Maxine, she’s my hero…

Birthday Girl…

Abby is one year old today….

Happy Birthday To You,
Happy Birthday To you,
Happy Birthday  precious Grandbebe,
Happy Birthday To You.....

You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum
Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie
You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop,
Snoogums-Boogums, You're the Apple of my Eye

XOXOXO ~ Grammie

Linda Evans Mountain Retreat

Ladies, this is a must see.  Oh, what a magical place she lives in…. Her home is wonderful, it’s just absolutely amazing, what she has created…..

Here’s the link>>>

I’ve been a busy bee this week, Abby’s party is Saturday

• Abby’s gifts bought and wrapped – check
• Clothes pressed and ready to go – check
• Fresh batteries in the camera – check
• The M&M’s bathed with haircuts - check
• Aunt Em’s cupcakes baked – unchecked
• Lose ten pounds – unchecked

Hey, four out of six is pretty good….

Giggle of the day…

UCLA STUDY

    A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has
revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can
differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

    For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to a man with
rugged and masculine features. However, if she is menstruating or
menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with duct tape over
his mouth and a spear lodged in his chest while he is on fire.    

    No further studies are expected.

Why Seniors Break their Hips

Carlene sent me this, you can’t help but laugh, but oh my, some of these people must have really hurt themselves.  This proves that you can’t really be a kid again…

Betty White’s biggest fan…

Hooterville sent me this clip.  How about that, all these years and I thought I was Betty’s biggest fan.  This is so darned cute, thanks for sending it Jean…

Harry Loves Lisa, is anybody else going to watch this???

 

Any of you remember Tuckerville with Tanya Tucker?  Oh, I loved every cheesy, redneck moment of it.  Then along came It's Complicated, Denise Richard's totally awful reality show.  Loved that one, too.  And my favorite of all was the short lived chasing Farrah, but c'mon, who wouldn't be fascinated by a glimpse into Farrah Fawcett's personal life. It was worth watching just to see her house and her clothes.

Now along comes Harry Loves Lisa, looks like another really bad one that I can't wait to see!

I don't even like reality shows, but I do enjoy glimpses into star's trashy lives.  I know, I know, I have no taste, none, nada.  But I do have a few friends, who shall remain nameless, that enjoys these shows as much as I do.  Bad girls, bad girls.........

Abby’s one year pictures…

Lindsay’s friend Lauren came to their house and took Abby’s one year pictures today.  Lindsay sent me a “tease.”  Just had to share. 

Is this little girl precious or what???  The boots, the vest, this is everything her Grammie loves in life!  This bebe has got it all goin’ on!!!!!

The pumpkin bread pudding is a WINNER!!!!

This was an absolutely killer dessert.  You would never know this was low calorie.  It’s a must try this fall, definitely a keeper recipe to make again and again. Veronica Jeanne, this has your name written all over it…

Less than two Weight Watcher points per ramekin, for you non-Weight Watcher people, this recipe is the same amount of points as a large apple or a banana!

Amazing, huh?  Details and tweaks on Jan CAN Cook.

What tea is in your pantry?

Here’s what I have:

• Lipton Green Tea with Citrus (thanks V for the heads up)
• Lipton Cranberry Pomegranite (excellent tea, this is in Deanna’s pantry as well)
• Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Chamomille
• Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger
• Celestial Seasonings Wild Berry Zinger

And others, too numerous to mention. *blush* But these are the ones I’m enjoying the most this fall…

I found an interesting pumpkin bread pudding dessert for tonight...

This recipe was on the Splenda website.  It calls for french bread, but I'm going to substitute my favorite Nature's Own Whole Wheat and see how it turns out.

I'll let you know if it's a hit or a miss.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding>>>

A little Sunday nostalgia….

My Sundays are quiet now, and I don’t like it one bit!  I miss years gone by!!!  Sunday was always the day I spent in the kitchen, cooking for my family.  Big meals, soups, stews, homemade bread, great desserts, a lot of visits from mother, too, on Sunday.  And now it’s just me and the girls, hubby works the weekends, but that’s going to change soon, only five more weeks until he retires.

The boys laugh at me because there was a period of time when they were little that I made homemade pizzas on Sunday night.  Both of them argue with me now, saying that I just didn’t make all those pizzas, but trust me I did.  I made a lot of cookies, too.  One of their favorites was a molasses cookie, sprinkled with sugar.  It was a Silver Palate recipe, my cookbook of choice in the 80’s.  I need to dig out that recipe and post it on Jan CAN Cook.

I think that’s one of the hardest things about growing older, if you’re not lucky enough to have your family live close by, not being able to have them visit on Sunday. 

I still cook for LC, it’s just not the same though.  Healthy food is not nearly exciting as comfort food like fried chicken or pot roast.  Yummy pies and cakes aren’t around anymore, and I often wonder, is it really worth it?  Look at how much we sacrifice not being able to eat the things we used to.  Right now I would kill for a pumpkin cake or a batch of those molasses cookies.  Oh, those were the days.

