I’ve got to figure out my down comforter dilemma

A lot of times I use this blog to just work through things in my mind.  It’s cheaper than a therapist, and probably bores the beejus out of most of you, but it’s what I do.

Enter JAN’S DOWN COMFORTER DILEMMA!  Now I’ve blogged in the past about my love for my fluffy comforter, cool in the summer, warm in the winter, light as a feather, ”fluffy,” well, it is if you keep flipping it from end to end, which you have to do because those feathers shift.  It’s the “traditional” comforter, the one that has no channel quilting, even though quilted comforters are really popular these days, probably because people don’t want to deal with the lumps of the old-fashioned ones, but I’m wondering if I’ll get the same lofty experience with a quilted one, looks to me like it flattens out the feathers. And no, this isn’t a picture of my bed, mine is actually puffier than this one in the picture, well it is when I flip it.  Correction, it is when hubby helps me flip it. 

And since I have an iron bed, the one I blogged about back in 2008, the one where you all did a poll and chose not the one I bought, you all liked the Contessa and the Hamden, but I bought the Interlude.  The others were a little too much “Little Whorehouse in Texas” for me, I think that the old fashioned style comforter just looks better on my bed, it’s so inviting.  You can read the old entry here, but it’s not entirely accurate, because the painted armoire didn’t go to Lexington after all, because once I got the big sleigh bed out of the room, I had plenty of room for it.  So poor Linds and Ryan will have to wait until they cart me off to Happy Acres Retirement Home to get the armoire, and by that time they probably won’t even want it because they bought a lovely one.

So maybe, when the time comes, I can put it in my room down at Happy Acres, open it up and put my computer in it, and all of my fleece stretch clothing in the drawers.  Holy crap, I’m not looking forward to old age!!!!   And egads, I’m off track, but here’s the click again if you want to see the bed post.  Haaaaa, “Bed Post” good one Jan, good one!

But back to my dilemma, now hubby is not a fan of the down, not because of how it sleeps but because of how it looks.  He says the bed looks terrible, with that lumpy comforter folded on top of it,  so this summer, he convinced me to put it away, and instead I used a really pretty quilt.  Pretty, but hard and stiff and heavy! I hate that quilt!!!!  I spent my entire summer not being able to snuggle into soft downy feathers.  So I overruled him this week and the down is back on the bed, and did I mention that he is not a fan?

So what do I do, do I “try” the quilted kind, or do I we just keep flipping my fluffy one.  I might add that Maggie is a huge fan of the down, she sinks her little Yorkie body deep into it, sighs, snuggles in a ball and she’s out.

I think I may just have answered my question.  Lumpy, fluffy it is.  See, that wasn’t so bad was it, and I saved myself a bundle.  Therapy must be really spendy these days!

LC will adjust to it, he’s gotten used to every other wackadoo thing I’ve done for the past forty-one years.  I’ll just buy yet another duvet, freshen it up a bit for the fall.  Mags will love it, me, too…

Soft Surroundings Clothes, oh so pretty….

You know how I’m always lamenting the fact that I never see pretty clothes.  Well, my friend, V, told me about this site earlier in the spring, it’s called Soft Surroundings, and they have a gorgeous collection of fall clothes.  Everything I love, bohemian chic, soft flowy skirts, boots, oh my.  Did I mention that the models are stick thin?  *sigh*

Take a look for yourself.  Here’s the click….

Just in case you missed Puppy Love…

 

They’re airing it again on The Hallmark Channel, Saturday, September 15th at 4 central time.  Record it people, it’s an awesome “feel good” movie.

And Candace Cameron is rockin’ the greatest haircut, ever!  Such a cute movie, try it, you’ll like it.

  ~ Pinky swear you will ~

Nordstrom’s iPhone 5 Case

  Oh my, the new iPhone just came out today and Nordstrom’s is already selling cases for it.  Heart be still, this is calling my name!  And it matches Tootie!!!!!  Yes, I realize it’s Kate Spade and it’s $40, but somethings are just worth it!  And I am having a birthday after all, well, in November I am.  But I do have my BlogHer stash, thanks to all of you clicking on the BlogHer link in my sidebar, and it’s my mad money.  Well it is, and Mikey really, really likes this!  Oh my, I just clicked on the link and the “expected” ship date is 12/6/12.  That’s fine, some things are just worth the wait.

One of life’s “foolish” pleasures.

