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The days are getting shorter!

Category: Daily Happenings | Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 1:42 am

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I think the days are getting shorter and it has nothing to do with moving the clocks around or winter coming when the naturally get shorter. I just do not get as much done anymore. So, the days are getting shorter. There must be only 16 hours in a day now instead of 24. Someone tried to tell me it wasn't that the days were shorter. It's because I'm getting older. That can't be right, can it? I will be 70 in January. I used to think that was old but now it's not so bad. If my knees weren't wearing out it would be a little better. I go outside and start doing things and before you know it, it is rest time. So, I make a cup of tea. You can't have a cup of tea without a snack of some kind, can you? I guess I could but I don't usually. Do you know any zero calorie snacks? I'm really trying hard to lose the extra weight I gained when I wasn't on the thyroid replacement medication. I'm doing pretty good but it's harder when you have too many snacks. We did well in the summer because there's vegetables and fruit and good fresh things. In the winter there is things like muffins and scones and homemade bread with butter and of course, homemade jelly. So, I go back out to work off the snack. I have the weeds and things under control in the backyard. I need to do some more work in the front. With the cooler weather, I've made some headway on it. We are in the process of putting up some fence, just wire fence, to keep our little dogs in the yard and those big dogs out of the yard. We still have a bit in the front along the driveway to do. dr is going to build a drive gate.
We bought some landscape timbers a few weeks ago. I want to put a flower bed at the end of the house along the driveway. Not sure yet what I will put in it. I'm hoping to have more flowers this next spring. With the moving and things I didn't get much planted this year.
It's a problem with too much digging so I'll put the landscape timbers in place and fill them with soil and I won't have to dig too much. Just loosen the dirt under what I add. I'm hoping that will be the case. Of course, we do have to build the flower beds.
Maybe I am getting old. It sounds like it might be a lot of work and a lot of rest periods and a lot of snacks. Then, I just might have to ride that darn exercise bike twice a day.
dooley

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Two years in Texas!

Category: Daily Happenings | Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:37 am

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As many of you know dr and I lived in Arizona for many years. Two years ago on Dec. 1st we arrived in Texas. We had been thinking of moving from Arizona and wasn't sure where we wanted to go. Gardenstew played a large part in our moving to Texas. We met Glenda through the forum. We came out to visit her on our vacation. We did like this area and told her if she could find us a house to rent we would move here. She did find us a place....right across the road from her. It was a large house and dr and I got lost from time to time. I guess we knew where we were but couldn't always locate where the other was at any time. So, the lady we rented from offered us this smaller place at the bottom of the hill.
We like it fine but it had no yard, just brush and trees and dirt. We moved down here is April and since then we have been trying to make it home and create a yard. I've cut brush and dug out tree roots and dr has made fences and a yard for Chance and we are gradually turning it into our home. I planted five small crepe myrtle trees yesterday and have 11 rose bushes planted. Ten are climbing roses, Don Juan, I believe. Last week, Rick gave me another rose. I'm not sure what kind but it's red so maybe it's another climber. I planted it by the fence with the rest of them.
Texas is a very beautiful place to live and we've met the very nicest people here. We've made many friends and have traveled many miles seeing all the places close enough for day trips. I love the green. Arizona is more brown being a much drier state. I like some of the humidity but not as much in the summer. I do like it warm but Arizona was too dry. I do miss my son whom has his own family in Arizona. We have a son in California and one in Wisconsin. We acquired a loaner son here in Texas. When I was in the hospital in July he brought dr down to the hospital and stayed all day with us. He brought him back the next day, too. dr doesn't drive. When the hospital staff was giving us a hard time about leaving he told them he came to bring me home and they had 30 minutes to get the paperwork done because we were leaving then. The nurse was trying to explain something to dr and he wasn't hearing well that day so she turned to our friend and told him, "Would you explain this to your father?" She turned and left the room. We had a good laugh because our friend is just 10 yrs younger than we are. Ever since then he's been our "son." We made friends at the farm market and I began sewing aprons and tote bags to sell there. With the hot and dry summer we had the farm market didn't do well this year. Well, the farmer's didn't do well. Maybe next year it will be better. I'm still sewing and making things. It keeps me occupied when I can't get outside. I volunteer at the library two mornings a week and love doing it. Moving to Texas was a very positive thing for us. Since moving to the bottom of the hill we don't see as much of Glenda as we did. I'm not sure why. It's only a quarter of a mile and we go past every day on our way to here and there. Our truck doesn't seem to like staying in the driveway.
dooley

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Computer is online at home now!

Category: Daily Happenings | Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:30 pm

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Well, here I am, sitting at the computer here at home. I had to put it in the small room I'm using as a sewing room. It's getting a little crowded in here and Chance says I'd better not add anything else. Now, how can a sewing table, a computer desk and a set of shelves for the printer to sit on, a small writing desk, a small table for herbs I'll need to bring inside, three sets of shelves for material, a set of shelves next to the sewing table for odds and ends, an exercise bike and a wastebasket take up all this space. There is still room for Chance's bed too. When I'm sewing and dr is at the computer, then it's a little cramped but hey, we both manage to get things done. I still have to download Firefox. Yesterday the firewall and antivirus told me I couldn't download it because the program was corrupted. I'll have to call Dan tomorrow and ask him which one I should be trying to download. He downloaded all the security stuff to a DVD and sent it to me and I loaded it to my computer so I didn't have to sit and wait for them to download on my slow dial up system. I'm getting used to it and can always use the faster computers at the library when I want to look at a lot of pictures. I can't post pictures yet. I still have to take the old computer to get the hard drived cleaned and restored. The man said he could do it but I have to save a bit for it. I need to load my camera program stuff on here and then I can start taking new pictures and loading them to this computer. I still need to load the printer disc.It needed to access online to do it. So, I am back in business.
We went to several yard sales today. I bought five crepe myrtle trees/bushes to plant. They aren't too big. They are in gallon size pots (one is in a 3 gallon pot). The man said now is the time to plant them. They are red, purple and white but which is which he didn't know. I guess his wife potted them and she wasn't there. She probably wouldn't know either because they aren't marked. They all look just alike
It's getting cooler here now. It rained for a few days and then a cold wind blew through and it was only 37 degs this morning. I brought my herbs in last night and covered my lettuce. I have a tomato plant with 5 tomatoes, still green. I have an eggplant with five small eggplants. I guess I'll have to pick them one of these days but the weather channel says it will go back to upper 70's lower 80's during the latter part of next week and 50's at night so maybe I will leave them and just watch the weather. It will be 37 degs again tonight. I also have planted a tub of kale. It's about an inch tall. It is rather thick so I will thin it out when the leaves start to get the curl to them. I found a great recipe for sausage and kale soup. Maybe I should post it in the recipes section here. It's easy to make and so good. I made it this week and made oatmeal molasses bread that day too and chocolate chunk cookies for dr. They are gone already so I guess I'll have to buy some more chocolate and try again. I'm a diabetic so you know it wasn't me that made them disappear so quickly.
The bread goes quickly, too and that might be my fault. I do make two loaves but have been giving one to the people next door. There is four kids there and both parents work so they don't make bread. The kids do like baking cookies and the oldest (17) makes award winning cakes for 4-H and FFA.
I've started a purse for wannabe. It can be used over the bar on her walker when she goes shopping or if she isn't using the walker that day, it converts to a normal purse. I have it cut out but haven't sewn it yet. The lady at the library gave me the pattern. But, dr and I re engineered it so much the basic shape is all that's left of the original design. She is going to try it out and let me know how it works. Maybe I can start making some to sell. I have to start thinking about a web site but guess I'll ease into it.
I don't know how we do it but we manage to have something scheduled most days and if we don't the truck insists we have to go somewhere. It just doesn't stay in the driveway. One of these days, I'll forget to stop at the gas station and then, it will have to sit in the driveway. I'm going to be 70 in January and thought I was slowing down but it seems like we keep busier than when I was working and gardening and doing all the things we do now.
Guess it's time to start thinking about supper. I wonder if dr has found a place for the armoire he bought yet. We have to pick it up tomorrow. He says I have all the closet space and he needed it to hang some of his stuff. Well, mahybe! dooley

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