Living the Monday Life

Weather... sunny and 63 degrees.

Reading... The Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today by Shannon Bream.

Watching... Sons of Thunder on Pure Flix. It's a bad-biker-found-Jesus-now-doing-good kind of story. We're restraining ourselves because there is only one season so far.

The Weekend...

Saturday was the day Tim's old truck went away. Finally. It was quite an adventure and Megan brought the kids over to watch the 12,000 lb. tow truck try to load and then haul away Pappy's 8900 lb. pickup with 1000 lbs. of scrap steel in the bed. At first, the tow truck moved toward the pickup instead of the other way around, but they got the job done. The front wheels might have just barely been making contact with the pavement when they drove away!

We also enjoyed supper and a visit with my mom and stepdad. They treated us to chicken & biscuit dinners from a local church.

On Sunday we didn't do much of anything. I got an email from the church I've been going to letting me know they were shutting down for a couple of weeks due to several members having Covid, so that was out. We just relaxed and watched television most of the morning. 

Colton spent the afternoon with us because Megan and Leah went shopping with a friend and Cody was working. Once Megan got back she and Tim worked on mowing our yard, her yard, and Mom's yard. I watched the kids play on the jungle gym and jump on the trampoline. 

Today...

Megan had enrolled Colton in Head Start last year right after the pandemic started and the world shut down, because they were of a higher income level Colton had to go on a waiting list. They would take kids from lower incomes (and therefore higher risk situations) first. Megan figured they'd never hear from them, but the call came last week. On Friday, Colton's teacher came to the house to meet him and Megan and assess the home situation. He was to start school today.

Colton is not the biggest fan of the idea of school. He has been either ignoring the entire situation or crying that he doesn't want to go. So, I was SHOCKED to find him up, dressed, smiling, and excited this morning when I went over to stay with Leah so Mommy and Daddy could both take him to his first day.

Unfortunately, they were back home within 20 minutes or so and Colton was with them. When they got to the door of the school, the staff met them and told them a family member of one of the students had tested positive for Covid so the school is closed until the 27th. Nice. Colton was a bit confused by the whole thing, but this will give him more time to adjust to the idea of being away from home and Mommy all day, 5 days a week.

And now I am off to the grocery store with Megan and the kids. I need to stock up on veggies and fruits for the week.

Happy Monday, y'all!

Currently

Welcoming...February, a new week, and a new day!

In Latrobe...it's 28* with some moderate snow. The winter storm warning continues until tomorrow morning. We ended up on the lighter end of things by the end of yesterday thanks to strong winds all day that kept the snow from piling up. 

Rescheduling...my dental appointment. I'm supposed to get fitted for a crown or get a crown...bit of confusion there. Anyway, not worth the drive when the roads may be bad.

Reading...Jesus Politics: How to Win Back the Soul of America by Phil Robertson.

Listening to...the morning news and all the news about the weather.

The weekend...wasn't terribly exciting except for Friday evening when I got together with a few friends from my Bible study group for an evening of snacks and games. We played a game called Codenames. So much fun! Tim worked Saturday and later we kept the grandkids while our daughter and son-in-law did a major grocery shopping trip. Sunday we were hunkered down with the snow...lots of reading, tv watching, and napping.

Looking forward to...(hopefully) Tim having some vacation time off after today or tomorrow and getting to work on that bathroom/laundry room redo. 

On the agenda...in anticipation of Tim being off and the above mentioned project getting under way, I have to pack up all of my Beatrice Potter figurines in anticipation of moving the china from my great-grandmother's china cupboard to my massive corner cupboard. 

I had hoped to give the figurines to our oldest granddaughter one day, but I don't know if that will ever be so for now I'm going to pack them up. My aunt gave them to me for every birthday and Christmas growing up and they are lovely, but they were never something I was all that into. That type of knick-knack just isn't my thing.

Why the move? The china cupboard shares a wall with the bathroom we'll be working in so I don't want to be rattling the china. Plus, I've been meaning to move it to the corner cupboard for a while because great-grandma's cupboard is old and not as sturdy as one would like. (I bought bubble wrap for the figurines back at the beginning of the pandemic!) And it needs some repairing from when Tim got a bit impatient a while ago and tried to move it with everything still in it. Now seems to be the perfect time.