You like it, too?  There are lots more to choose from, here’s the click, enjoy!  ~ Jan

10 things I need to do…

1.  Brush Maggie’s teeth, so much fun, you can’t imagine!

2.  Order Ryan’s birthday present, I have a plan, Stan!

3.  Order Abby’s birthday present, same order as Ry’s free shipping ;o)

4.  Eat healthy for the rest of my natural born life.  This weekend was not pretty!

5.  Spend more time in the sunshine, less on the computer.

6.  Get up at 5am 4am 3am so I can finish what I need to do on the computer to go outside.

7.  Cut back on Diet Cokes, easier now that I’ve discovered my love for Mr. Pibb Zero

8.  Post that great bread recipe that contributed to my weekend binge.

9.  Make soup, cooler weather equals soup chili. 

10.  Don’t even think about making a raisin pie to go with that soup chili!

I could go on and on, so much I need to do, but I really don’t want to, know what I mean, Vern???

I actually am on the wait list for NetTalk Duo this morning, I’m caller number 75 and my estimated wait time right now is 1 hour, twenty minutes, and did I mention they have bad music.  Why am I doing this???

Because hubby is cheap and he got us phone service that costs $30 per year.  But it wasn’t working so well, so NetTalk Duo sent us a new unit  and now our telephone number is gone and they are routing us thru Albania or some such country.  So, if you have had no luck calling me on the landline for the past month, that’s why, or if you see an incoming call to your phone from some obscure number you’ve never heard of, pick it up, it’s probably me!  So that’s why I’m now caller number 75, trying to get my old number back again.  I hope they speak English!

And I might add, that V’s hubby Rich is about as cheap as LC, so he got them NetTalk Duo, too and theirs isn’t working so great either.  When we talk using it, we get these screeching sounds and have to hang up and redial.  Jeez…

But who calls me on the landline anyway?  Nobody, except friends that don’t have Verizon because I’m always about to go over my minutes on my cellphone usage, and if that happens, I’m in deep doodoo because it’s like $.45 per minute.

So why do we even bother with NetTalk Duo?  Because it’s $30 a year, that’s why.  AND, I might add, you get what you pay for, thus the telephone number from Albania.

Oh-oh, I’m now I’m hearing no music, which probably means they have cut me off, and I’ll have to dial back in and probably be caller number 135.  Oh phooey on this, Scarlett is going to worry about this tomorrow, too!!!! ROARRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

It’s okay to recycle…

I liked my header so much last fall, that I dusted it off, spruced it up a bit and put it on again.  What’s not to love, it’s just the best cartoon characters of all time.   In fact, I like it so much that I may use it next fall, too, and the fall after that, it just might become an annual thing.

And anyway, I’m not particularly industrious this weekend.  Okay, I’m lazy this weekend, I admit it, I’m not coming up with anything I like better than this cute little header.  Scarlett will worry about a new one next month and trot out something for halloween, but for now, it’s too pretty of a day to sit here and work anyway, so I’m not! 

I know, you’re trying to figure out what this picture of a bridge and autumn trees has to do with anything.  Nothing, really, I just stuck it in here.  It’s that kind of day…

Happy Birthday, John!

Forty years ago today, at this very minute, I was in labor.  John arrived at 2.05pm, all 7 pounds, 6 ounces of squirming, adorable baby.  I was a young mother, not quite twenty-two years old, and I had not the slightest idea of what to do with this precious little infant.  But I quickly figured it out, and we’ve had quite a journey through the years, John and I.

He was always a good child, and he is now a good man.  He’s inquisitive, funny, smart, kind, innovative, good to his parents, his brother, sister-in-law, his niece and now his little nephew, and most important he’s a good husband to his wife, he’s everything a parent wants their child to be.

It’s been such a short journey to your 40th birthday, son, I hope we have many, many more to celebrate together.

Happy Birthday!!!

Love, Mom

Puppy Love, airing Saturday, September 8th on the Hallmark Channel

 

Anybody in the mood for a feel good movie tomorrow night?

Candace Cameron Bure and a Shaggy Dog, what’s not to love.  She’s such a sweetie, she reminds me a lot of our Lindsay.  And she’s on the Hallmark Channel in a movie about a lovable mutt "Jake"  whose mischievous behavior pushes two unlikely people together for good. In the film, Candace plays single mom Megan who reluctantly adopts a puppy for her lonely child only to find herself in a custody battle of sorts with a handsome ballplayer who claims the dog was his first!

