Thursday Thoughts v.9.27.12

Another episode (albeit picture-less) of Thursday Thoughts with the lovely Sarah

{1}

My best friend has been on an emotional roller coaster with her elderly father. He recently had some serious health issues and unfortunately for her lives a few states away. She is understandably upset, and my heart aches for her and her family. But it got me thinking...it's easy for me to pretend I know what she's going through, but in all honesty I have absolutely no idea. I lost both my parents many, many years ago quite suddenly. In fact, in each case, with no warning whatsoever. And while I will always miss them terribly, I must admit that part of me is relieved that I did not have to watch them struggle with health issues. I feel like a traitor to their memories to voice that thought.

{2}

Left Seattle early this morning to spend a few days with my little girl in beautiful Waco, Texas. You may not think of Waco (a.k.a. the heart of Texas) as beautiful, but any place my daughter happens to be is a wonderful place to me. Grabbed a breakfast bite at Sarah's favorite bagel shop at the airport along the way. In her honor, of course!

{3}

Today was my first experience with airport security screening since I got my new hip. I was a little excited to see if I set off any bells or whistles, but no such luck. I was told to notify the person operating the walk-through scanner, so got to skip that step entirely and proceed directly to the full body scan. Would have been fun to see what the implant looked like on the scanned image! Maybe I'll have more luck on the return flight.

Hope your week is going well, too!

 

Posted with Blogsy

This Weekend, I...v.9.24.12

Here's to Syndal and Sarah for a new Monday link-up! And here we go....

This weekend, I went to the Puyallup Fair with my sweetheart, and he surprised me by wearing jeans! This might not seem all that exciting, but it's a big deal when he wears anything but his zip-off Columbia convertible pants. When he retired four years ago, we bought him a pair for hiking. They were so comfortable he bought two or three more pairs, and now he wears them year-round. So it's a pretty big deal if he wears anything else!

I think he looks skinny in jeans!

This weekend, I almost didn't make it into the Puyallup Fair. Who knew they had a height requirement? Well, not really. After he took the picture, my husband commented on how short I am. Yeah, sure...like I've been tall all along?

Must be THIS tall to enter!

This weekend, I noticed my husband look longingly at that carnival ride that FLINGS you up in the air on a huge bungy corded swing thingy. He mentioned that he wished our daughter was there to go on the ride with him. Me, too!

Looks like fun...NOT!

This weekend, I went to a concert at the fair. We saw Andy Grammer, Mat Kearney and Train. What a great show! We had wonderful seats, too. We enjoyed both opening acts immensely, and Train put on a fantastic concert. At the end of the evening, Pat Monahan (lead singer for Train) called a nine- or ten-year-old girl to the stage after he noticed her singing along to all of the songs. (Apparently, he does this at every show.) He presented the little girl with a signed guitar, and encouraged her to learn to play and perform, and then to pass her love of music along to someone else. What a great idea, and a great way to end the show!

Loved the light show at the Train concert

Hope your weekend was full of fun activities, too!

 

Posted with Blogsy

This weekend, I...

Kudos to Sar's blogging friend Syndal for coming up with this creative way to summarize her weekend experiences. Let do this again!

This weekend, I made lemon tartlets for the first time from a recipe a girlfriend had given me years ago. Just realized that I didn't take a picture, but, trust me, they were delicious! Like any new recipe, there are a few things I would do differently next time, i.e., roll the dough a little thinner and cut the dough into smaller rounds. But I will definitely make these again...soon!

This weekend, I went to see Chicago in concert at a winery in the Seattle area. Chicago put on a fantastic show, and the weather was perfect, albeit cool. We shared a hotel room with our good friends at a hotel that provides a free shuttle to and from the event. It's a great way to enjoy a wine-filled evening without having to worry about getting behind the wheel. The venue even allows you to bring in any and all food and drink EXCEPT wine, which is available for purchase by the bottle. We brought a good variety of snacks to accompany our wine, including the aforementioned lemon tartlets! (I won't say who had too much to drink, because he reads my blog and I'd hate to point fingers...hi, sweetie!)