Celebrating...a good visit with my diet doctor. She prescribed a second medication that I take in the evening. It's in addition to the Adipex. The new one helps control those evening cravings...and it really seems to work! Now if I can just get motivated to actually exercise. Covid has turned me into a slug.

A thought to leave you with...

"This rapidly dividing, rapidly growing embryo? Is it life? I suppose if it were an oak tree, there'd be no doubt. And there's no doubt in the mind of the Almighty about human life either. In fact, as far as he's concerned, life begins even before conception. He said as much to the prophet Jeremiah:

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jer. 1:5)

 - Phil Robertson, Jesus Politics

 

Currently in Latrobe...

We're waking up to a new week, the first full one post election day and we know Biden and the media has declared a win, but Trump is promising to challenge the results in several states. He has the right to do so and it is not technically official yet, anyway. Not every state has reported a final vote and the electoral college does not cast its votes until December 14...so buckle up and hang on, we've got a ways to go yet.

I'm in full Thanksgiving mode and feeling thankful for so much. 

We've been having beautiful weather here...sunny and in the 70's. In November. In Pennsylvania. Wow. I'd rather have the cooler weather in the fall, but I can appreciate this gift. Temperatures that are a little more fall like will be returning in a couple of days.

Friday's nice weather gave us the perfect chance to help my mom rake up the leaves in her yard. Of course we had to have a little fun first. The kiddos made some great memories with their great-grandma.

On Saturday I watched the kids in the afternoon while Mom and Dad did the grocery shopping. We had lots of fun playing and I got a big kick out of Leah eating some fruit snacks.

When you know that fruit snack you dropped is around here somewhere.

In the evening we went out for supper with Tim's sister, who is my age, and her husband, who was one of Tim's best friends before he was his brother-in-law. They are the one and only time I played matchmaker so I can claim a 100% success rate! We went to a new-ish Mexican restaurant. They are friends with the owner so we got great treatment. The food was very good. I had a combo with a beef enchilada, a chicken enchilada, and a taco. I also indulged in a peach margarita. Yum! 

We had a good time talking and laughing. We used to do a lot with them, but due to a lot of family issues, Tim hasn't been particularly close to any of his sisters for quite some time. He enjoyed it a lot, though, so maybe he will be more willing to reach out in the future.

Sunday is usually our day to take care of things together. We went to a local meat market and stocked up. It had been a while since we've bought a lot of meat. We also did the regular shopping at Walmart and finished putting away all the outside stuff. Other than that we just hung out watching TV and Megan and the kids were in and out all afternoon and most of the evening.

I also spent some time this weekend setting up accounts on both Parler.com and MeWe.com. I'm not sure I'm going to like Parler...too much like Twitter, I think, and I've never liked Twitter. MeWe seems to be sort of similar to Facebook, but without the Zuckerberg factor. You should check them out if you're getting tired of Facebook's games. Both are uncensored, free speech platforms. MeWe is also promising no ads and to never harvest your info and sell it.

Today is a git-r-done day. Megan already called asking me to babysit so she can get some sleep, but I turned her down. I have so much that is needing done today. I'd feel guilty, but she sort of plays the pity card on me a lot whenever she is tired or whatever...which is several times a week. I'm sure I'll see them tonight, anyway. They are hear nearly every evening.

Hope all is well in your world. Have a happy Monday, everyone!

Monday Morning Musings

For today:

Outside my window...

66* with a heavy dew, heading for a high of 76* with rain showers this afternoon. 

Fall is in the air, my friends.

I'm thinking...

about the start of September and the coming of fall.

About fall decorations and fall foods

and pumpkin spice EVERYTHING!

I'm feeling...

tired and hungry. The diet continues, but it's hard.

I'm watching...

Hubs and I started watching NCIS on Saturday. We like it.

We're only, what, 15 years late to the party?

I'm listening to...

Lewis Capaldi

On the to-do list...

dusting and vacuuming, laundry, cleaning the windows on the 

inside, getting the fall decorations out of storage, 

and figuring out what to make for dinner.

Making me laugh...

HAPPY MONDAY, PEOPLE!

Monday Musings

Monday is always a slow blogging day so I'll continue with my tradition of random bits.

Today's Weather:

Sunny, hot (88 for the high this afternoon), and humid (85%). I'm going to be loving me some AC today.