The Hallmark Channel launched a Pet Project this year with the mission to help families find pets who need forever homes.  Hats off to Hallmark for promoting this and to this lovely actress for helping promote shelter dogs with this movie.

This heartwarming tale airs Saturday night on the Hallmark Channel, check your local listings for times.  I’ll be watching, sounds like a cute movie supporting a good cause.

Williams Sonoma Chicken Coops for the Gentleman Farmer’s Wife..

Williams Sonoma has gone into the chicken coop business.  Don’t you just love Williams Sonoma, you never know what they’re going to come up with next, and every catalog is a treasure!

I have a feeling that my oldest son is not going to be happy about this post.  His pretty little wife is a sucker for any kind of animal, they would have quite the menagerie if it were left up to her.  Hubby saw this picture, and he was all over it like mayo on white, he’s ready to build a scaled down version of this for their backyard!  But then LC is always “egging” it on, this spring he was trying his best to talk them into a duck, but that just didn’t “fly” with John.  A duck would have been cute, but ducks poop everywhere, so that idea didn’t go over so well.

So now he’s really into this chicken coop idea and can just picture it nestled between the birch trees against the fence, next to the neighbor’s baying basset hound.  Oh dear, I don’t know how this one is going to play out, John is not a happy camper right now anyway, as sweet little Petunia, their mini-lop bunny, took a chunk out of his finger last week.

But on with the show…

This is pretty darn cute, I must admit, and who would have thought that raising chickens would ever be trendy.  Ma would have loved this, she would thought the coop was wonderful.  We had chickens when I was a child, the chickens are fine, but the roosters can be mean.  You don’t need a rooster for a chicken to lay eggs, however, and chickens don’t crow, they just cluck, so how noisy could a couple of chickens be, really...

I think the trendy chicken fad started with none other than that famous trend setter, Martha Stewart, who is famous for her chickens.  She has raised chickens for thirty years and has all kinds of exotic breeds, and I must admit, some of them are absolute beauties.  She even taped a show about chickens, you can watch the video here.

But back to Williams Sonoma, last year John was interested in bee keeping, and Williams Sonoma just happens to be selling this backyard beehive starter kit.  Yes, that’s right ladies, looks like good ‘ole Williams Sonoma is embracing the country life. 

Oh, John is not going to be happy about this at all, not happy at all! 

That coop is pretty amazing, though, you have to admit…

World’s Best UNFRIED Pork Chops

These pork chops are just wonderful, and they’re healthy! 

I made these for dinner this evening, snapped this picture for you and posted them on Jan CAN Cook.  Give these a try, you can thank me later, they’re that good!

~ Jan

New postings to Jan’s Daily Dish

 

If you look in the right sidebar under the Red Kap Logo, you will see an email submission box.  Now you can sign up to be automatically notified every time I post a new entry.  Well, not as soon as I post an entry, you usually receive the emails in the middle of the night.  Why?   Haven't a clue, I don't make the rules, I just skip down the yellow brick road.

Now doesn’t this make your little heart go pitter-patter???  Umhmmmm, sure it does, I know you're thrilled to be able to do this.   Hey, it’s been a slow day. ;o)

Country Door Online, I’m a fan…

 

This catalog came in the mail last week, and it’s a goodie.  It’s chocked full of reasonably priced things that I don’t need, but am tempted to buy anyway.  I especially like this copper scarecrow, stuck in a bale of hay with an old shirt and a mum pinned to the lapel.  It’s pretty cute.

I love outdoor fall decorations, and have never forgiven hubby for leaving this awesome old iron wheelbarrow behind the garage at our previous house when we moved to the condo.  I know, I know, it’s been ten years, Jan, get over it! 

It was so cool, it had one side off, and I have a great picture somewhere of Munchie, my first Yorkie, sitting in that wheelbarrow amongst mums, cornstalks and pumpkins.  I would love for you all to see it, but have no idea where it is, but if you did see it, you would agree with me that he should never have left that wheelbarrow behind.  

Well, he shouldn’t!   You never know when you are going to need a long remembered treasure.

Just ignore me, I’m feeling nostalgic this afternoon.  Okay, LC, I’m over it.  You’ve gotten me countless other goodies over the year, that almost compensate for you leaving that wheelbarrow for new owners that probably didn’t appreciate it like I did.

Now go check out this catalog, you’re gonna love it.  Here’s the click!

