Taking My Deck Back

This is an older photo of one half of the deck. Actually, it is the better half. You can see one of the shelters to the right and in the middle is the table turned upside down. The other half is the messy part. I took a picture of it and wanted to post it but it's still in the camera. Yeah, I know, a lot of good it's doing still in the camera.

It's been years since we have used our deck for which it was built. It's also been a few years since it was cleaned and painted and it is in dire need of both.

Our colony of feral cats took it over awhile back and things haven't been the same since. At first I didn't mind, but there came the day when I longed to be able to use the sliding patio doors to walk outside and sit in the sun to read or just to relax. That hasn't happened for many years now.

It's time!

...time to clear off the upturned resin chairs, the swing skeleton whose swing and pillows are in the basement, the table turned upside down so it didn't blow over from the wind, the totes used for shelter prior to the greenhouse (for the cats), and the two-piece plastic dog shelter used for the same reason. Everything has to go.

...time to languish in the sun with a book after walking through the patio doors. Those doors have masking tape on the inside and plastic on the outside to keep the cold out for now. We are planning on replacing the entire unit this summer.

...time to pressure wash that poor deck and then paint it a different color.

Yes, it's damn time!

Can't Catch A Break

The past two days have been hellish for me. But they have been far worse for my husband. He started getting sick on Thursday. The commode was fast becoming his best friend. Or not. Neither of us thought anything of it other than something he may have eaten. So we dismissed it as just another one of those bad days.

Until the following day. Oh boy. That's when everything went haywire. You know the old story: coming out of both ends. Not even remotely funny. So I did some research and his symptoms were like that of stomach flu, or gastroenteritis. How one picks that up is beyond me, but pick it up he did. I can only assume it happened the day before, either at the diner where we had breakfast or at the grocery store.

We both try to be so careful when it comes to germs, but they never cease to amaze me in that they always manage to track us down and invade our bodies. Damn little peckerheads. I am getting so tired of this because now it's my turn. Yeah, we have been taking turns when it comes to that type sickness. All the more reason that hibernation business looks rather lucrative these days.

My daughter called me last week to let me know she was sick. Now that I look back on it, she probably had the same thing my husband just got over. Last night I decided I needed to sleep in the recliner so I would be near him should anything go wrong during the night. He mentioned something about calling 911 should the need arise. I prayed it wouldn't arise. Going through that once was enough, I didn't want to experience it again. That time he passed out due to dehydration. We know better now that once the body starts getting rid of fluids to drink electrolytes to replenish what is lost and so I always keep a couple bottles on hand.

Sleeping on a recliner is not the best when one is riddled with joint pains off and on. And try doing that with a couple cats lying on you or alongside of you like they were attached. By 5:30 I had a strong urge to use the bathroom facilities but didn't have the heart to disturb either cat so I tried to change positions to ease my bladder. Easier said than done. Fifteen minutes later the cat that was lying on my stomach decided he wanted to go somewhere else and I was able to leave, taking my pillow with me and climbing into another bed, closing the door behind me. Ah, sweet bliss. I slept till 10 am.

By Saturday morning all was well once again in this house. Husband was almost back to normal and asked that I make oatmeal because he was hungry as heck. He hadn't eaten anything for almost two days.

What really irks me the most is these episodes usually hit us during the night or on a weekend when it is impossible to do anything about it as far as a doctor is concerned. I was relieved to read that gastroenteritis only lasts one to two days and it is treatable at home, and it's unnecessary to call a doctor or 911 unless severely dehydrated. At least that was one thing we didn't have to worry about.

Snow Up The Hoo-Hah

I really don't have much to write about other than the snow storms we keep getting...one on top of the other. But I felt I must write something just to let you know I am still here, still thinking of what to write about.

This storm was supposed to be in two or three parts. We were supposed to wake to rain this morning. That didn't happen. It was already snowing. We didn't get much accumulation from this morning. It stopped snowing early this afternoon. The worst of it is supposed to arrive overnight and continue into the early morning. I will believe that when I get up tomorrow and look outside.

I was going to take some pictures but since I haven't used either camera lately, the batteries needed to be charged. I use the batteries that can take a charge for months at a time. I noticed the last time I charged them was August 8th of last year. I wouldn't use any other kind of battery since discovering them.

