Monday, December 21, 2009

Delivering Christmas

I was given an assignment to deliver 5 bags of Christmas goodies. My "boss", if I could call her that, came over last evening to bring the bags, so I could take them to the Primary workers who live near me. I am the Primary Secretary, and my "boss" is the Primary President. We work at teaching the kids from ages 18 months to age twelve.

So today I had DH drive me to other people's houses. But first he needed to go to the church building and do some shoveling. The people in charge had asked him to come at 7 PM tonight, but he was afraid there would be a freeze over, and it would be too hard to remove the snow. We do have quite a few members who own snow blowers, but for some reason, they didn't think of using those. There is one in the church's shed, but they aren't sure where the key is.

So, DH drives past there earlier this morning to see what needs to be done, and some wonderful soul had already been there, and used a snow blower to clean off most of the walkways. DH took DD back to the building and they shovelled a little bit to make sure it was clear.

DH has been shovelling and blowing snow for the past 2 days. He could not take his snow blower to church because he uses an electric blower. That way, he doesn't have to worry about gas, but he would need an outside electric outlet to use it at church, or open up a window inside the building, with the cord hanging out. It's not the best way to clear up the snow.

We went to our first stop, and dropped off a bag to a young woman named Anna, who is 6 months pregnant. Her dogs were all excited, but I did not venture into her house. She said thanks a couple of times, and we left. Next stop - another duplex a few doors up from Anna's place. I knew the person, a widow named Sue, would most likely still be at work. Sue is a widow. I knocked, and heard more doggie excitement, but no Sue. I left the bag's handle draped over the door knob, with her Christmas card tucked into the door frame.

The next stop: Matt and Sue Ellen's apartment. Sue Ellen is one of the counselors working in Primary, and I had to drop off the Primary class rolls for this coming Sunday, as we will be traveling up to Cashtown for a family Christmas dinner. We visited with Matt, and Sue Ellen was still at work, because she works from 11AM until 7PM.

Then we drove over to a married couple's home to deliver 2 bags of goodies, because they both work in Primary. I knocked on the door, and there was no answer. However, the door swung open on it's own, and I left the bags and card right there next to the door. I think the wife was home, and she was probably occupied someplace in the house where she could not hear us knock.

So, the last place was a street close to home. When we arrived, we could see that the driveway had not been cleared off yet. I wondered if they were home. Well, they actually have 2 driveways, and neither one was clear. Then we saw Brenda in her neighbors driveway. I gave her the gift bag and card, and DH decided to help her clear one of her driveways. I have a bad shoulder, so I sat it out inside, while they cleared off the driveway.

DH is such a helper!

Anyway, my MIL called tonight to thank us for the candy we sent her. We always buy some candy from Rhebs, and we know the family likes it. We love it, too, and always have a box at Christmas.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Soooo...

I'm pretty happy right now. DH is home for the rest of the year, there is major snow on the ground, I'm ready for Christmas (almost), I'm feeling okay. What more could you ask for?

Last week I would have liked a little slower pace, because I have two callings at church. Both were keeping me very busy. I also have to do housewife stuff, so housework suffered.

I've been watching HGTV a lot lately, and drooling over the kitchens and bathrooms. The house we are in right now has a small kitchen, and a small bathroom. I like the kitchen window, which is good for growing herbs. I will be planting seeds there soon. I only have one lonely lemon verbena plant there now.

I don't like the fact that there is no window in our bathroom. We actually have 2 bathrooms, and neither one has a window. I know we will have to rectify that when we build our retirement home. DH said to make a list, so windows in the kitchen and bathroom are on my list. Also, a much bigger kitchen, and a master bathroom.

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Almost ready!

For Christmas, that is. It's been a month since my last post. Time sure does fly by so quickly these days. I've had some amazing things happen this month. I signed onto a family search program that my church has, and I am adding to my family tree. It's so much fun, and I've done some of the temple work for my family. My parents have been gone since 2002, and 2007, so I've started them off one November 20th by doing their baptisms and confirmations. It just so happens that November is both of their birthdays, so happy birthday, Mom and Dad.