Honey Boo Boo, can we sink any lower, really?

All week, everywhere I go online, people are talking about Honey Boo Boo.  So I decided visit YouTube and see what it was all about.

O.M.G. this is the absolute worst piece of garbage family I’ve ever seen in my life.  This is everything that is wrong in this country and it’s a huge hit.  If you haven’t seen this, take a look.  It’s an atrocity!

Clint Eastwood, I LOVED his speech last night…

I’m reading the buzz this morning how about “terrible” Clint Eastwood’s speech was last night, that he drifted wildly off-script, mumbled, that he was incoherent, that he spoke without notes and without a clue of what he wanted to say.  I think the silver-maned screen icon knew exactly what he was doing, and played to the audience like the consummate professional he is.

I THOUGHT HE WAS LIKE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR!!!!

We live in a nation of slick politicians, so slick that they are out of touch with the common people.  I don’t trust what they say, I always wonder what their agenda is, with their scripted speeches and their Brooks Brothers attire. But when Mr. Eastwood came onstage and just talked to the people, with his folksy demeanor, I was enthralled.  I thought the empty chair scenario was brilliant, and it infuriates me because people rake him over the coals because he didn’t follow protocol and wasn’t “polished.”  Sure he’s an older person, but he’s lived a lot of years and can contribute coherent thoughts to those who bother to listen to what he has to say.

I think it’s wonderful to see something unscripted.  And it’s not about politics with me, even though I don’t support Obama.  If he would have given the same “speech” at the DNC I would have enjoyed it just as much and laughed just as hard.

Life isn’t polished, people are real, we mumble, we ramble, we talk without sounding like a scripted robot, and if the digs he made hit a little too close to home, well it gives people something to think about it.

Thanks Clint Eastwood for giving America your thoughts, you sure did “Make My Day!”

Hey Everybody, I’m BA-ACK!!!!

That’s what Abby tells us now as she comes downstairs after her nap.  Of course we’re all thrilled to see her, and probably a lot more excited to hear her say those words than all of you are going to be when you read this.

It’s been a busy week here at the OK Corral.

Friends came over this week for a morning of Clabber (card game).  I made King Arthur Flour’s Morning Glory Muffins,  had everything on the patio ready to go, we sat down, and Dawn, the lovely lady on the right got stung on the cheek by a wasp  before she even got to take a bite.  My  neighbor Trish ran over to her house to get some kind of electronic wasp zapper, came back and was fighting the nasty stinging insects with her zapper paddle and they stung her twice on the hand before we discovered a nest under the table.  Hubby came to the rescue with wasp spray, and we were ready to play.  Except…

We couldn’t find Maggie anywhere, the patio is enclosed, but apparently she got out of the gate during all the wasp commotion.  We looked all over the house, no Mags, and finally a panicked Jan located her over at the neighbors sniffing the light pole where Ozzie, the lab likes to hike his leg.

In the meantime we had let Butterbean out to play on the patio, where he promptly mowed down my black eyed susans, and then kept darting to the top of the waterfall, where we all thought he might jump to freedom.  Of course there was no catching the little scamp, so we just started our game and hoped for the best.  He finally wore himself out and hubby was able to put the little rascal back in his house.

My friend, Diane came over yesterday with sweet Miley, her four pound Yorkie.  Miley is from the same breeder as Maggie, Trish’s London is, too, and oh what sweet little souls they all are.  They are so cute when the are playing together, it’s enough to melt any dog lover’s heart, just watching them together.  That’s Diane holding the dogs, my Maggie on the left with her tongue out, her Miley on the right. 

Then fast forward to this morning.  Trish had told me that the hummingbirds were “flocking” to the mimosa tree down by the woods that is blooming again.  The honeysuckle is also in bloom, we can’t figure out why.  It never blooms twice in the summer, but then this hasn’t been a “normal” summer.

So I grab my coffee, pick up my camera and with Maggie in tow,  I’m off for a photo op with all those hummingbirds.  Right…  It was 8am, and there wasn’t a hummingbird in sight.  I called Trish on the phone, she said maybe they weren’t awake yet.  Awake yet?  It was 8am for pete’s sake.  Then Maggie started whining because she needed to potty, and the hawks were circling, so no way was I going to let her do it, so we came home, where she promptly came in the house and instead of using her piddle pad, she proceeds to pee by the french door going to the patio.  Was she mad at me?  Ya think?  She never does that!