Maybe I’ll make a pot of chili this afternoon, that’s pretty healthy, and it’s so cool here, only 50 degrees this morning.  And I’ll figure out some kind of pumpkin dessert that’s good for us.  I know, bor-ing.  No butter, no cream cheese, it will be a challenge…  I can always do the spice cake Weight Watcher recipe.  Do any of you make this?  It’s just a cake mix with a can of pumpkin stirred in and baked.  That’s all, don’t add anything to that cake mix, no oil or eggs or water, just stir in the pumpkin, put it in a Pam sprayed baking dish, I like an 8x12 instead of 9x13, makes a thicker cake, and bake it at 350 for about 35-45 minutes, don’t overbake.  It’s actually really good, you can do this with any cake mix, even chocolate, or a brownie mix - but spice is good for fall.  And no, you don’t taste the pumpkin in the other flavors.  It’s a challenge to stir, as the batter is really stiff, and it sounds strange to make, but it really works and makes a moist, yummy cake.

~ jan here, wallowing in her memories on a sunny fall Sunday morning…

Note:  Whoohoo, thanks to the internet, I Googled those molasses cookies, they popped up instantly.  Maybe you would like to make a batch for your family this Sunday afternoon.  Sometimes I didn’t have molasses, but I always had sorghum, so I would substitute, either way, they are just wonderful.  Of course they’re wonderful, they have 12 tablespoons of butter in them!!!

I just posted the recipe on Jan CAN Cook so we’ll always have it.  It’s a keeper, ladies, pinkie swear…

Enchanted April, it was just a superb movie….

Like a lot of you, and I love Netflix.  For $8.99 a month we have instant access to thousands of movies, we use that feature more than ordering the DVD’s.  When you consider that movie tickets in Heavensville are $9 on the weekend, no senior citizen discount, grrrrr,  by the time you go to the movie, buy drinks and a popcorn to share, you’ve spent $30.  That’s just crazy!  $30 to see a movie!!!  Unless it’s a must-see, I would rather just wait til’ it comes out on DVD and get it from Netflix.  Hooterville taught me a good trick, as soon as a movie you think you might like is in preproduction, go ahead and add it to the top of your Netflix Queue, that way when it’s released to DVD, you will be one of the first to get it and not have to be on a waiting list. 

We had problems last year when we first started watching instant Netflix movies, they were choppy, the movies would start and stop, but then we discovered Roku.  If you’re unfamiliar with Roku, it’s a box that you attach to your television like a DVD player, it’s easy to set up, you don’t have to hook your computer to your television anymore, and you have totally seamless, smooth running movies.  And the good news is that the prices are down.  You can now buy a HD Roku box for $59.99.  At the bottom of Roku’s website there is a link for a $20 off coupon for new Netflix customers. Wow, that’s really cheap, $39, we paid $100 for ours.  But it’s money well spent, a one time hit, and you can watch all your movies without annoying choppy, uneven streaming.  You can also get a free month’s subscription to Netflix from their website.  A great deal if you haven’t tried Netflix before. 

You might not even need a Roku box, maybe your ISP streams smoother than ours, or if you have a WI or Playstation you can also stream your movies through them.

Yesterday was a cool, cloudy day.  I was restless, decided to settle in with the dogs and watch a movie.  I was in the mood for something “different” and oh wow, did I hit pay dirt.  I watched Enchanted April, an English film, about women vacationing at a castle in Italy.  The acting was superb, the scenery was absolutely breathtaking, the gardens were gorgeous,  it was totally wonderful. 

I thought of Deanna when I watched it, she and John were in Italy this summer and she loved the gardens, she said the geraniums were huge, so large they didn’t look real.  They were the same in this movie, lush, gorgeous geraniums, beautiful vegetation, it was a treat just to see the countryside.

Those ladies did what we all should do on vacation, talk, eat, laugh, lie in the sun and rest.  This is a good one, ladies, not your usual samo-samo, so be open to going outside your box, you might enjoy it, too.

Here’s a link to the trailer and what IMBD has to say about it -

“This slow-paced gem is about the civilizing influence of Italy on beleaguered Londoners both male and female and has it's own civilizing influence on the viewer. It's almost like taking a little mini-trip to Italy, a gorgeously filmed enchantment.”

Tiger ears are part of her identity? Just when you think you’ve heard it all…

Dear Margo: A friend of my husband is getting married. I barely know the man, and I’ve met the intended bride twice. A verbal invitation was extended to both of us. Oh, by the way, the bride requested that I not wear my ears to the wedding.

Several years ago, my husband bought me a headband with little tiger ears on it. Ever since he put it on me, I’ve worn my ears everywhere, including to two weddings and a funeral. I’ve made them a part of my identity — my personal trademark, if you will. Going anywhere without my ears makes me feel self-conscious and only partially dressed.

My initial reaction was to wear the ears anyway, but then I realized I am not exactly obligated to attend the wedding. I’m not close to the bride or groom, but my husband considers the groom to be a good friend; the invitation included me out of common courtesy. Perhaps I should keep my sulky, uncooperative self at home, even though my husband would prefer I suck it up and go. I have some months to think about it. What’s your take? — M.R.S.

Dear M.: Maybe you and I are on the same wavelength, or maybe we’re both nuts, but I think your trademark ears are a hoot. And who doesn’t love individuality — besides the bride? Seeing as how you wear them everywhere, I wouldn’t dream of suggesting you leave them at home for the upcoming nuptials. (Do go, by the way.)

Odd of the bride to suggest what you wear and what you leave home, but let’s assume she will be so engrossed in the festivities that she will not notice. And to be realistic: Little tiger ears are much less attention-getting than big, floppy bunny ears. At least with your little tiger ears, no one can say you are celebrating Halloween early or reliving your days as a waitress at a Playboy club. — Margo, individually

**

Dear Margo is written by Margo Howard, Ann Landers’ daughter.