Feeling:

Pretty good after feeling like "blech" all day yesterday. I'm not sure if it's the medications, the low carb diet, the 16-hour fasting, or the combination of all of them, but I have days when I just feel yucky and have no energy to do anything. I'm also slightly queasy on those days. Anyway, feeling good today.

Reading:

Dead Men Don't Eat Cookies by Virginia Lowell

Watching/Listening to:

The news that KellyAnne Conway is leaving Trump's staff and the reminder that the GOP convention kicks off tonight.

Thinking About:

I have a phone call coming at 11:00 this morning with someone from a nursing home I applied to last week. It's for the position of "unit aide." I'm not totally sure what that is so I'm not even sure it's a job I want, but how will I know if I don't talk to them, right?

On the To-Do List:

Cleaning up the kitchen. I didn't keep up with it yesterday since I wasn't feeling well and you all know what happens to a kitchen when that happens. It looks like a tornado blew through.

Making Me Laugh:

Monday Morning Musings

Outside my window:  Cloudy with a temperature of 66*. The clouds are predicted to stick around all day with a high temp of 81*.

Feeling:  Tired with that general, all-over achiness. Either allergies or the Keto flu is to blame.

Reading:  Another Man's Moccasins by Craig Johnson.

Listening to/watching:  Good Morning America. A story about how to fend off a shark attack.

Celebrating/looking forward to:  My birthday was Saturday, but the celebrating isn't over until Thursday. I'm spending the day with friends and they are treating me to dinner at a favorite restaurant.

On the to-do list:  A trip to Lowe's. Yesterday I went in the room that is part guest room and part play room for the first time in a few days and discovered a large yellow stain on the ceiling. The roof leaked! Tim checked it out and it seems to be a small problem...just 2 missing shingles. So today I have to buy a bundle of shingles and a can of roof patch. The roof isn't that old. We had to have a new one put on a few years back after a storm that pelted the area with baseball sized hail. Wouldn't you know, the warranty from the contractor ran out in April. 

Grateful:  Had a great weekend with Tim. Saturday we headed east on Rt. 30 (the old Lincoln Highway) and spent the day stopping at all the flea markets, antique shops and whatever else caught our eye. He bought me the bent hickory rocking chair I've always wanted (we had to get it on Sunday with the truck). We had dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse. Sunday we took the chair I had to get rid of to make room for my birthday present to Tim's sister. Then we stopped at a nice local restaurant for lunch and enjoyed delicious burgers and fries on the deck. Such a pretty day to sit outside and watch the traffic and people. After lunch we picked up my chair and then stopped to visit Mom and John on the way home. We had to watch the kids as soon as we got home, but just for a couple of hours. We spent the evening watching movies. 

Making me laugh:

A final thought:

Monday Morning Musings

Outside My Window:  The morning is lovely with cooler temps and a misty, golden glow. The mercury is expected to hit 90 degrees this afternoon.

I'm Reading:  Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger

I'm Watching:  A lot of HGTV.

Particularly the shows where they arehouse hunting in glamorous locales.

I'm Listening To:  The dishwasher running. I haven't had music on that much.

I'm Loving:  That the evenings are starting to take on that late summer/early fall feel. Perfect weather for county fairs...too bad they've all been cancelled this year.

I'm Thinking:  About what to do today. Do I start mowing the lawn, which needs done? Or do I tackle the kitchen cupboards? Clean them and rearrange the contents?

I'm Feeling:  Content. Sure there are a lot of things born out of these wild and weird times we are living in that I could be worrying about, but this time has given me a lot of time to work on my word for the year...ABIDE. I have been trying to do just that, abide in the Lord. I do my study and  prayer time daily but I am always thinking about what I have been learning about faith and perseverance and making it a constant part of life. So I'm also feeling blessed as well.

I'm Celebrating:  My mom and I celebrate our birthday this Saturday. Mom will turn 76 and I will be 56. I don't feel old (well, maybe the body does at times) but my mind still thinks young. I also feel strong and confident, comfortable in my skin, I guess. I like this time of my life. I don't miss my youth, but I have to admit...it would be nice to have the 50's mind with the 20's body!

