3-24-2019, I'm Getting There

Thoughts and Quotes: If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.

                                                                          Meister Eckhart

My birthdays always seem to come with a "special" gift. Last year it was a computer breakdown; this year it was my printer; and one year it was termites. I get all huffy, and think the gods are picking on me. 

But then I stop to think about the blessings in my life. I didn't have to go hungry to buy a new computer or printer, and those were MY termites. How lucky I am that I can afford a nice house of my own. I'd rather those were my termites than my landlord's.

I also got a twisted knee this year, which became a blessing in disguise. My office was such a horrible mess, I couldn't concentrate. Clutter scrambles my brain. I had stacks and boxes of vinyl records all over the floor, along with a bunch of 3-ring binders I bought at the thrift store. 

In checking the internet, I found that my knee symptoms dictated resting the knee. So I did. Now the binders are organized and the excess sent to the garage. I've completely finished all the loose records except for piano music. My floor is clear except for the stack of piano music -

and sets

and the binders I'm using right now.

So while I was transferring all that music to my computer and micro memory cards, I was sitting for the most part, and my knee is much better.

I've had lots of roadblocks this year, but I get the feeling that the water has calmed. The fence section which blew down in the wind has been repaired, I have a new fence gate which hopefully won't get stuck all the time, my new printer is finally installed and bugs worked out, I can finally think in my office, and spring is here. Hooray!

My new big boy printer

I do, however, have lots of serious music records in the closet, but they're out-of-sight-out-of-mind. We usually say "classical" music, but when I took a class in music appreciation, I was taught that it's serious music and classical is one period of serious music. In order: There were only chants in the beginning and then Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern. There's also Rococo, but it's considered a sub-period of Baroque.

Now that I've soaked your shoulder with my tears, let's move on.

Teaching and Learning: My Kindle Fire wouldn't connect to the internet one day. I had a library class recently which taught me how to look at this problem. You just hold the device in the portrait position and slide your finger down the screen and it will reveal the settings portion. There were two names with ATT (I have ATT-Uverse as my provider), so I wasn't sure which was mine. I did know I'm not Panera Bread or Fletcher Subaru, and that I could find the  name of mine on the modem. That's also where you look for the password.

I was feeling pretty smug until I started putting in my password and found a % sign in it. Kindle Fire doesn't have a % sign on the keyboard. I had to call ATT to get help, and here's what I discovered. You might already know this, but if not, listen up. I was told to put in the password, up to the point of the % sign, and then hold down the "c". I did, and up popped more symbols. Who knew? Now we know. There are symbols hiding under the letters of you Kindle keyboard. 

I know this has been pretty boring so far, so let's see if I have anything fun to add.

Teaching and Learning: Alyssa, from my local library branch (she handles children's activities) did a mission trip to Ukraine, and was kind enough to give a talk. She brought in all her treasures from Ukraine and wore the native dress.

She was in a rural area where the people are really poor. She was there to teach in one of the orphanages. In Ukraine, parents who cannot care for their children can just turn them over to an orphanage, but they do not have to surrender their parental rights. There are also children who are truly orphans. There are people who want to adopt these children, but it's very difficult; especially, if the parents who handed over their children cannot be found or refuse to surrender their rights. Some of her stories brought me to tears.

I asked why Russia is so interested in Ukraine, and one reason is because this area is known as a "breadbasket"; an area where a lot of food is grown.

Tips: Did you ever order a gift online to be sent directly to the recipient, and there's an optional "gift wrapped"? I always wondered if this is a worthwhile. I suppose it varies by vendor, but my kids sent me a new knife set for my birthday, and it was "gift wrapped" in a wonderful silky fabric bag with a satin drawstring ribbon. I'll use it for storing undies or stockings in my luggage, and I'll be traveling in style!

Tips: I found more weird pricing at Walmart. The weed killer for behind my fence comes in a container with a sprayer, and also in a larger container without a sprayer, which is to refill the smaller container.

The container with the sprayer - 6.9 cents per ounce

Without the sprayer - 8 cents per ounce

We really need to check everything when we shop.

Tips: I'm just full of them today. You might want to sign up for the email option at the restaurants you frequent. I recently got a notice of $5 bacon cheeseburgers with fries at Ruby Tuesday.

And then I got a two-for-one coupon. Brother Bill and I used the coupon, and I had the chicken breast with a baked potato and the salad bar.

Their salad bar has ham, cheese, boiled eggs, and sometimes turkey or chicken, so you can make a meal of salad, which I did. I brought my chicken and potato home.

Then I made a small salad and had it with one chicken breast and half of the potato for another meal.

Then I made a larger tossed salad and cut up the other chicken breast to add. I'd made potato soup the day before, so I scooped out the other half of the baked potato and added it to the soup and had soup and salad for a third meal.

Total price - FREE! And it truly was free because we paid for Bill's meal from the $100 I got as a referral fee when Bill bought his Subaru from Fletcher in Joplin - the place where I bought mine.

