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And so it goes…

Text:

CollegeGirl: MOM I feel awful. Have I ever had strep?

Me: No, you’ve never had strep. What are your symptoms?

CG: I ache all over and have a stuffy nose.

Me: Well if you start to feel alot worse or develop a fever, stop in the nurses station at school and have them check for strep, ask if the flu is going around campus.

CG: Ok I will.

later….

CG: I feel really lousy and now I have a fever. I went to the nurse, she doesn’t think I have the flu but she gave me this horrible tasting stuff to take. It’s #######. I’m going to bed.

Me: Want me to come pick you up and you can convalesce at home this weekend?

CG: Noooo, but thanks. “M” is making me chicken noodle soup from scratch! And he went to the store and got me “stuff ” to take. I think I’ll tough it out here, but thanks mom ( “stuff” here, when it was described to me later, was a freak’n arsenal – Nyquil so she could sleep better, dayquil for when she has to be alert, sore throat lozenges and half the contents of the local CVS too, I’m sure. ) Have I mentioned that “M”, who showed up around Christmas time and had us frantically looking for a present to give someone who’s –coming home for Christmas- that we don’t even know yet – turns out to be a pretty decent guy by anyone’s standards from what we can tell. Good thing I didn’t get that light-up reindeer Christmas Sweatshirt after all, huh?

And… I think I lost my day job.

Where… do the years… go.

When Men Bake Cookies….

We have not gotten the snow accumulation this storm was supposed to bring (thankfully) however we are now being pelted with sleet and there’s a coating of ice on anything and everything. The next few days are supposed to be very cold, so all this sleet will contribute to the ice – no school yesterday and today…and I’m going a little stir-crazy, can ya tell? Looking across the nation..and even over in Australia!…the weather has been frighteningly crazy for the past few years- as if the world is telling us something.

I made these cookies for the Man when he comes home from yet another day of storm damage management….

Somehow I think it would have had more effect if I had made the batch up top …

Just sayin.

Shall we dance?

My Heart Sings…

I read something out there in blogland today, and please forgive me, for I have forgotten where I read it….that it takes but one kind word to warm an entire January.

I took my Bailey dog to the vet today for a check up – her tumor still exists but it has been held at bay with meds. No new growth, and I allow myself to feel a little relief.

I’ve also developed a wicked allergy this year – my eyes look like I went a round or two with Evander Holyfield. And Lord help me, I think it may be the dogs. It’s either that or dust. Both are part of my world for eternity… so… Right now I’m giving Claritin a go because Benadryl just makes me look like a drugged out zombie if there is such a thing. Well yes there is, cause that’s what I am when I’m on it.

When I pulled in the driveway after the vet appointment and a Walgreens stop for drugs, there was a package hanging out of the mailbox. It contained these wonderful treasures from a truly gifted Folk artist in Nova Scotia…. Shelagh of Alice in Paris loves Art and Tea. It was the most wonderful of surprises… a gift for simply wishing her a happy birthday –

Shelagh – you’ve warmed my January, February and lets sail into March.

Now here’s the really incredible thing…. I have been following Shelagh’s blog since before I had one of my own. Every now and then I’ve commented on a painting or photograph I particularly like – her colors and subjects are always vivid and fun. Within this collection of postcards and notecards, a print and a board-mounted photo, they are all included! Each one I commented on!… Shelagh, how could you have possibly remembered? And if you were just winging it, well that’s cosmic.

Chocolate hearts, a pretty heart hand towel and red shoes on black check floor…

We could use a little of this advice…

I Love this sky…

I’ve placed the herd of horses in my beta fish garden on the kitchen island….

I’m already wearing these as we batten down the hatches for yet another snow storm.

