Beginning Again: Chapter 1178 - April 15-21:

[AlwaysAries]

Morning all, potential storms today, but I think we will still go to the Amana’s and get our clock, then have lunch with DH’s cousin. Looking forward to that, but wish the weather wasn’t so threatening.

Turns out tomorrow is an outing to the Iowa State University campus to see the murals by Grant Woods, and a Peterson exhibit. With lunch at a tea room. While I should be getting ready for the sibling lunch, I have been thinking about it, and a year from now, will I remember staying home to clean and do windows, or will I remember seeing these things and my time with friends. Since I’m going, you know what my answer was!!

Betty - ugh, I haven’t overslept in years, but we all remember a time when we woke up in a panic knowing we overslept. It’s an awful feeling. Hope the rest of your day goes more smoothly. Did you get rain overnight? We only got .16 hope for more today, but without the strong storms. Hope DSisIL continues to improve and will soon get off the antibiotics. Hard to imagine how sick she has been.

Gina - ohhh, a cruise, you sure deserve it!! While your work continues the pressure of getting it all done might be slightly less today?

Luv - how fun that DGD goes walking with you, even if you do go slower. So fun to watch her tossing the rocks in the water too.

Caryn - thank you so much for sharing the pictures, those windows must have been awesome in person, the photos are never as good as the naked eye. There was just an update about the work on Notre Dame, it’s pretty inspiring that they are going back to the old ages to remake the main beans etc, even using old tools to do it. But the modern technology of lifting it in place does use huge cranes.

Allison - you are probably out in the middle of your walk right now. What’s up for the rest of your day?

Jeanne - will you get both of your walks in today?

It’s time for me to check the weather and get some breakfast. TTFN

[AlwaysAries]

Under the heading: ‘Better safe than sorry’ we are postponing our trip until Thursday. Possibility of high winds, which are already at 31 mph, and could go to 50-60 mph, and the additional threat of large hail. Leaving the car in the garage and us safe at home seems like the prudent thing to do.

[talbotsshopper]

Good morning all. I was out at 8 to walk 4 miles with my neighbor. The weather is wonderful for mid-April, sunny and will be low 70's.

Caryn - your photos are wonderful - thank you for sharing.

Peg - wise move, no need in taking any chances. The rest of my day is puzzles, solitaire and reading with some dusting thrown in as the furniture that has been moved back in needs to be cleaned.

Gina - waking up today feeling a wee bit relaxed?

Betty - if you overslept it means you needed the sleep. Sorry your morning got off to a hectic start.

Time to get out the dust cloth...

Allison

[talbotsshopper]

Wordle in 4, Quordle in 9, Duotrig in 37 and Connections with one error (I got purple first, then green, blue and yellow). Not dusting yet....

[abz1]

It's a cooler day today, I was shocked when I stepped out to take DGD to school! Maybe I should do a good vacuuming to freshen things today. I did the floors upstairs and still need to do the sinks and counter up there so maybe I can toss that in as well. My sourdough starter looked hungry so decided there are to aging bananas and with a feeding, I can make banana bread with some of it. Instead of weighing it all out, I decided to try eyeballing it with a portion of it and find it's doing better than the one I'd weighed! That was shocking! DGD may eat some for her "second" breakfast and I'd never tried making it with sourdough so should be a fun activity today. The other option would be to grab something a little warmer and go out to dig up a few weeds among the rock in the landscape.

We may have some rain but not until after 4:00 and the worst looks like it will bypass us once again, going more northeast of us. We do get lucky most of the time.

I should try to come up with something tasty for dinner using what we have in the freezer. I think there are extra meatballs so something to use those up in maybe? Hmmm, I have beef gravy left over and potatoes from that roast. Maybe add meatballs and more liquid with some veggies and turn it into a tasty soup? Oooh, that sounds creative and fun! That's it, thanks for letting me work that out in my head! LOL If it turns out to be a larger than needed pot, I can take some to DTBIL/DSIL as well.

Peg, so glad you decided to stay home and safe. It's a wise decision indeed!

Allison, sound like an indoor day for you too.

J, hope you can enjoy your walks!

Caryn, when do you arrive home? I'm sure you'll post when you do.

RV, wonderful DH was feeling so well he could tackle extras. The older we get, the less days like that we see to have so have to enjoy them when we do! Any news on the neighbors house yet?

Guess I'll take a look in the fridge and pull out those soup fixings!

[rvgypsy]

2 loads of laundry done, bathrooms tidied up, shower taken, need to go super clean the outdoor table full of pollen. Not sure what time our friend will arrive today but better be ready. DH is at PT and should be home soon. Looks like we're in for some nasty weather here. Hope it stays north of us. Will write more later when the Steele Magnolia Inn's guests have departed.