In the Kitchen:  Big changes! Today is the day I officially start my new way of eating. After studying on several different options, I've decided to try eating a very low carb diet known as KETO. It seemed to be the most doable for me. I know that I won't stick to a plan that is complicated and requires counting calories. Too much time figuring things out for me. With KETO, I avoid carbs and watch portions. That I think I can do...though I am going to miss my carbs. I'm also trying to combine the KETO diet with 16-hour fasting. Fasting sounds scary until you realize it simply means that you stop eating by 8:00 (or whatever works for you) and then you don't eat again until noon. All your eating is done within an 8-hour window.

Making Me Laugh:  

Inspiring Me:

Monday Musings & A Bit of Happiness

Our weekend got off to a great start with a family dinner at the restaurant in our local airport. We were celebrating the birthdays and anniversary we had missed in the past few months. It was nice to get dressed up a bit and do something sort of normal. I say sort of because it's one of the nicest restaurants around and they are using paper tablecloths and menus...and of course the staff all wore masks and patrons wore them to and from the tables. 

All of us, minus our son-in-law who took the picture...most
likely so he wouldn't have to be in it. He doesn't
like to be in pictures very much.

Our daughter, me, and Tim.

Us with my mom and stepdad...and Tim being Tim.

Seeing as how it's the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, we had
to have our picture taken with Arnie.

Saturday was all about the pool. Tim, our son-in-law and his friend, Tim, spent the day getting the pool up. Megan helped out after she finished mowing everyone's lawns. I got babysitting duty. They got it up and the liner in by 4:00.

Colton had fun helping the guys and we've given him credit for being the first one to "swim" in the pool.

Sunday they straightened out the liner and started running water into it. Tim discovered they'd given us the wrong skimmer so we had to run into the pool store (a good 45 minute drive) to get the right one. Tim and Cody put it on as soon as we got back and the water ran until I went to bed. I turned it back on this morning and Tim will hook up the pump tonight and it should be good to go tomorrow!

Not the best picture...I took it through the kitchen window.

THE AUGUST HAPPINESS CHALLENGE

DAY 3

I'm linking up with The Gal Herself for her August Happiness Challenge.  If you'd like to join in, all you have to do is post something, anything at all, that makes you happy every day and link back to Gal.

My happy today was waking up to a house that was already cleaned up. That never happens on Monday mornings. I always have to clean up from the weekend, so it was a big happy!

Monday Morning Musings

Currently in Latrobe...

Weather...It's nice this morning but we're heading for 90 degrees and lots of humidity this afternoon.

On tap...our big TV won't work with Hulu Live. Sigh. I have to decide whether to get a Ruku thing-y and stream through that ( I have no idea how that kind of thing works!) or see if I can find a compatible TV that's in stock. Have I mentioned that I really hate technology at times...and change is not exactly my favorite, either.

If I survive that, I'm meeting a friend for lunch at Sharky's...a local sports bar and restaurant that we like.

Tim has an appointment with the urologist this afternoon. He hasn't been back since he had the bladder stone removed a couple of years ago. He's starting to have problems again, so it's past time he goes.

Reading...The Lending Library by Aliza Fogelson

Being driven to distraction...by a stupid fly that keeps landing on the screen or flying into me. Like he can't see me.

Celebrating...our daughter's birthday was Saturday. She is now the same age I was when I had her. Holy cow. How the heck did that happen???  Then Wednesday is little Leah's actual birthday.

Feeling...kind of stiff and sore. We worked outside in the yard yesterday. I might have overdone it a bit. Plus it was HOT and ever since I had heat exhaustion during Megan's wedding I just can't do extreme heat. I need to get at my stretches and strengthening exercises I got at physical therapy to lose the stiffness.

In the garden...the spaghetti squash are done. I picked the three that grew and pulled the vine as it was nearly dead, anyway. I got a couple more zucchini but those plants aren't doing all that great this year, either. I have some green tomatoes and picked one red one and a bunch of cherry tomatoes, but even those aren't doing that well this summer. The heat? The weeks of drought? I watered them daily so I don't know. I have little baby cantaloupes, though, so that's kind of cool. The peppers are coming, but they are red ones so it will be a while yet.

Over...all of it. The virus, the violence, the ugliness, the hate, politics. You name it. I'm over it.