I also started the work for one ancestor who had her work done previously by someone who erroneously did the work as though she was a man. I know she was a female, because I've been to her grave. She is buried next to her husband on the Evergreen Cemetery on the Gettysburg Battlefield in PA. I've been there several times. I need to get those pictures of graves together in one place in a scrapbook.

I also had a great Thanksgiving with a lot of the family in attendance over in Harpers Ferry, WV. It was good to see all of the youngsters.

I also got a new laptop computer, and a new 7" television to set next to the computer. I originally thought the television would make a good kitchen tv, but it does not pick up the on air channels very well, so it's hooked up to cable, and gets quite a few channels. I can also detach it from the cable and play videos though a USB port or using a SD card.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Post Halloween


There is still too much candy in the house, and my resistance is low. Eeek!

I am looking forward to seeing family at Thursday's wedding in the DC Temple. Then afterward we are going to the Cheesecake Factory for linner (that's the meal between lunch and dinner). I haven't been to the CF since my Baltimore days, so it's been about 10 years ago, at least. The one at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore is usually hopping with so many people, but since we will be dining (or is it linnering) at the White Flint Mall location in the middle of the day, it should not be too crowded. The reviewers at Yelp say that service can be bad at that location.

DD had fun on Friday at a church single's barn dance. She dressed up like a rocker, took the guitar hero guitar as a prop, and did her hair and makeup. She doesn't usually wear makeup. She looked really pretty, as you can see in the photo.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Spring Vacation planning

Well, I've been looking at places to stay in Orem/Provo Utah this Spring, and now that I have the dates for DD's spring break (March 29th - April 4th), I guess we can start making reservations. I have a few places that are quite reasonable, and they are not actually hotel or motel rooms. They are apartment style rooms with full kitchens in a house. One place is right in Provo, where MIL lives, and the other is in Orem, which is right next to Provo. We are going out there to celebrate MIL's 90th birthday. Her birthday is actually on the 8th of April, but school is very important to DD, so I'm sure family will understand.

Now we also should figure out which classes DD will be taking, as that will impact our travel plans. This past semester, she to spread out her classes over the week, so she doesn't get into a crunch time with papers and projects all due on the same day. It has worked out well for her, and she's getting good grades. We will start the registration process this weekend, so we can be sure she has the classes she needs, and that we can choose our travel times according to her classes.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Books

I've been reading Moss Hart's Act One. It's the rags to riches story of his journey to becoming one of Broadway's top playwrights. It's a good read, but I wish there was more. He died not long after writing it.

I've also read Kitty Carlisle's memoirs, Kitty. She was Moss Hart's wife. I saw quite a bit of her on television. I did not know that she sang, because I never saw her sing anything. She was on a popular game show.

In the Dark

For Tummy, I present a picture of a Wooly Bully.

The "In the Dark" title refers to us yesterday, and we didn't have tv or internet for a while, either. It just helped realize how much we depend on electricity. I think our next house will be solar, with maybe a windmill assist, if it all works out.

There are so many things you cannot do without electric power. Like get some decent sleep, because you rely on a CPAP machine, or vacuum you house, or turn on a fan, or the stove. You get the picture.

I'm glad it's back on now.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

First post of October

Because Tummy said so!

I've been kind of busy or tired or a bit of both. I'm doing okay most days, but the right knee joint and the left arm rotator cuff make me scream out sometimes. I've been asked to be a secretary for the kids group at church, so that is taking up my time as well. Not paid work, but I do enjoy data and reports.

The big problem came up my second Sunday on the job. My church has had a lot of families move into the area, and I don't know the kids' names. It's been frustrating. Some families are easy, because either the kids look like their parents, or all of the kids look somewhat alike, or sometimes both.