Fall, FINALLY!!!!

The leaves are swirling, the days are shorter and the nights cooler.  My maple tree’s are showing their color and I’m thrilled that my favorite time of year has finally arrived.

I’ve got beans in the pressure cooker, brown rice in the steamer, it’s just that kind of day.  Now if I had cider and donuts for an afternoon snack, life would be perfect.

I just put a recipe for Spiced Cider on Jan CAN Cook.  If you don’t visit me regularly at this site, I’m pretty active, posting recipes frequently, you might want to check me out.  The recipe for Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding I put up yesterday looks killer!

~ jan

Here’s the click>>>

Senior Citizens are really funny!!!

I was all ready to leave and run errands, but decided to watch a video my friend, Mary, had sent me first.

Well, by the time it was over, I had laughed until I cried, my makeup is smeared, I now have to do a touch up before I leave the house.

This is a hoot!  It takes a couple of minutes to get into it, but it’s so darned funny!  Unfortunately, I’m starting to see a lot of myself in this lady…

~ jan

Maybe I’m a little bit smarter….

When we know better, we do better ~ Maya Angelou

Remember last spring when it was time to switch out my closets?  I had such a mess, my bedroom was a disaster for days weeks, I couldn’t get it together, ended up having a meltdown in the middle of my bed, crying and asking hubby to help me because I was completely overwhelmed.  Law-dee, I don’t want a repeat of that fiasco this fall.

But once again, it’s that time, all of my winter clothes are sitting in the garage in their crates, waiting for me to be overwhelmed once again.  I should just take a deep breath and get rid of a lot of stuff.  But, oh no, on the off chance that I might somehow lose enough weight to wear those clothes that will be hopelessly dated if I ever accomplish it, which I won’t, I hang on to everything.

Knowing what was ahead of me, I asked hubby yesterday, “If I make you an apple pie, will you help me switch out my clothes?”  Well, that was the right question, and LC, always the negotiator said, “do I get that pie today?”  But I’ve learned a thing or two myself, and told him, “nope, first we switch the closet, then you get the pie.”

I just may be on to something here. Bribery, blatant bribery.  No more tears for me, nope, no siree, I’ve got help and Pillsbury Pie Crust, that pie will be easy peasy…

I need to get a life….

You know, when it takes you a half an hour to decide what pin number to make your debit card, you have serious issues.

Well, that was me today, and I finally decided, but I don’t really like those numbers so I’m going to change them.

Jeez Louise, this is crazy.  Ummmm, consider the source!

Five things I can’t live without

That’s the key word here, “things.”  It’s not family, or sweet bebe Abby, or girlfriends, or my precious little M&M’s.  Take those away and this is what’s left that I must have!

1.   Computers, they are my window to the world, and I dread thinking what my life would be like without them.  What did I do with my time before the internet?  And with my computer I can download ebooks, probably the greatest spinoff, for me anyway, that has come from this wonderful invention.  What a treat it is to sit in my jammies at 9pm, download a book and read it without ever leaving my living room.  Buy those books?  Never, our public library has thousands of titles just waiting for me to download when I want to read.

2.  My morning coffee with fat free half and half.  I didn’t develop a love for coffee until I was well into my 50’s, now it’s a must have, every single day.

3. Nature.  It’s the balm that soothes my soul, I love the wind on my face, the smells, the colors, the birds and the bees, I find my center and inner peace with nature.

4.  Milly.  I’ve often said that golf carts are old people’s bicycles.  I grab the fur kids, hop on Milly and I’m off on an adventure.  It’s so much fun and gives me so much freedom, I love it!

5.  My smartphone.  Cellphones have evolved so much, it’s amazing the things that you can do with them.  With it, I’m in touch, so you be in touch… ;o)  Ohhhh, how cheesy was that???

And that’s what I can’t live without?  What about you, what are your five things?

Look who’s having a birthday party….

It’s hard to believe that sweet bebe granddaughter is going to be a year old next week.  Her mom and dad are busy planning the big event, and I’m one excited grammie!  Oh, what a good time we’ll have!!!

Add senility to the list, too….

My boys are three years apart, not four, as Linds reminded me earlier this afternoon.  So not only am I getting food all over me, senility is sitting in as well.  Oh well, at least I won’t realize that I’m dribbling my dinner all over myself  if  I’m senile…

So, to correct the earlier post about how old I was when they were born, almost twenty-two with John, almost twenty-five with Ry.

Geezy Pete, this old lady stuff is a pain in the patootie…

I’m not turning into my mother after all…

Law-dee, I’m turning into my father!  I am, and he was the sweetest man that ever lived, but it’s not the sweetness, it’s the, oh how do I put this, it’s the inability to eat any type of food without getting it on me, that is making me think I’m so much like him.  The poor man had stains on all of his ties, all of his shirts, he couldn’t eat anything without getting food on him!

I had just a smear of jam this morning on my toast, just a itsy bitsy miniscule smear of cherry jam, and yep, somehow it ended up on my shirt.  This is happening with alarming frequency, I’m getting food all over me.  Dilly, you quit smiling, I know, I always get stuff on me, but lately it’s been every meal.

My boys laugh at me all the time, teasing me about getting old, and then I remind them that I was a young mother, I was twenty-one and twenty-five when they were born, and that they aren’t that far behind me.  I think it’s a shock sometimes, they think about babies in your thirties but not me.  Oh, I was just a couple of months away from being twenty-two when John was born, almost twenty-six when I had Ry but that’s young by today’s standards.