And I got an email from Cheddars on Pi Day (3-16) that I could come for a chicken pot pie and then get a free frozen one to take home and bake later. Sadly, couldn't make it.

Tasting: All this talk of food made my hungry. I added some leftover taco meat to the potato soup, sprinkled on green onions and fresh tomatoes. Not bad.

Thrifting: I actually went to donate some clothes, but found the store is closing, so everything was 75 cents.

My son is a brat and loves to wear shirts with logos, especially if they have a name over the pocket. He'll be talking to a salesman who thinks he fixes cars at Acme Ford because it says so on the back of his shirt. Then he'll say, "Well, Bob, . . . . ." and my son will say, "My name is Mike". He loves the confused look he gets. A brat, right? 

Of course, I contribute to this bad behavior by buying him shirts I think he'll love. I bought four at 75 cents each which will cost me probably $20 to mail, but who cares? If it gives him pleasure, it's worth it.

This will be a favorite. I looked up SGA in Missouri, and it's Student Government Association at Missouri State University. There's no SGA in California, so people will assume it's the Missouri government cabinet. He'll love that. 

Things that Grow: This was a week ago.

And here it is now

Spring has definitely arrived.

Theme Dining: I cooked corned beef and cabbage for St. Patick's Day a week late, which might account for my fence and Kindle problems. Are there Leprechauns in the USA?

This table has a Wild Irish Rose in place of a shamrock.

For the Holiday Theme Dining book, I had all the photos I needed except the plate of corned beef and cabbage. I actually did this dinner in 2016.

Word to the wise: If you live alone and want to cook corned beef and cabbage, be sure to invite guests. The first time you eat it, "Boy, this is good." The second time, "That was okay." The third time, "Really! Again!" and the fourth time, "I can't do it. I'm putting this out for the possum."

The Pepper and Pals Report: Feral kitties Midnight and Ginger have disappeared. I have no idea what happened, but I can't dwell on it. When you have kitties who run from you, they're on their own. I can only hope that someone else made friends with them and adopted them. 

Pepper and Stormy continue to be Lazy-Head Cats. That is, when they're not under my feet driving me nuts.

LET'S PLANT SOME VEGGIES

AND SOME FLOWERS

WALK IN THE SUNSHINE

BUY A NEW BATHING SUIT

EAT YOUR APPLES

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE

3-10-2019, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good: I had my 81st birthday on the 10th, and I set a new longevity record for our family, at least as far back as I know, which is great-grandparents. 

I received lots of cards and calls, for which I thank you; two of my besties took me to lunch and brought me goodies; I have another lunch coming up this week with another besty; and a joint celebration with a besty whose birthday is the day before mine, but she's recovering from a knee surgery and still house bound right now. I'm truly blessed.

The Bad: My printer gave me an error message that my ink system had failed. I went through all the procedures for clearing the error, including installing all new cartridges which didn't help - about $50 in ink wasted - and removing the print head to clean it. The good; I discovered that Mr. Clean erasers will remove ink from your hands. Anyway, my new printer should be delivered on the 11th, and I'll be back in business just as soon as my computer guru, Sean Michael, has time to come install it.

The Other Bad: We had some terrific winds on Saturday which messed up my fence, so that one section is at a 45-degree angle now. I have a call in to the fence people, so hopefully that will be handled soon.

The Final Bad: I've looked all over for an MP3 Player which will take the larger memory cards, and they just don't make them anymore. The new micro SD cards are as flimsy as and the size of a false thumbnail. When inserted in the player, they end up flush with the edge because they're spring loaded. You have to carefully push in with your thumbnail, and it you push too hard, when ejected, they go flying through the air and land about three feet away. I have a bazillion 33 rpm records I want to transfer to digital, and I don't want to load them all into the computer and then add properties so I can sort the kind of music I want to hear. If I just use a different card, I can use one for each genre and then just switch the card if I want to change from piano to easy listening, etc. It has been a struggle, but I've resigned myself to the itty-bitty memory cards, and now I have the long tedious job of transferring the music. At least, this way I can just let each side of the record play (and transfer) as one long song instead of stopping the recording after each song and starting it again for the next.

The Ugly: Me. I got mad at Clairol because they changed the shape of the box my hair color came in, and then they changed one part of the mix from liquid to cream. I threw a hissy fit and bought Revlon. Well. . . . .the color on the box is not the same as my hair. I'm now more brunette than blonde, and with my pale skin, I look as if I just finished a long bout of illness.

So that's why I'm late, and why I didn't accomplish anything worthwhile to share. 

I do, however, want to show you the card made by talented friend Jean. Remember in January when I took photos of the pillows at Hobby Lobby, because I thought card makers might like the messages? Well, Jean said that she liked one of them and would use it. She not only used the message, she duplicated the pillow. Don't you love it?

Tales: See if your library has this book. You'll love it. One of the most entertaining books I've ever read.

Tip: I found a way to make tater-tots edible. After you cook them according to the package directions, put them in a fry pan and smash them and cook until crispy.