Have been reading - hi to all.

Nancy

[AlwaysAries]

After our postponed trip, I have wiped out the fridge shelves, and gone though the ‘Tupperware’ more like miscellaneous plastics cupboard, matching tops and bottoms, tossing anything that doesn’t have a mate. Next up might be the linen closet? We have not had any severe weather, but a tornado watch was just issued for our area.

The lilacs have leafed out and the redbud tree is showing some color. Oh I do love spring (well except for the severe weather that can be part of it).

[jeannet]

Beautiful day here! Cooler than yesterday but just gorgeous.

Peg - good move staying safe with the storm potential.

Betty - I need some of your housework motivation!

My morning was a short walk w Scruffy - he didn’t want to go far - then a trip to home depot for mulch and the supermarket for food for Passover. When we came home, I moved more daffodils and weeded a bit. 90 minutes seems to be my limit. Looks like it will take the week to move and everything we want in the front. Then there’s the back yard! Yikes!

We have a doc appt for DH this afternoon as pre op for the cataract procedure. Need to copy the papers for that.

[talbotsshopper]

Seems like we are all cleaning today. I have a load of laundry in the washer. And dusting led to windexing the windows, led to doing the baseboards... So, the LR & DR have been cleaned from the dust from sanding the floors. I have just showered at 2 PM and settled into watch Grey's Anatomy on demand.

Allison

[rvgypsy]

Peg. You do realize that as soon as you throw a bowl away the lid will come out of it's hiding place. Ready for guests. Just cleaned the pollen off the glass table outside. Any bets on how long that will last? DH is napping. Says he had quite a workout today. I could use a short nap also.

Caryn. You must be flying over the pond about now.

Jeanne. You are really digging up a storm. Does Scruffy get to dig with you?

Luv. Pretty soòn your home will be bare naked and you will have to go shopping.

Just learned something new. If I hold my finger down on the n or o I can make a Tilda. Ñò. Cool. Connections with 1 left, wordle in 6 and waffle with 5 left.

Hasta luego. See ya mañana probably

Nancy

[acrewer]

Good morning. DH is meeting with the contractor at the property to fix some of the vandalism and put new tile in a bathroom. I'm cooking for tomorrow's brunch and the cleaning ladies are here early. I need to check that everything has been processed and nothing has been rejected. Then after lunch, I'll head over to where we are having the brunch to help set up. A totally different day.

It's 71 now and sunny! The vines are all budding and I'm loving the sunshine, grateful to be able to be out in it! Weeded my front gardens this morning.

Betty - hope your day isn't too off kilter...I'm never out of bed before 7, and rarely before 7:30. I was never a morning person.

Caryn - what a wonderful trip you've had. Loving your pictures. The last time I say Paris...I bought my wedding dress. I once attended a chamber music concert in Sante Chapel, the acoustics were amazing. It was in early July, so sunset was around 10pm. I've been on tours too, but sitting there for an entire concert was different. You could really focus on the different windows. Have a safe trip home.

Well this has been sitting here since 10! Posting now and will do more personals later

Gina

[luvmypets]

it turned out to be a nice day here even said it was going to rain. I got 2 miles in this morning. I’m getting there slowly but surely. Then watch DGD while DD went and got a little color in her hair or highlights I guess. She still doesn’t feel good but she goes to doctor tomorrow so we’ll see what he says. She’s not as sick as she was last time but I feel sorry for feeling awful. We have this old Playhouse that came with this house that’s over 110 years old. Had it fixed up for DD and now DGD win it really played for the first time today she had so much! we have old tinker toys in there from DH’s son and she had a great time playing with them played with them for a long time. Humphrey was here too having fun. She brought me lunch and then she went home to do nap with DGD. I’m sitting here cause I’m really really tired. I was gonna rest for a while and then I’ll get doing some things.

Caryn looks like a great trip!

Peg I love lilacs dh killed our huge tree, accidentally ma out ten years ago I so miss it it was huge!

Betty I have ground Turkey trying to decide what to do with it!

RV I got rid of all this all pillow cases and sheets and ordered new pillows! lol Lids and socks mysteries  of the world!

Jeanne it was cooler hee when I walked this morning I was surprised. 

Gina hope dh gets everything settled with the building so he can go fishing!

I didn’t sleep great last night. I don’t know why I slept good before, but I think it might take a little nap. I never really taken a nap. I just kind of close my eyes.

[talbotsshopper]

Bammies - be careful - I just received a new FB friend request from Caryn - it is a hack!

[abz1]

Luv, ground turkey works well for egg roll in a bowl! DH actually likes it so I may have to pull that one out of a hat one of these days. Wonderful, DGD has the playhouse handed down for her. How far along is DD now? Still fairly early but sometimes the entire pregnancy can go that way. Let us know how the dr appointment goes.