And if I could do it over?  I think I would rather have been older.  I would have been wiser, with more life experience to guide me.  But then I wouldn’t have the energy that I had in my twenties either. 

So now that I’m a friggin’ genius with almost sixty-one years of life experience, let’s see what kind of wisdom I bestow on poor Abby.  Undoubtedly just the ability to eat and make a mess of it, that will probably be my legacy to poor bebe granddaughter…

And so it begins….

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Autumn

 

I’m old now, it’s all about comfort….

My friends and I always laughed at older woman who wore “stretchy” pants.  That would never be us, oh no, we would never wear those.  But I’m talking knit ones, or the dreaded polyester blends with the elastic waist band.  Yuck!

Well, let me tell you, these days I live in yoga pants.  If I’m home, I’m in them.  I actually resent the fact that I have to change into something that has no “give” when I go out.

Those old women know what they’re talking about with the pants that stretch.  These things are wonderful.  I’ve worn them for the past few years now, and they are just sooooo soft and comfy. 

And my pants of choice, the Nike ones, black, slim fit with a flared bottom.  They’re the best!  I love putting them on of a morning and just putzing around the house.  I’m actually looking forward to winter so that I can just settle in and not go anywhere.  I’ve always been a homebody, but now more than ever.  My computer, a good e-book, my dogs by my side, it’s pure bliss.

It’s those simple things, once again, ladies…

Oh my, we’re having wea-ther….

It was 99 friggin’ degrees in Heavensville this afternoon.  Sure glad tomorrow is first day of fall, the temperature is going to drop all the way down to 95!  Whoohoo…

Holy Schmoly, is it ever gonna cool off?  I remember this time of year so well because of Ryan’s birthday.  When he was a little boy the temperatures would be cool by now,  we would have on light jackets, and the boys would be wearing little corduroy overalls with long sleeved shirts.

That was normal, 99 degrees on the 21st of September is definitely not normal!!!

Coldstone Creamery Hot Cocoa

You know I always tell you about the good stuff.  I was in Wally World yesterday, checking out the tea selection, and right beside the tea set boxes of Coldstone Creamery Hot Cocoa packets.  There were three flavors, milk chocolate, regular and dark chocolate.  I bought the regular, 70 calories, made hubby and I a cup last night, and it was awesome.  Really intense chocolate flavor, and I made it with 6 ounces of water, not milk.  It was so much better than the Swiss Miss low calorie, you will love this!

It’s a winner, here’s a $1.00 off coupon if you’re interested in trying it.

And speaking of tea, you all know I’m a huge fan of Celestial Seasonings Tea.  Well, last week Deanna and I were talking about chamomile, she loves it, I didn’t remember the taste, so I picked up a container of Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile.  Oh my, it’s fantastic…

~ jan

You have to check out these cookies, ladies…

I made the best chocolate chip cookies, ever, last weekend.

Details and recipes on Jan CAN Cook…

Guess who walked three steps to Auntie V last weekend…

It was Ryan’s birthday weekend, Lindsay surprised him, arranging for four of his college friends to come visit for a long weekend, then she and Abby escaped from all that testosterone by coming to our house. 

It was a great time as usual, and little Miss Abigail actually took three steps. right into Veronica’s arms.  Can you imagine how thrilled we all were.  There was a whole lot of squealing going on.  Of course, I think it was just so special that she walked to Auntie V, you would have thought it was the first baby that ever took steps, we were all so surprised!

She’s poised for takeoff now, oh her mama is going to be one busy lady, chasing her around the house.

 

 

Cynthia brought Jasmine and Alisha to visit on Saturday.  They were so good with Abby, it’s so special to see these sweet little girls that you knew as babies holding your granddaughter. 

Abby loved them, she was all eyes, sitting on Jasmine’s lap, watching everything Alisha did. 

Linds wished they lived closer, they would be great at entertaining Abby.

 

 

She took a bath in Grammie’s tub.  Is there anything sweeter than a baby taking a bath. 

Oh, I’m so smitten, what a special little granddaughter this is…

This is why I'm cutting my hair... SERIOUSLY!

I've been back and forth, do I cut my hair, or do I continue to leave it long and wear it up and french braid it occasionally.  What a reality check this was, I'm calling Mary Beth tomorrow for a cut.  Geezy Pete Hil, what were you thinking...

Still thrilled with micro-irrigation…

It’s September, never a good month in my garden.  By September, I’m tired of watering, doing it sporadically, the plants are fading away, the ferns are dying.  But not this year, oh no, it’s a jungle out there.  Just look at the size of these plants!  And I haven’t watered one single time since mid July when John installed the micro irrigation system.  Isn’t it awesome?  Check out the size of that impatien next to the the chiminea,  it’s huge!

Some of you may think, egads, that’s overkill.  Of course it’s overkill, it’s me, ladies, I’m always over the top.  But I lo-ove it.  I think it’s wonderful! 

We’ve had such a hot dry summer here, it just astonishes me how well this works.  Hubby installed it in the front, also, so I don’t have to water the plants in my little courtyard.  I’m 100% maintenance free.

Think about it for your gardens next summer.  I can give you all the info.  It’s very inexpensive, it’s all commercial products, not consumer, prices are much better.  It’s an amazing sight to behold… 

~ jan

 

Fish stew, first attempt….