Fired...the guy we've been waiting on to install the pool all summer. If it was just that he's that busy we'd be okay with it if he just played straight with us, but he has told us so many stories. Sometimes he changes his story in the same conversation. We're tired of excuses. Tired of getting the runaround. Tired of him never calling when he says he will. 

He was not happy nor very nice when we gave him the news. He said he had sand being delivered. How were we supposed to know? He never called to tell us. Tim told him to cancel it and not to bother showing up. I'm ordering sand tomorrow and Tim's going to line up some people to help him and hopefully get it up next weekend. We won't be any worse off than if we waited and we'll probably be ahead of the game.

In the kitchen...we're getting Hello Fresh meals delivered a couple of days per week again. We really enjoy them and I like that they are portion controlled. Tim is disappointed that there are no leftovers. Ha! Last night we had deliciously seasoned flat iron steak, roasted Brussels sprouts and loaded smashed potatoes. Tonight we're having pork burgers. I forget what kind...mushroom-swiss, maybe? The pork burgers are always to die for, but they are really high calorie meals. I think tonight's is about 1100 calories. Ouch! But no worse than McDonald's, I guess.

Making me laugh...

What did you say? You'd better come out

here and say that to my face!

I don't know if I'm an introvert because of this

or this is because I'm an introvert.

It's worse if they ask you to do the praying.

More true than I care to admit.

I'm just gonna apologize for this last one in

advance...but be sure to hear it in Sean

Connery's voice when you read it.

Happy Monday!

Monday Morning Musings

The weekend was all about Miss Leah's birthday party, which was celebrated in high style Saturday evening by family and friends.

The adventure began on Friday when I met up with two of Tim's sisters (one was visiting from out of town) and a family friend, who is like a sister, for lunch at Olive Garden. I was there before they opened at 11:00 to be sure we snagged a table since they are at 25% capacity. Apparently everyone had the same idea because I was the 6th or 7th party in line, but we got a table and all was good. We had a great time talking and laughing.

After lunch we all went back to Megan's house so my sister-in-law from out of town could see Leah. The other sister-in-law and I got put to work blowing up balloons for the party. I think we blew up about 100. They were supposed to make a really pretty watermelon arch but none of us were quite that crafty or patient so Megan ended up just using them as regular decorations.

After that, I went to the grocery store to get everything I need to make Boston baked beans and pasta salad for the party. Megan brought the kids over when I got home and I watched them while she and Tim mowed the grass.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early. I was on my feet all morning until about 1:00 cooking up the beans and making huge bowls of pasta salad. It all turned out well, but those beans were nearly the death of me....I had the roasting pan full of naked beans sitting on the oven door and when I went to pour the sauce over them...it spilled all over the door. It flooded onto the floor and in typical me-fashion...it's even in between the two layers of glass on the oven door. Some of it ran out the bottom of the door and into the drawer. Some of it ran out the vent slots when the door was down, but most of it is congealed between the glass and there's no way to get it out. Sigh.

Anyway...

The party began at 4:00 and our little birthday girl was ready to party!

Our niece made the adorable melon shirts for the family. Yes, Colton had one, too, but he was too busy running around playing with his cousins to pose for a picture.

Lots of family, neighbors, and friends stopped by to wish Miss Leah a very happy first birthday.

There were pretty decorations, including a banner featuring pictures of the birthday girl from each month of her first year.

There was lots and lots of food!

And birthday cupcakes...including a "smash" cake for the birthday girl.

There were presents (even though Mommy told most people to just give money because there are too many toys in the house now).

Grandma and Pap-pap on Daddy's side gave Leah her first Schwinn.

Pappy and Nana's present was a house!

Pappy and Leah played in the bounce house.

Big brother, Colton, and the cousins all had lot of fun.

It was such a busy day and so darned hot that Leah had to take a second nap early in the evening, but she was back and raring to go as the sun went down.

The day ended with a big bang. Literally. 

Today was all about picking up and putting away...and resting! Though Mommy did take the kids out to the bouncy house for a while and one look at the picture will tell you that one of these days very soon, big brother is going to get back what he's been dishing out.

So, that was our big birthday bash. It was sweltering, but it didn't storm and everyone had a wonderful time. It was nice to see family and friends and just be sort of normal for one day. Especially since I heard the news last night that there is a good chance our county will be rolled back to the red stage in the near future.