Gina, pssst...I'm not a morning person either and would much rather sleep until 7:30 or later! It's amazing what we can make ourselves do if we're "needed" and really happy to have the time with DGD as we get to watch her grow into a young lady. Oh, I bet the vines will be full before you know it!

Peg, I agree missing lids or containers is always a mystery! It's nice when we can take just one cabinet or drawer at a time. I have a few to go through!

Allison, at least you could see the benefits of your cleaning with that dust being so visible! Great to have some of that behind you now so you can just enjoy the beauty. Will you do area rugs or something similar to what you used in the condo?

Well, DH came home and gave me the corrected report...DSIL's number was over 200, not 20! It's really dropped and in the upper "normal" now but they don't want to stop the antibiotic too soon and have to tackle it all over again so this is why they are carrying on a bit longer. DSIL actually called DTBIL this afternoon and discussed cooking something! How wonderful for her to feel well enough to provide something tasty for him (she really can make a tasty meal)! I'm sure he's looking forward to that.

DSD/DGD stopped by and the first thing was, do you have something in the oven? Yes, I had sourdough banana bread in there! DGD asks, is it done? LOL Meanwhile she hat a few cheese curds and asked for any leftover sourdough bread from Sunday so had a piece of that while waiting for the banana bread. It came out in time for her to have an end chunk cut off to take home. Gosh I love that she will probably always remember me for my baking or having her favorite things waiting for her. She asked if she could "feed" the starter. I promised it would be hungry in the morning and yes, she will be able to feed it when she arrives. She also took home a comforter we'd swapped out that she always liked. It will fit her bed as well.

DH went out to straighten some things in the garage but is now back in and headed to shower, just in time as it's now raining! I told him I maybe should shower tonight as well in case I oversleep again! Gads!

Well I did get all the furniture vacuumed, moved the heavy furniture (with a new moving device recommended by my DSis) and vacuumed all the floors well. Sure glad I got that done. Oh, my Kitchenaid 9 speed digital hand mixer arrived today! It was on Ebay as reconditioned normally running around $100 but I got it for $39.99 with all the attachments included! I used it for my banana bread today and is going to be very useful rather than getting the big stand mixer out every time! I told DH, that may go with in the camper when we go to Florida for the winters! He agreed.

I made soup using the leftovers from the roast/gravy, added mixed veggies, quartered meatballs plus the remaining gravy with the addition of extra water and beef base, plus some S&P and thyme. It's what's for dinner! Perfect for a cool, rainy night.

[talbotsshopper]

Caryn has landed and yes, the FB requests are a hack.

Betty - we do plan to buy some area rugs. Haven't had time to look.

Watching baseball.

Allison

[AlwaysAries]

Just an FYI in case our weather makes national news. We are fine. We got less than one inch of rain, and now it’s cleared off and is warming up, but I think the storm is now in eastern Iowa.

Nancy - LOL, you are probably right, toss the bottom out and the lids appear. I just needed to match what I had, and I think I have lids with no bottom. 🤷🏼‍♀️ a problem for another day.

Luv - our lilacs were here when I came - and that was over 57 years ago. We have trimmed them back and they are doing fine, most are the old fashioned purple, but we do have one bush / tree that is white. We did plant some around the deck, the Korean? Or Japanese? They are smaller than the old ones, and DH keeps them trimmed down so they don’t over take the top of the rail on our deck, so they don’t bloom very much. How fun for DGD to play in the old playhouse. That’s special.

Gina - so glad to see you doing other things than having your nose to the grindstone.

Betty - what a busy day for you, you never stop!! Love your soup for dinner tonight. I did meats and cheeses with olives and grapes. It was enough. Need to get more water in me, I think I’ve only had 2 16oz glasses today, I usually shoot for 4 / day.

I can hear the birds singing again. DH is talking about mowing tomorrow while I’m gone. The grass has really grown! It is loving today’s rain.

[jeannet]

Hi! Back from doc appt and picking up dinner. Now watching baseball.

Allison - thanks for the heads up on Caryn & FB, and of course, her landing in the USA!

Betty - love the cooking connection between you and DGD. I know I’ve mentioned mine with my DGD, so it always warms my heart!

Peg - how far back can you cut lilac? Mine are great but they’re hanging over my neighbors fence and they get the blooms!

After two days of gardening, my tush muscles are very cranky with me! lol!

[talbotsshopper]

Evening all. Heading up to bed to read. I am taking my car for an oil change and inspection tomorrow morning and will walk home (just over a mile).

Allison

[rvgypsy]

Friend from Ohio arrived around 4pm. So good to see her. Do miss her ex husband but that is another story. They are all in bed and I am still wired . To have rain tonight and tomorrow morning. We'll see what happens then. Time for some Sleepeye.

