Week 4, January 17, 2016

Thoughts and Quotes:  The least lack of discipline starts to erode our self-esteem.  Jim Rohn (The late Jim Rohn, my favorite motivational teacher.  How I miss him.)

And he's correct.  I've been beating myself up because I didn't get any door frames washed this week.

Let's see what I accomplished though:

Thinning and Trimming:  My Sit and Be Fit exercises are getting easier.  I did my goal of five this week.

Taking Care of my Health:  Still eating those apples and leafy greens.  I'm actually starting to look forward to my apple a day.

Tasting:  You're in luck.  You won't be bombarded with Foodie Photos this week.  The Glenstone Diners went to Neighborhood Pizza, the winner of many awards.

 

And I forgot to take photos of our food.  No big loss, however, because the best thing about the place was this cute guy:

Then Martha and I went to F-D Grill and we both had fried shrimp.   Delicious, but not photo worthy.

My third Tasting event was to be Terri's (my chosen niece) birthday at Ms. Gilmore's Tea Room which would have provided lots of great photos, but my favorite T, my kitty Tiki, gave me a fright and I had to stay home and wait for the vet.  Thankfully, I've discovered a vet who makes house calls.  His name is Dr. Hessman and he's very sweet with kitties.  Tiki was sneezing and sneezing and sometimes wheezing when I got all excited, but before the doctor arrived, she was fine.  Seems she probably had something caught in her sinus and cleared it herself.  However, it was good he came because I needed to increase her thyroid medicine, and he gave me some edible gel for older cats which helps joints, digestion, heart, and who knows what all.

There are lots of photos on the tea room Facebook page, and I'll be going there in the future, I'm sure.  I've never had better cream of mushroom soup anywhere.

Togs:  Are ready for this?  Someone gave me these pants, and I found this tee in my closet which I bought at a thrift store to wear around the house or to run to the store:

I'm afraid that if I wear this, I'll be in one of those emails about Walmart shoppers.

This isn't quite so bad:

I could wear this next fall.  The pants are actually very nice and like new.

Things that grow:  I bought several packets of seeds and have them ready to start some plants inside.  I've never been successful in the past, but maybe I can think of a new method.  This will be my final try at getting a jump on Mother Nature.

Tidying:  Complete failure.  I'm hanging my head in shame.

Tea Book:  I finished the first Winter tea.  I changed the menu somewhat to:

                  Tea sandwiches:  Beet with butter and roast beef with horseradish-mayo

                  Scones:  Apricot-Orange with orange butter and apricot jam

                  Sweets:  Cherry Spritz and Chocolate-mint chip cookies

Here's a look at the table

And the food

This is the first Winter tea for my book and it's all about winter flowers.  Now the work begins, because I still have to write it up, input the recipes, make the plan, etc.  I invited a couple of friends and we agreed that beet sandwiches are good (I'll tell you all about that in the book) and that my made up scone recipe is a winner.

Tidbits:  Last week I promised you photos of another T - Joey's Christmas (winter) tree.  I took the photos with the sun coming right into the room, so they aren't the greatest.  The room is rather small, so I couldn't get a good photo of the tree from top to bottom.  You'll get the idea, though, and I'm sure you'll agree that this is one beautiful room.

When you stand in the room, you feel as if you've truly found Winter Wonderland.  

So what should we do next week? 

Taking Care of my Health: An apple a day is almost a habit by now, and greens are getting easier.  I think it's time to add an orange or yellow fruit or vegetable each day.  If you're following along, don't you feel that it's getting easier to eat things which are good for us?

Thinning and Trimming:  I'm not ready for the torture lady yet, so I'll just do another five Sit and Be Fits.

Tasting:  Time to get serious about some new salad recipes.  Tossed salad is getting boring. 

I believe I'll start trying to duplicate the cream of mushroom soup I missed at Ms. Gilmore's Tea Room.  The cook won't part with her recipe.

Also, it's time for another 417 Magazine dinner, so I'll have some Foodie Photos.  The guest chef is from Gilardi's.  I've never been to his restaurant, but I hear it's all fresh and delicious.

Tea Book:  I'll do the write up and recipes for Winter Tea 1 shown above.  The hard part is finished.  Then I'll start on Winter Tea 2. 

Thread:  Time to work on one of my projects or maybe just figure out what to do with the thread leftover from the black shawl. 

Tales:  I have two books from the library I haven't even started.  It's supposed to be cold and maybe even snowy this week, so maybe I'll have some down time and just sit and read and pet Tiki.

While we're on the subject, I'd like to recommend an eBook I read this week.  It's called, Look at My Happy Rainbow, My Journey as a Male Kindergarten Teacher.  The author is Matthew Halpern.  It's a short and thoroughly enjoyable read.  If you can't download an eBook, it also comes in paperback.  It has 88 reviews and a 5-star rating at Amazon.

Tidying:  Again, no promises, but I'll make an effort to get to those door frames.  Really! 

I mean it.  Boy, do I hate housework!

A miscellaneous T:  Teaching.  I need to go to the library for a one-on-one lesson to see why I prepare my post in Arial and it comes out in something else - maybe Calibri.  No amount of editing will cure the problem.  Any ideas?  Anyone?  Help!

Okay, Gang.  Let's work on our apples, greens, and orange or yellow fruit or vegetable. We can do this.  Aren't you feeling virtuous?  And pretty soon you'll start feeling healthier.  

HAVE A GREAT WEEK - STAY WARM