Moving on to another subject: does anyone out there love and adore Ellen DeGeneres as much as I do? I just discovered her show a few months ago and try not to miss it. I wonder if there are any people out there that don't like her? She is such a personable human being. Forget the fact that she is gay; that really doesn't come across when she is entertaining the world. Hell, I'm not gay and even I would marry her. She celebrated her 53rd birthday on today's show and one of her surprise guests was Pink. I love Pink. She is a local girl and she is now very pregnant.

And need I remind you out there that the Budweiser Shootout is only two and a half weeks away? Hoo boy, I am getting so excited I can hardly contain myself.

OK, time to go back to sleep...

Oh Good Lord Not The Steelers Again

I'm okay with the Green Bay Packers going to the Super Bowl, but I am very upset that the Pittsburgh Steelers are going too. Big Ben doesn't deserve that. Big Ben needs to grow up and realize he is a hero to many children.

I was hoping it would be the Chicago Bears vs the New York Jets, but someone had other plans unlike mine. What a shame...that could have been a good game for a change.

Back in the day I was a huge fan of the San Francisco 49ers, but in recent years they have all but fallen off the map. That is why I pulled my New York Giants out of the closet and openly started cheering for them instead. It's good to have a backup team, no?

But seriously. The Steelers? That's almost as bad as if it were the Eagles...or the Patriots. I'd better quit before I make too many enemies.

Waiting

#1 ~ I'm waiting for yet another snowfall. This will be out fifth of the year I think. Maybe the sixth. All nuisance snows as they have been calling them. All small amounts of accumulation. All a pain in the you-know-what.

#2 ~ I'm waiting for the weekend football games in anticipation of the Super Bowl next month. I could name what teams I'd like to see battle it out, but I don't want to jinx either one. Maybe I should list the other two and jinx them. That would be nice if it worked.

#3 ~ And last but not least the hardest thing for me to wait for is the Bud Shootout February 12th, with the Daytona 500 being run on the 20th. And then I am in hog heaven till the end of November when NASCAR season ends and the long wait begins again.

Some Musings For Your Pleasure

Here we are in the dead of winter and after all my whining about hibernating I still haven't done so. And yet I have gained weight over the holidays. A year ago I started my diet before Thanksgiving and kept it up till well after they were over, and I was able to not only take off weight but not even gain an ounce during the entire time. This time I threw caution to the wind and now I am in a situation I do not like. It's called weight gain. And I don't like it one teeny tiny bit. And if I could reach my a$$ I would kick me into next week. But you know, a person can be on one diet after another all their life and it gets to be a tad sickening after awhile. I am so weary of it. My epitaph should read: She had her ups and downs

On another note, the storm door we went shopping for last Saturday is hanging in its proper place. However, Murphy's Law followed us on that one, too. Nothing we do ever goes right. Everything is always such a challenge. We either have a part or two missing or something doesn't go right and in this case, we ended up with a tiny gap at the lower half of the door by the frame. Back to the drawing board husband must go. He knows what he has to do plus the factory is sending some strikers to replace the ones that are incorrect. This storm door is a security door in that it has a locking handle plus two latches (upper and lower) and it comes with a $1000 break-in warranty just for that reason. Now all we have to do is get it straight. It's always something around here. Never a dull moment when we have a project going.

The weather outside is very frightful. It has been a heck of a dull and dreary day. First we are getting snow (3-6" I think), then the rain comes bringing with it ice like in the frozen Tundra, and when the temperature rises, the rain is supposed to wash everything away. I think. I can't remember for certain how it will be wreaking havoc on us, but wreak havoc it will. Ho-hum, I am ready for it.

I just did a quick spell check and it told me no misspellings were found. Wow, that's a first. I took typing in school but I sat in the back row so I never learned the proper way to type. And yet I can keep up with the best of them. My forte was shorthand. I won all kinds of awards for being fast. The funny thing is, you can take shorthand as fast as lightning...it's the transcribing that wrinkled many a brow. I mean, you can jot those little symbols down lickety-split but if you can't read them then what you wrote doesn't mean anything. I still use that form of writing to this day, especially when I'm in a hurry.

And those are my thoughts for the day. Only because I was due to write something and I had no idea what to write about.

Like Day And Night

My husband and I went shopping yesterday for a storm door. The one we have for our front door isn't performing satisfactorily anymore. A lot of cold air comes in, hits the steel door, and transfers that cold air into the living room and the dining room. There it directly hits the person sitting on the one side of the dining room table. Which is not me. I sit opposite of that chair...closest to the kitchen.

That brings me to another subject. Why is it that the majority of women sit in the chair closest to the kitchen when food is being eaten? Is it so we can easily get to the kitchen should the need arise during dinner? That is one of the reasons I chose that side of the table. Another reason is I forget to put things on the table that are sorely needed while we are eating. Like condiments, salt, pepper...utensils.

Sorry, I went off course there. Back to the storm door shopping: we decided to shop both major home improvement centers. L*wes was first as it is closest to our house. It is also my favorite of the two. We went to HDepot afterward. Both salesmen we spoke to were about the same age, in their late 30's or early 40's. But each one was very different in the way they helped us.

The one at HD was a sourpuss and seemed like we interrupted him from doing something fun and illegal. He couldn't answer my questions as fully as I'd anticipated. He actually was of no real help to be honest and he couldn't wait to go back to what he was doing at the computer. So be it...that's not my favorite store anyway but husband insisted we comparison shop before making any choices. Usually, if I find a product I like that I am in the market to purchase, I don't need to shop around. I will, however, if there is a huge price range but a lot of times I can figure that out on the Internet.

We did go to L*wes first. Now that salesman was very helpful, upbeat, funny, and just downright likable. We didn't make the purchase today but after our discussion, we decided L*wes it is and Saturday we will return for the door. And just to make it clear: there wasn't much of a discussion because I had already made my mind up before stepping foot into either store. But that's between you and me. *wink*

Yay...The Eagles Lost

And the fact that they did lose made my day.

My Giants (and I take great pride in saying they are mine) finished their season 10 and 6 and didn't get a wild card playoff spot. The Eagles finished 10 and 6 and did get a wildcard playoff spot.

Now that the Eagles' wings have been clipped I would say the playing field is once again even. Thank you Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. I owe you one.

Snow

Yes, that white stuff is making its way across the state and should arrive in the wee hours of the morning. And since there are no other outside things to bother the system, like warm air or whatever, we are only getting a smidgen of the stuff. One forecast was 1-3 inches, another 2-4 inches. Just enough to be a nuisance.

Meteorologists are saying that by afternoon rush hour most of it will be gone, since the sun will be out and will melt it. Boo hoo. I am so ready for a huge, huge storm. I have no place to go for at least a few weeks, there's plenty of food all over this house, and I have lots of cat food supplies for my three inside fur babies plus all those outside.

And, oh yeah, I have all those cookies.

So I say, bring it on!

About All Those Cookies...

When the next Christmas holiday rolls around, I will not be carrying on like a maniac baking almost 400 cookies (which equates to about 33-1/2 dozen) like I did this past Christmas holiday.

Two years ago my husband, an avid auction hound, brought home two large stainless steel cookie sheets which were part of a box lot that he bought. I'm sure at the time that there was something far more dearer to his heart in that box than those cookie sheets but I can't remember what it was. And so I inherited them.

At that point in my life I had long stopped baking cookies because they would burn, causing me to be one frustrated woman. I had finally thrown up my hands and simply quit. But after many years of not baking, I decided to give it a try again and use the new baking sheets. Really, I had nothing to lose (except my sanity maybe). I started with a huge bucket of already mixed dough (chocolate chip) that we purchased at Sam*s Club. I think the container stated it would make about 80 cookies. I felt that wasn't enough so I decided that the Betty Crocker pouches looked like a safe thing to try. They were on sale and I had coupons so I bought a wide variety.

It turned out that my baking endeavors were very successful, much to my surprise. I continued on and made more cookies that year than I ever wanted to...or dreamed about for that matter. I guess I was making up for lost time. My greatest dilemma wasn't all the cookies I had made, it was trying to figure out why I became such a cookie-baking freak all of a sudden. I finally did figure it out: I had been using T-fal, or dark coated, baking sheets when the cookies burned. Stainless steel sheets work so much better.

When this past holiday season rolled around, I thought I'd give it another go. I went on the hunt, to see what I could find. Again Sam*s provided my Eureka! discovery with peanut butter cookie mix complete with Hershey Kisses to put on top of each cookie. There were three packages of mix inside. I was like a baker possessed. I had also gotten more Betty Crocker pouches. I couldn't make enough, and the only thing that stopped me that day was fatigue or I'd probably still be making them.

I don't make New Years resolutions simply because I cannot keep them. Pure and simple. But I did make one for this year, and I can honestly say this one I will definitely keep:

Absolutely no cookie baking come Christmas time!


I think I should go hide those trays right now because I don't want to be a cookie monster again. My husband decided the cookies are too rich for him. That leaves me to decide what to do with all of them. Currently I have been eating my way through them until I finally decided the remainder will be frozen. God, I feel so free!

To One And All

Another year down the drain. The older I get, the faster they go. I wish there were some kind of potion we could take to slow things down a bit. But there isn't, so I just have to go with the flow as they say.

This past year didn't hold any great surprises for a change. Other than me falling, stumbling, tripping, well you get the picture...but that is nothing new. I have been doing that all my life so why change now?

I can only hope that 2011 will not hold any major surprises either. I like when things go along nice and smoothly, one day melting into another. No major stress, nice and easy. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Merry Christmas!

See you all next year!

Unless something comes up between now and then.

What A Neat Concept

Yeah Eli, I Know The Feeling

This is exactly how I felt after the Giants got whooped badly by the bullies of Philadelphia...the Eagles. The Giants were 21 points ahead with 8 minutes and change to go in the fourth quarter and they still lost.

Just one more reason for me to not like the Eagles. The main reason? Michael Vick. The next reason? Andy Reid and his naughty sons. It seems as if the teams with the bad boys get the biggest piece of the pie these days. When will justice ever be served? When will the good guys start to get the accolades they so richly deserve?

And I'm not saying that because I'm a Giants fan. I really do feel that the Eagles are getting away with a lot more than they should be. These days, they make my stomach churn. And I won't even go into detail my reaction when the final touchdown was made by that Jackson kid. It may have been Sunday but you would never have known that if you were in my house at that moment.

The Giants will be playing the Green Bay Packers this weekend and if they win their game they will get a playoff berth. I am keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed for that to happen.

Letting Off Steam

Why is it that there are so many people complaining about things that don't concern them? Just because they want to be heard? Or are they chronic complainers? Or do they just want to hear themselves talk? Or are they that lonely with nothing better to do?

These types of people are growing in number at an alarming rate in my estimation. When I hear these things they complain about, I just want to walk up to them, get in their face, grab them by the ears (maybe) and say, ever so softly, What is wrong with you? And then I just want to tell them to get a life and slap them into next year.

OK, I feel a lot better now. Oops, I just became one of them, didn't I? Seriously, you would be surprised some of the things my husband tells me that people complain about when he comes back from a township meeting. Unbelievable. I don't go to those meetings for one simple reason. I'd probably harm someone by ripping their ears off.

Brrrrrrrrrr!

OK, I have about had enough of this cold weather now and am going into hibernation. What? Oh, sorry, I can't do that. Well, I could if I wanted to but it's not very feasible for a human to do it. But still, if we could I would be the first to do so. I really, really, really hate this cold weather. When I was a kid it didn't bother me. I used to run outside barefoot in the snow and think nothing of it. My mother didn't like the idea, so I would do it when she wasn't looking. Because I did that as a child, I have built up a great immune system. At least something worked out well.

This is only mid December. It is not supposed to get this cold in these parts until January. Who is monkeying with our weather? Whoever it is, please go the hell away...and stay away. I can't afford to move to a warmer climate. I have too much invested in this house and property. What would I do with my cat colony outside? No, it just wouldn't work. So I am stuck year after year in Siberia-like crap.

I always used to wonder what my parents were thinking when they decided to have me in this part of the country. Or even this country. I would have much preferred to have been born where it is warm most of the time. I don't think I would be as crabby or cranky or any of those other words describing a person who is malcontent with what life has thrown at her in the way of nasty frigid weather. Know what I mean? It just ain't fair. I didn't ask to be born here.

Oh yeah, I guess I could have done something about it at an earlier age, but nothing was thrown my way so I stuck it out here in friggin' cold Pennsylvania, land of the popsicles. And just think...at least three and a half months till warmer weather arrives. At least by then the racing season will have started, and that will be enough to keep my mouth shut from all this complaining.

I am spending most of today baking. That will keep me warm.

Catching Up

It turned out to be a good day for me in that I accomplished more than I thought I would as far as decorating for Christmas was concerned. I was busy most of the day. I will finish it on Sunday.

I thought I was going to really have to hustle to get it all done before the football game at 1:00, but the Giants-Vikings game has been postponed until Monday evening at 8:00 due to a blizzard in Minnesota. That's OK because now I don't have to rush to get done what needs to be done.



What would a day like Saturday be if I didn't have one of my famous accidents? All my Christmas stuff is in the basement, in totes. Needless to say I was up and down those steps all day. I was also doing some vacuuming and other things in between decorating. At one point I made a stupid decision to take my socks off. I went downstairs and when I got to the bottom landing (there are two more steps after that) my foot slipped off the landing and down I went. Right on my butt and then forward so that my hands were on the basement and I was kind of like in a kneeling position. At the time all I could think of was I probably put another crack in my ass.

Everything is still kind of sore but I hope it's not too bad in the morning. If it is I will sit in a corner with one of my wine bottles. Yeah, like that's going to happen.

Well I'll Be Darned

Remember my post on November 17th titled "What Went Wrong"?

While reading the newspaper a few days ago I made a remarkable discovery. Someone questioned the consumption of black licorice possibly causing certain severe side effects. Reading on, I discovered that people with high blood pressure should NOT eat black licorice because it aggravates the condition and makes it worse than what it already is. It also causes severe Migraine-like headaches. Holy crap! I have been eating at least one ounce of Australian-type black licorice daily for at least three months, ever since it was presented to me at a local candy shop. Australian black licorice is made from the actual licorice root. It's expensive to say the least. I paid $10 for half a pound that day. But like a junkie, I was desperate for it. I wish I had never bought the stuff now that I look back on it.

And I would not have bought it had I remembered to get the regular licorice I had been buying every week at my regular grocery store. But I forgot to get it that particular day. So my husband went on the hunt and the first store we stopped at (in our neighborhood) had this Australian stuff. I never heard of it. I tasted it and from then on I never went back to what I was buying before.

When I finished reading that article in the newspaper I decided I needed to do some researching and so I looked up the word glycyrrhizin which is the sweet-tasting compound from the licorice root. As I read each entry I soon became quite scared. I had been on the road to possibly killing myself had I kept up eating just one ounce a day. It has been known to cause heart attacks. Some days I ate more than an ounce. I am human, you know.

I also found that it can counteract blood pressure medication. And the one pill my doctor doubled the dosage for me was on that list. When I finished my research I went right to where my supply was and found I had only two days' worth left meaning there was two ounces in the dish. Those went right into the garbage. I was prepared to buy a new supply the following day, so I am glad I found out about it before I did that.

I don't understand why licorice does not come with a warning. Or why some doctors don't warn their patients about eating it after they have prescribed drugs for hypertension. In my case, it took almost three months for the side effects to pile up until that morning when I was wobbly once I was out of bed, and then the severe headaches that followed that. So it's a good thing I had a doctor's appointment a few days later or I could be sleeping with the fishies by now.

Where's The Rewind Button?

I wish I could hit a rewind button and go back to these warmer autumn days. As I write this the temperature is 28 degrees. That's 40 degrees colder than I prefer. (That last picture would have been better had I taken it without a window in my way.)

Better yet, I would like to rewind myself back to when I was just a wee little tyke. However, I would only wish for that if I could also foresee the future back then and change a lot of things that happened to me along the way to the present.

If I could have done that I would have saved myself a lot of headaches and problems along the way. But then again, who knows how things might have turned out? Better left to letting things take place naturally I suppose. But still, there are some things I would have tweaked just a teeny bit so my path would have taken a different route.

I do know that life is what you make of it and mine turned out fairly decent. I have no complaints now...but getting to this point in time, there certainly were enough of them.

Reincarnation. Now there's something to talk about. I could go on and on about that subject. Do I believe in it? Not really. Do I wish it were real? Absolutely. Not only would I love to be around in another 50 years or more, but I also would love to go back in time to visit all my ancestors just to see what they were like.

Now that is something that would make my life truly worth living.

Way To Go Dale Jr!

I would like to extend my congratulations to Dale Earnhardt, Jr., on winning his eighth consecutive award for Most Popular Driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.