See ya mañana

Nancy

[AlwaysAries]

Morning all, overcast, 52* and wind. Today is another outing, with lunch at a tea room. We will be on the Iowa State University campus. Two of our members have moved to Ames, they put this together for us to enjoy. While I would much rather go in sunshine and a light breeze, I’ll dress a little warmer and enjoy the day.

Nancy - this must be the friend that has called you in the past to talk about what was happening? At that time her kids were not on board, hope that has resolved and that she is doing okay. Hope you were able to sleep.

Allison - nice to get your walk in when you drop off the car, but we know a mile is a drop in the bucket to what you usually walk each day.

Jeanne - we cut the lilacs back pretty severely a few years ago, went in and cut out all the old dead wood, and then cut them back, I’ll bet there is a YouTube video on that!! We didn’t have any guidelines, but ours were getting pretty woody and overgrown. They didn’t bloom much the next spring but have done fine since then. As Luv noted I guess you can cut them too much!

Can’t wait to hear from Caryn, hope her trip home was okay.

Connections with only one wrong guess this morning.

Time for breakfast and figure out what to wear on this cool and windy day. TTFN

[jeannet]

Good morning! Sunny day, will be a bit cooler but that's OK. Still achy from gardening so not sure how much of that I'll do today.

I've been lazy just sitting here w coffee and puzzles.

Nancy- enjoy your friend's company!

Peg - have fun today!

Thanks for info on the lilacs. Will Google it!

Gina - hope you're day will be relaxing.

Better get dressed. Scruffy should be walked. Not sure where dh and will walk.

[flowerpower]

Good morning and yes, I'm home. The flight was pleasant and the car service was there when I came out of Customs so no problems at all. But I must tell you that I ache all over - back, legs, knees... I'll do a workout just to keep the blood moving but I need this day of rest. I fell asleep at 10pm, which is 4am Paris time(!) and woke up at 6:15. Yay for sleeping in my own bed (only had one night between Canada and France).

The trip, as I told you, was wonderful. In Burgundy I learned so much about wine and the wine business. And Paris - well, it was Paris. And good to be back there. My DuoLingo practice did help a lot and I was glad I did it.

Jeanne - what did you plant this early in the season? I fully get being achy from gardening.

Peg - I missed where you're going this weekend but glad you're not taking chances given your weather report.

Nancy - more "hotelier" work for you? Wow. how long will your friends be staying?

Allison - how do your floors look? Am anxious to hear.

I can't find a comfortable place for myself - too much sitting bothers my back and butt and too much standing bothers my knees. I think I'm going to take some ibuprofen and then do a gentle walking workout. It's going to be a lazy day, except for laundry and unpacking my stuff. Will come back later.

[flowerpower]

Decided not to do laundry today. I'm exhausted. (poor me LOLOL). All I want to do is eat. My body clock is so messed up. I managed only to do a one mile walk and then gave up. Oh well. I'll read a book on the couch, do my NY Times games and generally relax today. I obviously need it.

[luvmypets]

Good morning beautiful weather here but it’s about 32. It’s really cold out. I’m waiting to walk till later because DD has an appointment with her OB/GYN and I’m watching DGD. Watch her yesterday too because she had another appointment. I need to break. Dh has to go run some errands. I also made dinner for them last night so you think I would’ve slept good now I can’t sleep but I think it’s because my neck and shoulder hurt. I’m sitting here enjoying my coffee before they get here.

Peg purple lilac. Are my absolute favorite! I miss my big huge tree. We have one that’s white too, but they don’t last long. They’re not as pretty! Good to hear the storm seem to be missing you those storms every night. There’s a storm somewhere luckily not here why I like living here.

Caryn welcome home it gets harder as we get older to fly. Last time we went across the pond I insisted that we go business class. It was heaven. On the way home we even got first class as I didn’t really have a business class it was very spoiling for me. I kinda liked it too! Hope you can get rested back to your time!


Dd just drove in will try to finish up personals later!

[talbotsshopper]

Boy did I go down a wormhole in cleaning - ugh! After my walk I decided to clean the baseboards on the steps and the upstairs hallway which led to also cleaning the upstairs shutters. I am finally sitting down to check in. My car will be ready this afternoon. If DH is home he will drive me over, otherwise I will walk the 1 mile.

Peg - I dropped off my car and meet DH for coffee then took the long way home getting in 3.5 miles.

Caryn - the floors look wonderful. And the guy has agreed to paint for us (walls, ceilings and woodwork) in all the rooms where he did the floors. Take it easy until your body catches up.

Wordle in 2, Quordle in 7, Duotrig in 36 and Connections with one error.

hi to Luv, Jeanne, Nancy, Betty, Gina & Sharon.

Allison