Shelagh also shares some fabulous recipes on her blog… I’ve made quite a few, and I’ve got a copy of her cookbook too… wonderful Novia Scotia recipes in her own whimsical style.
http://www.amazon.com/Nova-Scotia-Potluck-Friends-Family/dp/1412028027/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296514649&sr=1-1

No business like snow business

Record snow fall these past few weeks – Connecticut hasn’t seen this much snow all at once in a hundred years. It’s stunningly beautiful, and a royal pain in the a** too. We’re about to get clobbered with another Nor’Easter on Tuesday – and no one knows where they’ll put it. Our country roads in some places are down to one lane, people entering and leaving driveways aren’t visible because the snow is banked so high – roofs are caving in… two horse barns in a nearby town had casualties after their barn roof collapsed, and I got a frantic call from another barn owner today – looking for people willing to climb on a barn roof because it was about to collapse and the heavy wet snow needed to be removed. Our previous home that is not yet sold burst two pipes and my MIL’s roof is leaking. SO… husband & son and his crew have been on snow removal duty and house damage repair for five days now and I think most are sitting on their very last nerve. Our good friend Tim has a new solar panel installed on his property – a brilliant idea!..but comes with a heavy price, quite literally, when there’s heavy snow fall. TIM, are you still with us?….

So what have I been doing? I’m taking pictures, cooking and eating too much, taking care of critters, stocking the woodpiles and whining just a little. Most of these pics were taken with my iphone today while out walking with Ben… some with a little touch up from picnik –

We’ve seen some of the most amazing sunsets on the back hill…

Tonight I’m looking at this…

The natives are restless, time to go rustle up some grub. Stay warm my Northern friends.

White… as in Betty

When I’m tossing in bed with middle age insomnia, nothing makes me happier than finding Golden Girls in reruns. I have loved Betty White since I was a young girl watching Mary Tyler Moore in my grandmother’s TV room. Who can forget the evil Sue Ann Nivens –

I loved her as Rose, the lovable ditz on the Golden Girls…

That show had so much appeal – when the girls are discussing the issues of the day and trading hilarious barbs, there’s the feeling that you’re right there in the kitchen with them. They were real, they were humorous without having to be obscene… although there was certainly some raunch, but tastefully done. The show had class, the women had class, they made you want to know them, root for them, laugh and cry with them.

Some fun facts about GG:

– Bea’s two hit shows (Golden Girls & Maude) ended because she decided to leave.

– Estelle Getty (Sophia) is younger than her on screen daughter, Dorothy (Bea Arthur).

– The Golden Girls were nominated for 57 Emmys. (7 of them for “Best Comedy Series”)

– The Golden Girls has two spin-offs: “Empty Nest” and “The Golden Palace”.

– According to the E! TV Tales, TGG shares a special coincidence with All In the Family. Both shows are the only two in television history where the main characters all won an Emmy Award.

– Bea Arthur hates cheesecake. Said dessert was featured in almost 100 episodes in the series.

– Betty White was originally supposed to play Blanche, and Rue McClanahan Rose. However, Betty didn’t want to play another “sexpot” like Sue Ann Nivens. She was caught off-guard when they asked her to read for the part, but it turned out to be wonderful!

– It was Rue McClanahan’s idea to give Blanche a Southern accent.

– The first episode of The Golden Girls attracted more than 25 million viewers and was the #1 show that week, beating out the NBC powerhouse, The Cosby Show.

– Bea actually wanted to leave the series after season 5 but was coaxed to stay for 2 more seasons. (thankfully!)

– None of the Golden Girls have daughters in real life.

– Estelle Getty suffered from stage fright every Friday night for 26 weeks.

– It took 45 minutes in make-up for Estelle to be transformed into Sophia.

SO… when I heard about Hot In Cleveland with Betty White and a great cast including some terrific comedic actresses, I was thrilled!…. and it took me a whole year to find it on a local cable channel. I finally found it way up in the 300 block of channels… and watched my first episode, which aired this week. I don’t know..is it just me? Betty White was terrific in her roll, as always… but… the show fell flat for me and I can’t really put my finger on it…too cliche’ or cheap, kinda throws women under the bus a little….. or something.

I wish these girls the best because they’re all terrific – but this girl didn’t find Cleveland quite so Hot.