Tasting: If you ever see one of these trucks, stop for an authentic English pasty. I bought the traditional with steak, potatoes, carrots, and rutabagas. Wonderful crust! One pasty makes two meals. They're really big.

I leave you with this message from Andrea Bocelli - click HERE.

BUY YOUR CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY

GET SOME SUN

EXERCISE TO GET RID OF THE SEDENTARY WINTER KINKS

STAY HYDRATED

HUG YOUR LOVED ONES - THE FURRY ONES TOO

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE

3-3-2019 Thrifting; Oh, no! Not Again!!!

Thoughts and Quotes: "I learn lots of new things when I make mistakes."
                                                Mim's four-year-old grandson

Teaching and Learning: I just realized that the website I gave for tea is secure so you can shop, but my computer shows the links are unsecured - no good. The emails I receive are secure, but I'm not allowed to cut and paste directly into my blog. In case you realized this, and went no further, I'm going to share the most interesting thing I found - the amount of caffeine in each kind of tea.

White tea is almost as low in caffeine as decaffeinated tea. For a 6 oz cup, coffee is about 112 mg; green tea is only 25; white tea is around 15, and decaf tea is only 5. Compare these to black tea which is around 50. Of course, herb teas have no caffeine, but they're not really teas - they're tisanes. The website has a blog, but how much do you really need to know about tea? Mainly I want to know where I can go for afternoon tea, recipes for tea goodies, or which thrift store is having a sale because they might have some tea dishes. 

Thrifting: Oh my goodness! What happened to my goal of no more things? When you see what I bought, you'll understand why I couldn't resist.

$6

$3

50 cents each

50 cents each

$1 for a sweet little flower arrangement

$1 per set - I love, love, love these

$1 for the set

Red tag, so half price. $1.75 and like new.

Also half off, so $1.75; different on the othe side.

$3.50 I already used this when I spent three hours at the agency while they handled my air bag recall. I took my umbrella, bullet journal, some magazines, and both Kindle readers.

But - I put together four place settings like this for Joey's granddaughter, so I should get a gold star for discards.

The Weird Weather: On Sunday, I got up to this -

And by 5:00 p.m., we had this.

Tasting: I saw a recipe for Tater-Tot Nachos which caught my eye. I've always been fascinated by Tater-Tots. I always think they should be really good, but they never are, so I keep trying. You cook a 32 oz package of Tater Tots as directed on the package. Then you cook 1 lb. of hamburger with a package of taco seasoning. You spread the hamburger over the tots, then shredded cheese. Put it in the oven to melt the cheese, then add toppings. I did the cooking, and now I make a serving at a time.

Add hamburger

Melt cheese on top

Add tomatoes, onion, sliced ripe olives, and cilantro. 

And a dollop of sour cream.

The Pepper and Pals Report: Two of the feral kitties are missing. I haven't seen Ginger for days, and Midnight has been gone for more than a week. Someone said they'd seen coyotes back in the south field, and I fear the girls might have ventured out too far on a hunting expedition.

In the meantime, Pepper continues to snuggle with his cuddly throw.

And Stormy helps with my thrift finds.

Yes, more thrifting. I went to a library class in Ozark and Goodwill is just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

Teaching and Learning: The class at the library was making paper flowers. I was hoping for crepe paper flowers to use for Cinco de Mayo, but we made them from newsprint. The teacher made tons of these which she combined with red silk roses for her wedding reception.

Thrifting: Again! Well, I was right there, and the things were so cute, and so cheap!

$3 for 22 seafood forks

Small poinsettia bowls - 50 cents each

Small party plates - 50 cents each

Do they go with these and the Eiffel Tower? The plates say Cafe Paris

A trivet to go with my peppers collection - $1

Only two, but I think they'll make great votive holders - 50 cents each

A medium serving bowl - 75% off, so 50 cents

Serving plate - $1

6 dessert plates for 50 cents each

And four placemats for $1 each to go with the dishes for Joey's granddaughter - four more napkins and four more napkin rings in the discard column.

Tasting: I thought this sounded too good to be true, so I tried it. I used pineapple in heavy syrup and it ended up looking like a saggy mattress. I tried it again with pineapple in juice and it's better.

INSTANT CAKE

1 box angel food cake mix

1 20-oz can crushed pineapple in juice

Heat oven to 350°.

Lightly spray a 13” X 9” baking pan.

Put cake mix in a large mixing bowl.

Pour in undrained pineapple and stir with a spoon.

Pour into baking dish.

Bake 30 minutes.

That's all I have for you this week. Long week, but I did manage to get over to Joplin for my airbag recall. You might want to check yours online. I got the call from my agency almost three weeks before I got the official notice in the mail. And it really is dangerous to have a passenger if your car is in the recall pool.

STAY WARM

THINK SPRING

AND BLUE SKIES

AND SUNSHINE

EAT CAJUN FOOD ON TUESDAY FOR MARDI GRAS

TRY A LITTLE THRIFTING

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE