of a quarter and if she backs out straight, there will still be 16 inches or more of clearance.
I look at her.
"Well, you're in there pretty crooked. At an angle."
I continue to look at her, lock my car and start to walk away.
"Some days are just at an angle," she says to my retreating back.
I figure: if it makes her feel better to criticize my parking -- which obviously I didn't care about in the first place -- so be it. (By the way, we were parked in front of empty stores which are about to be demolished for rehab. No other parking spaces were injured.)
****************************************************
So it snowed today, just enough to be a pain driving in. The sun's out now and it feels positively balmy compared to the deep freeze of yesterday and the day before.
The snow had already abated somewhat when I drove in to work because I was late. I have to figure out how to get rid of my off and on sinus pain. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm "sick," but wouldn't I be in pain all of the time?
******************************************************
I got gas for $2.04/gallon!! (That's with 20 cents off per gallon from the supermarket.) Woo hoo!
******************************************************
design-dautore.com
The above web site has the most amazing designs! (I copied it from FaceBook.)
*****************************************************
O.k. so now it's Saturday. Who knows why I woke up at 6:30 a.m.? However, after another cup of tea, it's back to reading Gallows Hill. My first book club meeting is next Wednesday to discuss the book.
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Some good-hearted soul has put up "Smile" signs on the windows of some doors in the Library -- where only staff see them. It used to annoy me, because I see it as a command from an unseen person, but it no longer does. I discovered that when you are on the other side of the door, and you can see the letters backward, my brain scrambles it into "Slime." I'm much more comfortable with that.
******************************************************
I know this blog is bland ... but real life with terrorists, horrible plane crashes, and other violence is too much for me to deal with. I escape here and hope that you don't mind running away with me too!!
I decided to share lunch with you, so I'm still physically at work.
Laugh of the day: So I zip into a parking space at the north end of Town knowing that I'll only be 5 minutes or so because I'm picking up a pre-ordered sandwich. As I get out of my car, a woman shows up and says, "I think I can get my car past yours." Understand, she is driving a car the size of a quarter and if she backs out straight, there will still be 16 inches or more of clearance.
I look at her.
"Well, you're in there pretty crooked. At an angle."
I continue to look at her, lock my car and start to walk away.
"Some days are just at an angle," she says to my retreating back.
I figure: if it makes her feel better to criticize my parking -- which obviously I didn't care about in the first place -- so be it. (By the way, we were parked in front of empty stores which are about to be demolished for rehab. No other parking spaces were injured.)
****************************************************
So it snowed today, just enough to be a pain driving in. The sun's out now and it feels positively balmy compared to the deep freeze of yesterday and the day before.
The snow had already abated somewhat when I drove in to work because I was late. I have to figure out how to get rid of my off and on sinus pain. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm "sick," but wouldn't I be in pain all of the time?
******************************************************
I got gas for $2.04/gallon!! (That's with 20 cents off per gallon from the supermarket.) Woo hoo!
******************************************************
design-dautore.com
The above web site has the most amazing designs! (I copied it from FaceBook.)
*****************************************************
O.k. so now it's Saturday. Who knows why I woke up at 6:30 a.m.? However, after another cup of tea, it's back to reading Gallows Hill. My first book club meeting is next Wednesday to discuss the book.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Some good-hearted soul has put up "Smile" signs on the windows of some doors in the Library -- where only staff see them. It used to annoy me, because I see it as a command from an unseen person, but it no longer does. I discovered that when you are on the other side of the door, and you can see the letters backward, my brain scrambles it into "Slime." I'm much more comfortable with that.
******************************************************
I know this blog is bland ... but real life with terrorists, horrible plane crashes, and other violence is too much for me to deal with. I escape here and hope that you don't mind running away with me too!!
Sunday, January 4, 2015
It's a New Year, Everybody Dance!
I am so glad to have the holidays over! No, I don't do one fifth of what many of my friends do in preparation. But now I don't have a list of things I must do. So here I am writing to you.
I was telling a friend at work that I felt a blog post coming on, but I didn't have any nifty photos to put in it. And I still don't. So I'm going to steal one from YaoYao. She was nice enough to send me some pictures of her New Year's Eve in NY with her friends. Obviously, I want to become one of this family!
I call this picture "Chinese Feast." I can just smell the pungent aromas, surrounded by warm, moist kitchen air!
And that picture certainly brightened up my morning. It snowed a couple of inches last night and now it's raining. In between, we became a city of ice. I would take a picture of the trees outlined in ice crystal, but it's much cozier in here and I'm listening to CBS Sunday Morning as I type.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
I don't usually make New Year's Resoulutions, but this year I resolved to be less snarky. And, of course, I'm going to break that now.
So I was watching the Kardashians' show on TV. Yes, it's a dirty secret and I can usually only stand no more than six minutes of their nasal whining, but this was a life changing bit. I was flipping channels and I see something I've never seen before. I see Kris (the mother) and Chloe (the daughter always ridiculed for being overweight) from the rear. And I do mean rear.
My Lord! Now I know why that was so unusual. Both ladies (and I use that term broadly) have always been photographed from the front and I never thought Chloe was particularly chunky. But this shot plainly showed the two biggest female gluteus maximi in Christendom. You could serve a four course meal for two on one of those butts.
I think it's Kim who went on a cover of a magazine featuring her naked butt (I always confuse her with Kourtney who is a baby factory with her boyfriend) and perhaps hers is the smaller one of them all. I don't know. I do know that she's a "model."
This is definitely not envy talking! I have long wondered at the fame and fortune of this family who are famous for being famous. Their accomplishments seem to be miniscule, but then again, nobody pays me to follow me around with a camera and watch me fight with my mother, partner, business associates and everybody else.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
How come everything is so big?!? No, this is a different subject. I bought a "fryer" chicken and it was over five pounds. To me, that's an oven stuffer roaster. So I did that.