Okay, after several emails back and forth with Carlene this morning, I decided to give fish stew a try.  She was skeptical because flounder is thin, she thought it might disintegrate in the soup.  She lives in Maryland, has great access to all kind of fish and seafood, unfortuanately, in Heavensville it doesn’t happen.  I have to use frozen.

So here’s what I did, here’s how it turned out, and here is my take on it…

• 1 can diced italian tomatoes (a few herbs can’t hurt)
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 yukon gold potatoes, diced, with peeling left on
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 onion chopped
• handful of chopped cabbage (I didn’t have bok choy)
• 1 cup frozen lima beans
• handful of frozen peas.
• salt and pepper to taste

I simmered the veggies in the stock, then added two whole pieces of frozen flounder, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, then I took the fish out, gently, and let the rest of the soup simmer until done. 

Carlene likes her soup without cornstarch, we like the broth a bit thicker, so I added a tablespoon or so of cornstarch mixed into 1/2 cup water at the end.  Then I flaked the fish into chunks and carefully put it back in so it didn’t fall completely apart.

And????

It was good, it could have been better I think with a splash of white wine or sherry as Carlene suggested, but nothing was open, and I didn’t want to open a bottle for this.

It does taste like fish, but it’s not overpowering.  I added a few chow mein noodles (no croutons in the pantry) for some crunch.  And yes, that’s a dip bowl I put it in – it’s my favorite bowl for soup….

I would do this again for sure, but I don’t think I would want it more than a couple of times before tiring of it.  However, if I would have had bok choy, I would have worked in 3 of the five cancer starving ingredients, cooked tomatoes, bok choy and flounder.

Starving Cancer: Anti-Angiogenesis–Dr. Oz.

New research shows that 40% of women in their 40s have microscopic breast cancer. Even more shocking, almost 100% of people in their 70s will have microscopic cancer in their thyroid glands.

I was in the kitchen last week, turned on the television, Dr. Oz was on, and was very interested in what the segment was about, starving cancer by eating five foods regularly.  It’s pretty simple, ladies, we can do this and it could save our lives.

I was talking to Ryan about this earlier this week, he suggested making a fish stew, eating a cup of it a few times a week, using all the ingredients in this list, except for the strawberries.  I’m going to talk to my foodie guru buddy, Carlene, see if she can come up with a recipe for us… 

Here’s the video

And here’s the list of foods 

• Bok Choy
• Cooked Tomatoes
• Flounder
• Strawberries
• Artichokes

Exciting news at our house this weekend….

John and Deanna are engaged!!!!!  He proposed in Europe last week, and we are all absolutely thrilled about it!!!

Deanna is absolutely, positively adorable.  She’s spunky and cute, kind and gentle, funny and sweet, a true southern lady, and we’re all so lucky to have her in our lives. 

John is so happy, I’ve ever seen him as contented with his life as he is now.  All of our friends and family are so excited for them, oh what a wonderful gift this is. 

They came home to tell us this weekend, we’ve just had the best time!  Life is good for our family, we are so blessed.  ~ jan

Guess where I’ve been this week???

Oh, I could just gush all day about how precious she is.  She’s on the move, girlfriends, grips those little toes against the rug and balances, she’ll be walking soon, she stands alone for quite a while now.

She has a vocabulary, too!!!  Da-da, Ma-ma, ball and bye-bye.   She’s a happy baby, she has a mother that sings to her and plays with her and laughs a lot, so she mimics that.  She always gets quiet when you sing to her, and she pats her little hands on her thighs when music is playing.  She has rhythm!  She DOES!!!! She’s never still, always playing with her toys, methodically clicking certain buttons to make the sounds she wants to hear.  We just sit and watch her for hours.  She’s not a lap sitter, oh no, she’s a big girl, now, wants down to play all the time.

A lot of you have been where I’m at, you know what I’m feeling, the pure joy of every single thing she does.  She crawls all over the house, follows Lindsay like a little puppy, when she see’s Ryan, she squeals “DA-DA,” and crawls to him as fast as she can and puts out those little arms for him to pick her up. 

These pictures enlarge, if you click on them, you can see close ups.

It’s a wonderful thing, this grammie stuff.  I’m enjoying every second of it…  ~ jan

Just another day in the life…

So, I’m in the kitchen, whipping up a batch of Hungry Girl’s Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes, yeah, they’re really good, but anyway, they are lumpy, so I grab my whisk and smooth them out, and I’m thinking that I remember the day we didn’t have whisks. Yikes, I do!!!

In fact, a lot of my kitchen favorites are fairly recent.  Sometimes I forget just how old I really am.  And it just frosts my cake that I won’t be around to see what life in the kitchen will be like 30-50 years from now. 

Just wanted to give you all a reality check this morning.  Sure thing, umhmmm, thanks Jan, right…

A cartoon we all can relate to…

It’s a fall breeze….

The windows are open again, the front door, too. It’s 70 degrees this morning in Heavensville, and life is good.  Family is great, John and Deanna are having a wonderful vacation, Ry’s little family is doing well.

The only way it could be better is if I had a screen door to bang.  Seriously, one of my favorite sounds, preferably with little children running in and out… again

It’s a good day….

It’s cool enough this morning to have the front door open.  The fresh air coming in through the screen smells wonderful.  The dogs are bathed, laundry is spinning in the dryer, hubby just installed micro irrigation for the plants in front of the house.  It’s a productive morning.

John and Deanna are in Tuscany today.  I can’t wait to hear all about it.  I made white beans and tuna with olive oil and sage for lunch.  Trying to have a little taste of Tuscany in Heavensville…

I’ve got somebody I want you to meet….

My friend, Nisha, is a new grandmother to baby Gabby.  Nish and I have been friends forever, and I’ve known Gabby’s mother, Mandi, since she was a toddler.  Isn’t she a precious little baby?  Oh, it’s so much fun when your girlfriends are new grammies, too! 

Nisha is so proud of this grandchild, and she’s having so much fun on an extended visit, getting acquainted with her.

She’s almost two weeks old now, and I can’t wait to meet her!  Oh, she’s just too cute for words!!!!!!!!  She’s gonna be a beauty, just like her pretty little mama!!!

~ jan  

More of those simple things…

I’ve changed so much with the passing years.  Things that once gave me great pleasure no longer hold any interest.  I’m happiest when I’m home, puttering around the kitchen, walking thru my flowers, playing with my dogs, remembering the good times…

My memories of mother come often now, and they’re happy memories. Thoughts of her and the things she did brings a smile to my face daily.  I find myself doing things that she used to do, like cutting fresh roses from the garden for my kitchen, washing my lettuce in her favorite stainless steel bowl that I talk about so often, even sticking the knife in the lettuce the way she used to.  A basket of napkins sit on the counter, just simple things like this give me so much pleasure. 

Our family is on the move this month.  Ryan, Lindsay and bebe Abby are returning from her birthday week with her family in Washington State today.  John and Deanna are leaving in the morning for their vacation in Europe.  They’re going to Switzerland, driving thru Italy, and they’re going to Tuscany, and Verona, too.  Oh, how I look forward to the pictures and hearing about the italian countryside, the villages, and the people.

I’m missing Abby already and I just saw her two weeks ago.  She talks on the phone to me now, she yells “Hi,” “Hi,” “Hi.” I think there will be a trip to Lexington in our near future. 

But for today, I’m content to be home with the dogs and my music, just kicking back with a good book this afternoon.

Safe journey, dear family, life is good…

I’ve come to the realization….

I don’t like to smell like fruit.  So many of the body washes smelly “fruity.”  I’ve tried several, butthey’re just not right.  I like to smell like soap.  Is it my age?  Does this come from growing up using Safeguard and Dial? 

I’m not going to buy anything “fruity” again, even though the Dove Peachy one is pretty delicious smelling.

I just bought a new bottle of Dial Fresh Body Wash, and dahlings, I do smell ‘mahvelous’ today, I really do.  Much better than smelling like a pomegranate…

I’m old now, set in my ways, just can’t go with the trends on this one.  Nope, not even gonna try…

But the good news is that the old standby’s, Zest, Dial, even Caress have slashed their prices deeply, trying to compete with the new kids on the block.  Works for me…

So this is what I've been up to....

Every once in a while I get on an organizing kick.  I learned long ago that containment is the secret to organization, but then I somehow don't always apply it.  My pantry needed a redo.  We always have a lot of food in the house, and it's stacked in the pantry, and half of it you don't see because it's hidden in the back, and when you try to get items from the back, everything falls over or falls off the shelf.

So, I decided that it would be great if everything was in baskets, the way they do it in the Williams-Sonoma or Pottery Barn  catalogs.  Beautiful, brown baskets, all stacked in rows with all my staples in them.  But there are two problems with that, first of all, it could be really spendy.  Baskets aren't cheap, they would easily cost me $20-35 dollars each and that would be a major expense.  And second, they wouldn't be at all transparent, it would be hard to see inside them.

So Sunday I was on a mission, I went to Wally World, checked out their storage section, and found these plastic baskets.  The small ones cost me $1.50, the large size was $2.50, and I bought one jumbo one for $3.50.  And as a result, I bought a total of fourteen baskets, and reorganized my entire pantry for $30, yes, all of it for $30!  What a deal!!! The big basket on the bottom of the pantry I've had for several years, and you can't see the top shelf in the picture, but it's all organized, too, and I think it looks great!!! So here are the pictures, before and after, and yes, that's Hamburger Helper you see in there.  *blush*  Well, after all, it does make a great meal!!! And yikes, I didn't realize it looked that bad before, I really didn't.

What does your pantry look like?  Maybe you would like to redo yours, too.  These baskets work great, you can pull out, for instance, all your pastas, take a look at what you need and put them back, nothing falls over, nothing spills out.  Works for me...

 ~ jan

I thought of mother this morning...

I fixed my favorite summer breakfast, a strip of bacon, poached egg on an english muffin, slices of green pepper, a fresh tomato from John and Deanna's garden, and an onion.  Mother always had an onion with every meal.  I ate it and thought of her, she would have enjoyed it so much.

I've been out of touch lately.  We spent several days in Nashville with the family, celebrating LC's sixty-fifth birthday.  It was such a good time, families are just the BEST!

Bebe Abby is simply adorable.  She's ten months old now, babbling nonstop, pulling up to everything, and crawling everywhere.  She's so funny, she crawls to the edges of rugs, and as soon as she hits hardwood she stops.  Smart little granddaughter.

And speaking of granddaughters, my friend, Nisha, is a new grammie.  Gabrielle Renee was born Monday morning, weighing in at 5 lbs. 5 ounces, the cutest little baby, ever, well, except for Abby, of course, with a head full of black hair.  I'm so happy for Mandi and Eric, they had a tough pregnancy, but all is well now and that baby is just precious!  I can't wait to get my hands on her...

Is dementia setting in?

I have a morning routine, same breakfast every morning, coffee, a poached egg on an english muffin and a piece of fruit.  I make my coffee, get out my coffee cup, put in the Splenda and fat free half and half, slice the english muffin, pop it in the toaster.

I fill a mug 1/3 full of hot water, add just a tiny splash of vinegar and a pinch of salt, crack my egg in the mug, nuke it for 1 minute 15 seconds, drain it with a mesh sieve, and put it on my english muffin.  I do this every, single morning.

So I go through the routine this morning like the trained monkey I am, have everything ready, put in the toast, start the microwave, but wait, where’s my coffee?  I can’t find it anywhere, meanwhile the microwave is beeping, the english muffin has popped up, and I’m getting frazzled.  This isn’t right!  Where IS that coffee!  I open the microwave, jeez louise, I had poached my egg in my fat free half and half and Splenda in my coffee cup!

I’m losing it, I really am…  And no, I didn’t taste it!  Threw it out, and started all over.  Then I burnt my muffin!  It was just one of those mornings…

Now THIS is funny!

I just read this on a wiki site and burst out laughing.  Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be one of these women!

Trinny and Susannah recommend that flat chested women substitute a bandeau made from flesh-colored tights tied around your chest like a bandeau rather than wearing an uncomfortable and unnecessary bra. This way, you can wear a skimpy top or dress without feeling exposed.

Your daily dose of cuteness….

Hillary’s rehearsal dinner caftan….

Is it just me, or is this the most gawdawful getup you ever saw in your life for the most talked about rehearsal dinner of the year.  Is this her idea of country chic?

Law-dee, I just had to do a poll, scroll down to the right sidebar and give me your opinion. 

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m thinking hil took a spill with this caftan look.  It will be memorable though, you can take that to the bank.  Somehow I keep thinking Aretha Franklin.  Oh, bad girl, Jan, bad girl… Well it’s the truth!

Girls just wanna have fu-un…

Crystal Light Natural Immunity Cherry Pomegranate

I’ve been telling everyone how good this Cherry Pomegranate drink is from Crystal Light.  I make it with half the water, so the flavor is really intense, however, the color is really intense, also.

I was out with LC on Milly last night, we were talking to the neighbors, I look at him and do a double take, holy crap, he has a Kool-Aid smile!!! Geezy Pete, I never thought about that!  I asked him if I had one, too, and of course I did!

Law-dee, two old people on golf carts with smiley stains on their mouths.  Our neighbors must have thought we were nuts!  Why didn’t somebody say something?

Cause they were too busy laughing to themselves, that’s why!!!!! 

So this morning I’m drinking it through a straw.  Smart idea huh, well, not really!  I only have one straw, yes, one straw, I’ve had it for a whole year now. It’s a jumbo straw, I had a smoothie at Panera last summer and that’s where it came from.  And no, I’m not a hoarder, I never save anything, but this thing is great for smoothies.

Oh, this sound so stupid, saving a straw for a year!  But I don’t know where to find really big straws.  Note to self:  try to find a package of them this weekend. 

So anyway, I took a big drink with that huge straw and that damn stuff is so strong that I got really choked!  So now here I sit, trying to recover from that little episode.

Oh joy, just another day in paradise…

More about being a Grammie….

I’ve missed Abby so much this week.  She is so much fun, and such a good little kid.  Having her last weekend not only gave me a chance to have time with her by myself, but to appreciate what a good job her parents are doing.

I try not to bore all of you too much by being a gushy grammie, but oh, I could just go on and on.  Nine months is such a cute age, she puffs out her little chest and crows like a rooster.  She squeals and babbles and drools and lowers her head for you to kiss it.  She gets up on all fours and tries to do the bear walk on her tippie toes.  She chews on her feet, and reaches for you and inhales her food faster than you can spoon it in her mouth.  She crawls across the floor, and sometimes she gets on all fours, and hops like a little frog.

The dogs hover, but don’t touch, but those days may be numbered.  She’s after them, she just can’t get to them yet.  She walked herself the length of the couch trying to get to Maggie. Mags was egging her on, with her little tail wagging, she wanted to play with her, and ended up pouted on the couch all weekend because I wouldn’t let her.  Mollie tried her best to sniff her and sit on the quilt with her, but I wouldn’t let her do that, either.  It’s only because Abby was allergic to them when she was an infant, but now the allergies seems to have passed, she didn’t have any reaction to them at all.  But she did to study them intently, no doubt trying to figure out how to get her hands on them.

I opened up the fridge after they left, there sat her YoBaby Yogurt and her Organic baby food.  I haven’t thrown it out yet, it makes me happy just seeing it.

So many of you are probably smiling right now, you’ve been though this already, while it took me longer than a lot of you to be a Grammie, but it’s a wonderful thing.  My friends asked if I was exhausted and ready for her to leave.  Not at all, I wasn’t that tired and I was sad to see her go.  But she’ll be back, or we’ll go there.  Hubby is retiring in the fall, so we will have more free time to visit.  I feel so lucky that they only live three hours from us.

But I won’t bore you with this, I won’t go on and on about how adorable  she is anymore.  Well, I guess I already did, didn’t I.  *blush* Can’t help it, she’s just so darned cute!

I had a senior moment…

I needed applesauce, so off I go to the grocery store last night.  I just took my time, browsed the aisles, was gone so long hubby called to see if I was okay.

“I’m fine, I told him, just shopping, be home in a bit.”

So I checked out, came home with $30 worth of impulse buys, put it away, sit down to talk to him and realize I forgot the applesauce!

I FORGOT THE APPLESAUCE!!!  That was the only reason I went in the first place!

It’s just hopeless, I can’t remember anything these days.  So I have to go back today and pick up a jar.  Or  I just peel the shriveling apples in the crisper drawer that I forgot I had and make my own.

Now that’s a thought…

3 Funny Moments from Ma & Pa Kettle Go To Town

God love ‘em, they were just the BEST!

The Changing Face of Beauty

There’s a whole lot of patty-caking going on at my house this weekend…

Abby’s first sleepover with Grammie and Grandpa was an absolute blast!  She got to visit with so many people, Veronica and Rich came to visit, so did Trish, Adie and Hayden.  She got to see Marti and Sandy and Janet.  Her schedule went right out the window, she was up late and slept in this morning.  Worked for us ;o)

Guess who’s coming for her very first sleepover with Grammie?

Abby Leigh!  Ryan and Lindsay are going out of town to a wedding tomorrow night, and bebe granddaughter is staying with me, well LC, too of course, but he’s working!  Oh, what a fun weekend I have ahead of me!!!!

Call to see if she’s napping girlfriends, if she’s not, stop over!!!

Remember this? Seals and Croft, Summer Breeze

Maidenform Women’s Control It! Built up Camisole

I’ve blogged many times about various types of body shapers, all the way from Spanx to Shapee’s, I’ve tried them all over the years, and so has Nisha.

Well, she never found one she liked until now.  She called me this week just raving about this Maidenform Women’s Control It, her girlfriends are wearing these every day and loving them.  She says when it’s on, it’s really comfortable, and they’re on sale this week at Kohl’s.  Buy one, get one half price.

So of course I hotfoot it down to Kohl’s, because if she likes this thing it has to be good.  I dragged hubby along with me, he’s somewhere in the store, I grab the style in this picture, there is also a spaghetti strapped one, a full cami, and one that goes underneath your bra, and I’m off to the dressing room.  Nisha warned me that it’s really skinny, but that it stretches when you put it on.  Umhmmmm, sure it does.

I was pretty skeptical as this thing was no bigger than a leg warmer (oh, that’s a blast from the past) but I take off my shirt and begin the laborious process of putting it on.  I twist and I turn and I struggle and I finally get it on, willing the damn thing to stretch before I have to take it off, all the while little warning bells are going off in my head, which I’m choosing to ignore.  I put on my shirt, yeah, the fat looks smoother, the girls are smashed, too, which is fine by me, and I stay in the dressing room for a minute, thinking it will magically stretch before I start pulling it over my head, but no such luck! I’m trying to get out of it, and it’s like Houdini trying to escape from chains, I finally manage to get it above my boobs and get my arms out of it, but I’m stuck.  I’m hopelessly, totally stuck!  This thing is not going to go over my head.

So I call hubby on the cell, tell him he has to come to the dressing room, thank goodness it was early, nobody was around, cause’ he had to take the thing off of me, and to hurry because I’m getting claustrophobic.

He didn’t even comment, bless his heart, he’s lived with me enough years to know I get myself in worse situations than this, he just yanked it over my head and left.

And did I put it back on the rack?????  Of course not, I bought it!  It’s gonna stretch, I just know it!!!!  Lord have mercy, what am I thinking???

If you’re interested, here’s the Amazon link, but the sale at Kohl’s is through the weekend.  And it’s not with the bras, it’s on a side wall with the foundation garments.  They have some Maidenform cami’s that are $18, that’s not what you’re looking for, this one was $34.00.

Is there anything better than a late breakfast on a summer morning. A mug of coffee, bacon, eggs over easy, fresh tomato, green onions, green pepper slices and toast with blackberry jam. Life is good....

ComfortIs Review…

I talked a few months ago about my fur kids and our battles with the dreaded fleas.  Maggie is allergic to Advantix, so we used Frontline Plus, it would work for two weeks, and the fleas would return.  We bombed the house, washed the bedding, put that FrontLine on faithfully, and yet the fleas persisted.

So, at the advise of Angi, for whom I shall always be grateful, I tried ComfortIs.  It’s a fairly new flea med, prescription only, under $15 a month, and it’s a pill.  No more putting that liquid on their backs and not being able to bathe them for days, you just give them this beef flavored pill and the fleas die within 30 minutes and don’t come back!

Well, is it working???  YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!!!!  It really works!!!!!  For the first time in ages, we haven’t seen those pesky little devils on the girls.  I’m sold, it’s a great product, you do have to administer it on a full stomach or they can upchuck.  That happened to Mags once, about two hours after she had taken it, but we were safe, it’s effective after an hour, and she only threw up the one time, probably because her tummy wasn’t as full as it should have been.  So now I feed them immediately after a meal.

It doesn’t have heartworm protection, that’s the only disadvantage, but this is by far the best produce I’ve found.  So if you’re having problems with your canine buddies this summer, you might want to try this.  It’s a good thing…

~ jan

Carrie Underwood’s Dog Ace

This is so cute, and you get a peek at her house, too.