Made my doctor's appointment, and tried to switch from my ho-hum doctor to a nurse practioner, who seems to care more, but the lady at the desk said I could not do that. DH reminded me that I could, because he did it. I think the NP is busy, but the doctor is probably losing patients because of her table side manner. Oh, well, I'll need to get a referral for an endocrinologist and another for the joint problems anyway. I may shop around for some other doctor's office after the first of the year.

DD is doing great art work in her 2 art related classes, just like I knew she would. She's still nervous and anxious, though.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Lucky Corner Vietnamese

Well, we finally found a restaurant that we really can rave about here in Frederick. It's called the Lucky Corner Vietnamese.

Since restaurant.com was having a sale on certificates at 90 percent off, I used the opportunity to buy 16 certificates, and the Lucky Corner was one of them. It is in downtown Frederick, about a 5 mile drive from where we live.

We started with shrimp spring rolls, which were both hot an delicious. We shared the 2, but I could have devoured 2 all by myself. It was 2 PM, and we were both hungry.

DH ordered the shrimp curry, and I had the chef's special chicken, which was supposed to be fashioned after General Tso's chicken. I've eaten in quite few chinese places in this town, but this was the absolute best I have ever tried. My chicken dish was very good, with lots of different veggies. I'm really into veggies, and it looked a lot healthier than any of the offerings of General Tso's chicken I've experienced in other restaurants anywhere. I ate about 2/3 of it, and only half of the white rice, so I took the rest home in a box. I deliberately saved some room for dessert, though the serving size was generous. It was spicy, and included broccoli, baby corn, cauliflower, red bell pepper, bok choy, and maybe a few other things I can't recall at the moment.

DH's curry shrimp was tremendous as well. He had quite a few shrimp in his dish, and they were in the 26 to a pound variety. He grabbed for the water frequently. His vegetable was green beans, and his dish was a little spicier than mine. I think I liked my dish better, but I do want to try new dishes each time I return here.

So we ordered dessert, and at first I was going to try the fried bananas, but I asked the waitress before she left what the chocolate truffle was like, and I changed my order to that. DH had ordered the pineapple sorbet. When it arrived, it was contained in a half of a baby pineapple shell. It was so cute, and dang it, I forgot my camera. I usually take pictures of every meal we eat, so I can remember our food.

Anyway, the chocolate truffle was more like a chocolate ice cream with vanilla center, coated with cocoa and small pieces of nut, accompanied by whipped cream and a cherry, which was placed on the flat dish that was holding the parfait dish containing the truffle. I enjoyed it immensely, and even let DH have a couple of bites. I tried his sorbet, and it was like a pina colada sorbet. You could taste the pineapple and coconut.

We ordered some chicken curry for DD, who decided to opt out and stay home. She missed out on dessert though. Her loss.

I went back to Restaurant.com for more certificates while their 90 percent sale is still going on. They were out of stock for the $25 Lucky Corner certificates, but they still had the $10 certificates, so I ordered 4 of them to use during the coming year. You can use one per month, and you have a year to use them up.

The prices for thier food was also reasonable. Our total bill came to just under $35, with tip included and the certificate amount subtracted. We've paid at least 3 times that much for meals we didn't care for at premium restaurants. The atmosphere was just okay, but they made up for it with their friendliness.

Monday, August 03, 2009

Sweet Note

When DH was rummaging around last week, he found a note from "Mom". He thought it was from his mother, but when I saw the handwriting, I knew right away it was from my own mother, written 3 days after my DD was born, back in 1990.

It is yellowed with age, written on the back of an envelope, and it gave me the warm fuzzies. Here it is:

"Hi There, 3-13-90

This is something I thought you might like to put with the baby's prints. I found it about a week before I went into the hospital and meant to give it to you when you were here.

Anyway, Love Mom

I can see both of you in the baby's picture."

Yep, that was my mother. She and I did not get along sometimes, but I really appreciate this note, now even more because mom passed away in 2007. The item she was referring to in the note was the black footprint they took when I was born. So all this time I've been passing for white, hahaha!