Flying the Coop

…oh, how I wish I were… to the British West Indies or St. John or The Maldives… you know.. someplace where they don’t grow snow.

But what I’m really blogging about today is chickens and flying the idea around to see what I come up with. It looks as if the Mr. is in approval of the idea. Now I have had horses and dogs and cats and rabbits and birds and fish and a goat, hamsters, gerbils, mice and even a rat – ever so briefly. But I have never owned poultry so I’m treading in unfamiliar waters here.

I’ve been looking at coops…there are a zillion of them online – and here’s what I like so far in the way of design.

I’ve researched the hearty egg-laying chicken breeds, and these appeal to me –

Black Australorp (sp?)

Buff Orpington (SP???)

Rhode Island Red

Brahma

Skyline Hen (lays blue eggs! How cool is that! )

I researched hearty breeds because of the cold temps here in the winter. Have I whined enough about the three feet of snow with six foot drifts we have outside? And did I mention the nor’easter that is threatening to arrive next Tuesday? Am I crazy to want to shovel out to a chicken coop on top of the dog bathroom run we already shovel in this kind of weather to chip out frozen water feeders?

White Out

Yesterday the snow began to fly. Most of the day looked like this…

So we did some of this ….

The fire burned out and we went to bed… to awake this morning to this…

That’s the top of the adirondacks around my little fire pit, right there.

So the rest of the day is going to look like this….

Old Family Photos… in the Loo?

Why not? …. who’s rules am I following, anyway…

This downstairs bathroom needed something.

We still have boxes and boxes in the basement that have not been unpacked since our move. These family photos used to hang in our old dining room and I love them dearly – so why not put them where they will get full attention. You’re just sitting there, guest or resident…….might as well have something to look at, right?

Some of you might be disturbed by the random assignment and slight crooked
appearance of these photos..I don’t read instruction manuals
and I don’t measure before I hang pictures. It’s just how I roll.

I don’t always iron curtains when they come out of the dryer, either – although these are getting ironed

because they’re even too wrinkly for me.

That’s the dog sink – their food is underneath and they go IN

when they need a bath.

My grandmother Elsie – I still have that wedding dress.

My Dad, who I resemble… except for the ears.

Mike’s father, who passed away recently.

Handsome, he was.

And this is one of my favorites. Mike’s dad and his brothers are hanging out on the edge of their

“swimming pool”. Their father had a fruit and vegetable store and he had lots of crates from

the produce. This “pool” is made of crates in a circle with a tarp laid over it and filled with water.

My aunt and uncle, who still kiss like this at 78 and 80 years of age. She made that dress for their engagement party. They sleep in a full size bed, not even a queen. I asked them why they never got themselves a bigger bed and she said “I can’t sleep if we’re not touching back to back, cheek to cheek.” I don’t know if that’s down-right adorable or too much information.

Either way, it makes me smile.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

…. because there are dirty dishes in there that I’ve been ignoring all day.

Thank you all for the compliments on our kitchen – In our previous home the kitchen was too big and it felt isolated from the rest of the house. This time around I wanted a more open feel, especially when we have company. This Old House lent itself perfectly to my ideal, mainly because in the old homes the kitchen, or “keeping room” was the main Hub of the house activites. Our dining room, kitchen eating area and island work space are all one big area, the entire back of the main frame (the original box) of the house.

These are the chickens who reside in my kitchen sink window –

I’ve been contemplating building a coop out back for the real deal…

Feel free to tell me it’s a crazy idea….any time now!

These wingbacks were given to us by the previous owner of the house. They date back 100 years – and the upholstery was probably original. The stuffing-cushioning were in pretty good shape, so I reupholstered them in this coral/cream/brown print and they look like new again. They don’t make things like they used to.

The two prints above the fireplace were my grandmothers. They are floral prints from the Smithsonian, one in the month of August and one in November – my grandparents birth months. Many years ago they were hung on the wall over their headboard.