I’ve been looking for a small basket for my tea and Splenda, so I can sit in on the counter instead of digging through the cabinet every time I want to brew a cup. I found the perfect one last weekend and was just thrilled.
It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy at this age, a little thing like this is such a kick in the pants.
~ jan
40 years of marriage..
A married couple in their early 60s was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant.
Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table. She said, 'For being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish.'
The wife answered, 'Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in her hands.
The husband thought for a moment: 'Well, this is all very romantic,
but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.
The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a
wish.
So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof!...the husband became 92 years old.
The moral of this story:
Men who are ungrateful bastards should remember fairies are female.....
We had car problems when we visited John and Deanna, so they kept our car to take to the shop and John sent us home in his Corvette. Not only is it bright Tweety Bird yellow, which just screams, “look at me, look at me” but it’s also a convertible and the most gawdawful, uncomfortable car imaginable when you have a three hour drive with two dogs sitting on your lap. Even John is tired of it, he seldom drives it and is getting ready to sell it and buy a “sedan.”
Maggie was terrified. All of the wind noise, coupled with her dislike of interstates anyway, just drove her over the edge. She kept clawing me, trying to climb to the back seat, but of course there was no back seat. She was cowering on LC’s lap, just trembling, and we finally stopped and got her carrier out of the trunk and put it in on the console between us in an effort for her to find a hidey hole so that she would feel safe, and then poor hubby was trying to move it enough to shift the gears, and Mollie was totally befuddled by all that was going on, it was just the trip from hell!
And now we are headed to Lexington, so we have to drive the damn thing again. How did I ever think these cars were so wonderful? Well, okay, it was nice this afternoon before the clouds rolled in. Hubby took the top down and we went for a ride in the country, but that was a half hour ride, with no dogs. Oh, I do love convertibles, just one more age appropriate.
Don’t you just love fall? It’s clouds and sunshine today, windy, and cool. I have the windows open and can hear the wind blowing and the falling leaves skimming across the walk. The birds are on the feeder, the house is quiet, it’s just perfect. One of those days that you just want to last forever…
I picked up a pack of Caramel Creme. One taste and and you won’t miss dessert, pinkie swear. The taste is unbelievably good. Reminiscent of a tart, tangy creme brulee.
Next I’m trying the Lemon Torte, then the Chocolate Raspberry. The Triple Berry Creme doesn’t do it for me as much, but I’ll eventually get around to those as well.
Check them out here, all are 100 calories of pure decadence. Trust me on this one, they are to-die-for.
~ jan
I had to go back to Louisville today to the dentist, so LC and I met Lindsay and Abby at Cracker Barrel. She has on tennies! And she walks in them really well….. Oh, she’s growing up so fast..
Ryan and Lindsay took Abby to Red Robin for lunch and Linds sent me this picture of her drinking out of a straw. I was soooo excited when I saw it!
Oh, grandchildren do this to you, don’t they, you get thrilled over the simplest little thing they do. Every day now she learns something new, and it just makes my day to hear about it. Her parents are really good about sharing each milestone with me, I’m so lucky that they are so thoughtful.
Apparently this latest trick was a huge hit. Sweet bebe loved the idea, and wanted to do it over and over again.
I hope I don’t bore all of you with this, it’s just such a kick in the pants for me every time I get a picture!!!
~ jan
I have a little magic for you this morning. This is guaranteed to give you warm fuzzies and bring a tear to your eye. What a lover this seal is. Who would have thought they would do something like this. A once in a lifetime experience, this is simply amazing.
Thanks for sending this, Carlene – you’re the best!
~ jan
Last week I decided that, for once, I was going to get everything ready ahead of time, because we had to leave early (6:30am) last Saturday for Abby's birthday party. Oh, I was organized, I pressed our clothes, had everything laid out the night before, the clothes, the jewelry, the socks, the shoes, it was all waiting for me to just slip into and leave.
I opened a new pack of trouser socks, picked out the brown ones, tucked them into my shoes, ladies, I was so organized.
I’m up early, everything went like clockwork, and I was so proud of myself for having everything run so smoothly.
We pull into Ryan’s driveway, he and John were outside smoking the hams, John opens my car door for me, I get out, and he says, “Homer (he always calls me Homer, not mom, long story) why do you have on purple socks?”
I look down at my feet, and sure enough, I have screaming bright purple socks on. Well, it was dark in my bedroom, they looked brown, pinkie swear they did. You know how trouser socks always look different when you put them on and they stretch out, well they sure looked different, they looked hideous!
So had to borrow socks for Lindsay and change. No way was I going to sit around at bebe Granddaughter’s first birthday party with those socks on. And dear Dilly didn’t miss a beat as she went to her drawer to find me a pair. She’s so used to me by now, she rolls with it pretty good.
Which brings me to my original point, I, once again screwed it up. As I’ve said before, there i s no hope, there is NO hope….
This was on her Twitter feed. Just thought you would all enjoy a peek at how the rich and famous celebrate their birthday…
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
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…..
Hey, four out of six is pretty good….
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.
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…
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…
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!!!!!
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.
Here’s what I have:
And others, too numerous to mention. *blush* But these are the ones I’m enjoying the most this fall…
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…
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.
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.”
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.
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
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
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…
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!
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?
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!!!
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…
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…
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…
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!!!
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.
~ jan
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…
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
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…
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.
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…
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
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
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…
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 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…
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
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 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…
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