Speaking of White, we went to the annual White family reunion. The family is still growing, and the parking lot (a weedy lawn) was filled to capacity. We got there just a little late because of getting lost. We were driving down an unknown road, but thought we were going in the right direction. We stopped and asked a man how to get to Mummasburg road, and he chuckled.

Man: "You're on Mummasburg Road!"

Me: "Oh good! Thanks!" *blush*

More later, because I really need to get to the gym.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

My latest interests

I've decided to make homemade soap again. I have some lye, and I've borrowed a book from the library. I also have some recipes on a paper that use beef fat. The book uses mostly oils of various sorts - olive, jojoba, coconut, etc. I will be making a couple of small batches of soap to try it out.

There is the cold process, which involves stirring the stuff together, and letting it saponify, or the hot process. I can use one of my slow cookers for the hot process.

At the same time, I am looking to buy some citric acid. So far, the only place I can buy it is online, but I have not yet looked at A.C. Moore. I want to make bath bombs. These will be used by me initially, but I also want to make some for gifts.

While searching online, I found out about soap nuts. Soap nuts are a natural soap that actually grows on trees. You can use them as laundry soap, and for other things. I am interested in the laundry soap because it is more natural than the commercial kinds, and you don't need fabric softeners. I have been using vinegar in my rinse water instead of fabric softener sheets, anyway, because it's not full of undesirable chemicals.


Saturday, May 23, 2009

Random stuff

Teaching DD how to drive is a learning experience for me. I'd forgotten that you have to learn how to back up, by turning your steering wheel in the opposite direction of where you what to go. That, pulling into a parking space in a parking lot can be tricky, if you've never done it before.

I went shopping for a cast iron frying pan to cook eggs in. So far, it is not seasoned well enough to be truly non-stick. I went looking for an 8 inch pan, figuring I could experiment with it before buying a larger heavier cast iron pan. They are relatively low cost. I guess I should cook bacon in the new pan a few times to really grease it up.

I have ants in my kitchen, and don't know how to get rid of the rascals. DH has tried to find the source, as they usually trail up the side of the house, but he has put ant poison on the outside of the house. They are still coming, even though he has gotten rid of some of them. I'll bet they have a nest somewhere underneath our siding.

We only have 2 window air conditioners installed right now. We need the bigger one in the living room put in, but DH is not feeling well right now. He has a bit of work to do this weekend, and took Friday off, but he's not doing much besides mowing the grass.

I can't seem to get everything done lately. I guess I just have to face the fact that I can't do it all. Having to sleep with a mask on, and take insulin, plus the pills, plus trying to learn new ways to cook better food, have all taken some of my time.

I am switching from credit card to debit card, and it's made the budget a little tight. I will be glad when June comes around, and money should not be so tight.

I had a Nathan's hot dog at the Get Go, and it wasn't all that great. I guess I had so many good dogs off the grill last week, that it paled in comparison.

I really want to go to The Tree of Life spa out in Patagonia, Arizona, so I can get off insulin, but I don't have the money. I don't know how much it costs, but I would like to try it.

I have a nice life, but the physicality of being too fat is a problem I need to deal with right now.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

April Rain in May

It's been raining hard here most of the day, and it has been for the past few days. It makes it okay to go shopping for food, but getting in and out of the store is kind of tricky.

I've developed a yen for people watching from my Ford Escape. I decided to watch to see whether someone is fit or fat - most of the people are the former, not the latter. It was a good exercise in seeing how others might see me. I am definitely not fit, but would really like to be. I plan on buckling down any day soon, lol.

Really, my doctor's appointment went pretty well Friday, except for the fact that she sent my prescriptions to the pharmacy, only to have me call and ask about them, to find out they were not there. I was miffed, because I had not expected that. Because it was after office hours when I found out they had not been received, I could not call the doctor to have her resubmit.

I called Saturday, but the office doesn't answer their phone then, either. Then I decided to wait until Monday, because I thought the after hours person on the doctors line would have straightened it out for me by then, but nooo.

I really didn't need that stress, but after all was said and done, I got my thyroid meds in time, and received an invitation to mystery shop for the pharmacy. I like that idea, as long as they reward me. I guess all is well that ends well, except for the unnecessary wear and tear on my nerves. I hope I never have to resort to nerve pills, like my poor mother.

Anyway, I did better overall with cholesterol, blood sugar, and thyroid function. I am happy to hear that. I could do so much better though, so I will try harder to stick to a better diet, and exercise plan.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009


Waiting for some books from Amazon to arrive. Yesterday was President's day, and there was no mail, but I did receive a package from The Woman Within.


I had ordered 3 tops and 4 dresses. DH was home, and I gave him a little fashion show. Two of the dresses are really nice enough to wear to church. The other 2 are more like house dresses - or ones that I would wear because they are comfortable.


All of the clothing is knit, and I like that material. The picture of the purple dress is one of the nicer dresses, though it is in a beautiful blue green color. I like it very much, and I've ordered a lacy crocheted sweater that will look good over it.
We used a Restaurant.com certificate yesterday to go to the Bombay Grill on Market St. in Frederick. We took DD along, and we all enjoyed the lunch buffet. It was great, and the little walk down Market St was enjoyable, too. The parking at the meters is free on Federal Holidays.
We went past a couple of restaurants that have piqued my interest. One is a vegetarian restaurant, but it has other foods as well. It's called the Orchard. The other is across the street from The Orchard, and it's called the Tasting Room. Both have menus posted outside, so it gave DH a chance to see what they offer.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Another cold

Well, at least I haven't had a cold for almost 2 years before this one hit me, but I really don't like being infected with something that cuts my sleep short. Then one night, I could not wear the CPAP mask because my sinuses were totally blocked.

Well, I am almost well enough to be considered normal - almost. I can't wait until I stop having coughing fits or sneezing.

Today I went shopping at the Common Market, and on the way home, I decided to shop at the Dollar tree. The Common Market's prices are high on a lot of things, but the value for the meats is not too bad. For example, the ham steak is priced $3 more per pound, but it is boneless, and seems like much more meat than the regular kind. This brand is also nitrate free, so I know it is better for my family. I love the taste of it, too.

I also bought some organically raised chicken, and it was so tender and tasty the last time I cooked it, I totally felt it was worth the extra money.

The dollar store had quite a supplyof frozen strawberries, frozen peppers and onions for stir fry, and frozen meals that I buy for DD to cook for lunch. I think I am stretching a dollar there, but I am paying the extra dollars at the Common Market. I am hoping it will all balance out.

Monday, January 12, 2009

So I am ready to do a little experiment

I'm setting up a hydroponic system in my kitchen. I have a sunny windowsill, so I thought it would be a good idea, instead of buying an expensive aerogarden (which I think are really cool looking, though), I have devised a plan to build my own.

I am planning on using a baby wipe container, which doesn't hold much, and a couple of 2 inch net pots, with pieces of rockwool to start the seeds. I have a very small aquarium pump, with a small bubbler to start off with. It came with a one gallon aquarium that I am not using right now.

Now all I need to do is cut out holes in the container and figure out what kind of nutrient to use. I was thinking of using Miracle Grow, but I still need a definitive recipe. I feel like this is just a little experiment, and if I fail, I will at least learn something from it.

I also planted wheatgrass in a windowbox inside my kitchen window. It grew! I am so excited. I soaked some wheat kernels from my food storage wheat, and planted them in some dirt. They have grown about 3 inches and are looking fine.

I ordered a wheat grass juicer and a yogurt maker. I plan on saving some money making my own yogurt, because I buy the plain kind anyway, and I add my own fruit.

I'll have to report back and take pictures of my results.