And then, my mouth really wanted a New England boiled dinner and I went in search of a Daisy Ham. (My friend said they had never heard of that so I read the label carefully today. It's pork butt in a roll. I'm so proud of me that I remembered to get the second inner wrapping off!) This ham was/is huge! (It's boiling away now and I'll change the water in a bit to get rid of some salt.) I might actually have to cut it in half and freeze half.
While I was at the supermarket, I looked at the Rock Cornish Game Hens. Mom used to make those and they were yummy. (I never liked wild rice, so when I made them, I made an Uncle Ben's rice stuffing.) They too are now huge!
So there you have part of our national obesity -- even the food we prepare at home is bigger, grander and more calorie laden than ever before. Yeah, I know: eat less. Maybe I should live with a bad cook and then I would eat less ...
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
I pulled out a coffee mug today that's from 1987. How do I know? That's when I started working for the Town at the Police Dept. I was a part time secretary in the Chief's Office. His favorite phrase was, "I'll put my best man on it."
This mug, plain white, says in Italic script, "The best man for the job may be a woman." It was an interesting time.
****************************************************
Note to self: Remember to read labels very carefully. The fat free half and half for my coffee's carton looks VERY similar to the store brand of Egg Beaters. Ick.
####################################################
I admire people who send end of year letters. I never can seem to do that. However, if you are a friend/relative, you probably are reading this blog. So you know what I've been up to.
And you also know that I did not climb any mountains, SCUBA dive, run any races or accomplished major surgery. However, I have had a good time on the whole.
I have been able to delight in my daughters' accomplishments. I have great memories of time spent with my Mom, including that cruise last year. I have had fun times with friends, from a Piggy Painting Party to dinners and a musical review. I have had a great time at work with our own special A Team in the Office.
But mostly, I have come to realize that I live really well and I am grateful. I wish the same for you all.
I was telling a friend at work that I felt a blog post coming on, but I didn't have any nifty photos to put in it. And I still don't. So I'm going to steal one from YaoYao. She was nice enough to send me some pictures of her New Year's Eve in NY with her friends. Obviously, I want to become one of this family!
I call this picture "Chinese Feast." I can just smell the pungent aromas, surrounded by warm, moist kitchen air!
And that picture certainly brightened up my morning. It snowed a couple of inches last night and now it's raining. In between, we became a city of ice. I would take a picture of the trees outlined in ice crystal, but it's much cozier in here and I'm listening to CBS Sunday Morning as I type.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
I don't usually make New Year's Resoulutions, but this year I resolved to be less snarky. And, of course, I'm going to break that now.
So I was watching the Kardashians' show on TV. Yes, it's a dirty secret and I can usually only stand no more than six minutes of their nasal whining, but this was a life changing bit. I was flipping channels and I see something I've never seen before. I see Kris (the mother) and Chloe (the daughter always ridiculed for being overweight) from the rear. And I do mean rear.
My Lord! Now I know why that was so unusual. Both ladies (and I use that term broadly) have always been photographed from the front and I never thought Chloe was particularly chunky. But this shot plainly showed the two biggest female gluteus maximi in Christendom. You could serve a four course meal for two on one of those butts.
I think it's Kim who went on a cover of a magazine featuring her naked butt (I always confuse her with Kourtney who is a baby factory with her boyfriend) and perhaps hers is the smaller one of them all. I don't know. I do know that she's a "model."
This is definitely not envy talking! I have long wondered at the fame and fortune of this family who are famous for being famous. Their accomplishments seem to be miniscule, but then again, nobody pays me to follow me around with a camera and watch me fight with my mother, partner, business associates and everybody else.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
How come everything is so big?!? No, this is a different subject. I bought a "fryer" chicken and it was over five pounds. To me, that's an oven stuffer roaster. So I did that.
And then, my mouth really wanted a New England boiled dinner and I went in search of a Daisy Ham. (My friend said they had never heard of that so I read the label carefully today. It's pork butt in a roll. I'm so proud of me that I remembered to get the second inner wrapping off!) This ham was/is huge! (It's boiling away now and I'll change the water in a bit to get rid of some salt.) I might actually have to cut it in half and freeze half.
While I was at the supermarket, I looked at the Rock Cornish Game Hens. Mom used to make those and they were yummy. (I never liked wild rice, so when I made them, I made an Uncle Ben's rice stuffing.) They too are now huge!
So there you have part of our national obesity -- even the food we prepare at home is bigger, grander and more calorie laden than ever before. Yeah, I know: eat less. Maybe I should live with a bad cook and then I would eat less ...
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
I pulled out a coffee mug today that's from 1987. How do I know? That's when I started working for the Town at the Police Dept. I was a part time secretary in the Chief's Office. His favorite phrase was, "I'll put my best man on it."
This mug, plain white, says in Italic script, "The best man for the job may be a woman." It was an interesting time.
****************************************************
Note to self: Remember to read labels very carefully. The fat free half and half for my coffee's carton looks VERY similar to the store brand of Egg Beaters. Ick.
####################################################
I admire people who send end of year letters. I never can seem to do that. However, if you are a friend/relative, you probably are reading this blog. So you know what I've been up to.
And you also know that I did not climb any mountains, SCUBA dive, run any races or accomplished major surgery. However, I have had a good time on the whole.
I have been able to delight in my daughters' accomplishments. I have great memories of time spent with my Mom, including that cruise last year. I have had fun times with friends, from a Piggy Painting Party to dinners and a musical review. I have had a great time at work with our own special A Team in the Office.
But mostly, I have come to realize that I live really well and I am grateful. I wish the same for you all.
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