So about 10am Trish calls to tell me that the hummingbirds had arrived, so I grabbed my camera and trekked once again to the woods.  Her idea of hummingbirds “flocking” was one little bitchy female that kept running off all the other birds, and was impossible to photograph.

All I managed to capture was one lonely little butterfly before I called it a day and came home.

So here I sit, anxious to watch Clint Eastwood tonight, it will be interesting to see what he has to say.  I’m drinking a coke, that was frozen, it has now spewed all over my desk, and is dripping onto my jeans.

Fascinating entry, isn’t it.  I told you it would be more fun to hear Abby say, “Hey everybody, I’m back!”

Oops, I didn’t see that….

So, it’s late last night, well late for me, 11pm, I was up reading, went to the computer in the sunroom, started for the living room, tripped over an “object” that DH had put by the side of the chair, fell kersplat, knocked the “object” clear to Sunday, knocked over the chair, and there I laid,  sprawled spread eagle on the floor.  No, I didn’t hurt anything but my dignity, and even that wasn’t so bad since LC was in bed and nobody saw me.  But it just irks the heck out of me when I do stupid things, which is pretty much every.single.day.of.my.life.  I could have hurt myself, but luckily I didn’t, I’m not even sore this morning.

But at least I’m not alone, check out these old(er) people, they’ve had a few “kersplat” moments of their own.

Happy Monday!

Jan reviews The Best Marigold Hotel

I can’t say enough good things about this movie, I LOVED it!  The cast was incredible, the screenwriting was amazing, the cinematography was, as Judi Dench called it, “an assault on the senses.”  It was full of memorable quotes, I want to see it again just to relive those quotes one more time.

As much as I disliked Hope Springs, I liked this movie.  The actors were superb and it was so unique, the sites and sounds of India were so vivid, it transported me to another world. 

What a wonderful adventure this was, not for everybody, but if you want to watch an excellent movie and experience a different culture, it’s a must see.  And it’s so refreshing to see a movie cast with older people who look “normal.”  No plastic surgery for these English actors, they have lived life and they show it, and it’s a beautiful thing.

They’re releasing it to DVD September 18th.

Here’s the synopsis:

A small group of British retirees learn that the life they want to live might not be the life they need to live after pooling their resources to spend their twilight years in a unique setting located in India. Upon arriving at the once-opulent Marigold Hotel, however, the eager pensioners come to realize that rumors of the building's restoration have been greatly exaggerated. But just when it starts to seem that the privileged seniors have been swindled out of their life savings, they summon the courage to sever their ties to the past, and embrace their new life with a sense of wonder and adventure. Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, and Dev Patel star in this uplifting comedy-drama from director John Madden (The Debt, Shakespeare in Love).

Read an interview with Judi Dench here.

Abby’s first day of school…

I’m all about Abby this month, so much is happening in her little life.  She calls her school, Kangaroo School because the classrooms are identified by different animals, and hers is a Kangaroo.

I was thinking the other day, that when she grows up she can look at these blogs and see herself through the years.  It’s a wonderful gift I’m giving my little granddaughter, this online diary of her life, and her baby brother will be following right behind her. 

Life is good this morning, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and my little sweetie is a (pre)school girl…

The funniest birth story, yet…

My friend, Mary, sent me this story this morning.  Oh, ladies, I’m going to start your morning with a giggle.  Good one, Mary, thanks for sending!

The "Middle Wife" by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome to do so.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.  She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday." 
 
"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in
my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an
umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and
wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, "Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!"
Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for like an hour, "Oh, oh, oh!" (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)  "My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.  (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands mimicking water flowing away.. It was too much!)

"Then the middle wife starts saying "push, push," and "breathe", breathe. They started
counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother.

He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center,
(placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there.

"When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there.

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat.

I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day,
I bring my camcorder, just in case another "Middle Wife" comes along.

 

Live every day as if it is your LAST chance to make someone laugh!!!! ( I do my very best)

My Grandchildren, heart be still….

Lindsay’s parents are visiting, and her dad sent me family pictures this morning.  Oh my, this one is simply wonderful.  Grammie is printing this ASAP and putting it on her bulletin board!

Lindsay always told me that her mom was great with braids.  Well, she wasn’t kidding, I tried doing this with absolutely no luck.  The woman is amazing!

Okay, so I’m printing this one, too.

Thanks for the pictures, Howard, you made my day!!!!