Festival seating at Chateau Ste. Michelle

This weekend, I discovered an interesting phenomenon in my guest room. I remade the bed after we hosted guests last weekend, but I hadn't put a comforter back on the bed yet when we left for our overnight trip to the concert. When we returned, one or both of our cats had explored the bed. You've heard of crop circles...these are kitty circles!

Kitty Circles

This weekend, I watched the telecast as the Seattle Seahawks crushed the Dallas Cowboys 27-7. Maybe things are finally turning around for my beloved Seahawks!

Go 'Hawks!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Thursday Thoughts v.9.13.12

Linking up for some Thursday Thoughts with Sarah

{1}

I'm having a hard time remembering today is Thursday. I had a migraine pretty much all day yesterday, so lost one entire day this week. Just as I thought I was beginning to feel better early yesterday afternoon, the neighbor started up his weed wacker, and the noise did not sit well with me. Consequently, I spent most of the day in bed, using both an eye mask and ear plugs. Blech.

{2}

I travel to beautiful Waco, TX, in exactly two weeks! Can't wait to spend some quality time with Sarah. She has spent so much alone-time with her dad, it's about time I get my fair share, too. Then again, when Sarah was quite young she told me that she wanted to live with her dad if we ever got divorced because, in her exact words, "... I love him more." Insert years of heartbreak and heartache here. Still recovering.

{3}

We recently had a wonderful visit with some good friends from Spokane. We ate too much, drank a little, attended a Mariner game, and enjoyed their company while they stayed with us for a few days. They and my husband went kayaking just up the road, and I managed to get a few good pictures. They were visited by a seal that came right up to both boats, and I happened to be taking pictures overhead from a bridge. Love it!

Tom, Dana, Wally and the seal!

{4}

Husband and I had an enjoyable morning today at a local historic homestead. We attended one in a series of "Eat Your Way Through Kitsap" events sponsored by our county historical society. These visits at historically significant locales throughout the county include knowledgeable speakers who provide insight into the history of the site. In many cases, current or former residents of the area also speak of their family's history. Each event includes lunch, as well. I've lived in this county for 56+ years, but there is still so much to learn!

Historic Grahn homestead in Gilberton, Kitsap County

Hope your week is going well and you haven't "lost" any days this week!

Posted with Blogsy

The Problem With Retirement

One of the few problems with retirement is that you don't get any days off! Unless you're sick, of course. My husband was laid up with a nasty sore throat and painful earache, so I was left to my own devices last week. I found a couple of projects to keep busy.

My mom always kept her recipes in a recipe box, so of course that's what I did, too. I started keeping my recipes on index cards in a small box, and then transitioned to a larger recipe box with coordinated recipe cards. Over the years, as my recipe collection has grown, I've outgrown the recipe box. I had recipes stored in a gallon ZipLoc bag, recipes on the computer, recipes saved in email, recipes on post-it notes or pages torn from magazines, etc. I decided it was long past time to get organized. I bought a three-ring binder, a number of full page sheet protectors, quite a few sheet protectors with 4"x6" pockets for photos, and two sets of dividers. I reviewed every recipe in my collection, and tossed those I'm not likely to use. I'm very pleased with the result. Here it is!

My new recipe binder

I bought a honeysuckle vine a number of years ago, and tried to train it in a small obelisk in a planter on my patio. What a joke! I spent more time trying to weave the vine around the small structure and cutting back the long runners than I did enjoying the blossoms. When the wood planter finally disintegrated this year, I bought a new pot and transplanted the vine without the obelisk. What an improvement! I must have fertilized it as well, because the plant took off like crazy. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared for the plant to get that large, so needed to find a new home for the vine. I did a little research and found a great planter and trellis combination that works well for the spot on my patio. I chose to keep the plant in a pot rather than plant directly in the planter. This plant loves its new home!

Corner trellis planter from Lowes

Husband and I went to our local Blackberry Festival this weekend (had a great time!), and it got us motivated. We came back home, husband picked a bowl of blackberries from our crazy hillside, and I baked a delicious blackberry pie. Yum! Not bad if I do say so myself.

MMMMM, good!

I've talked about our kitties before. One is a killer, and one is a lover. Or so we thought. Dash just turned four years old, and finally got her first kill! She was so proud that she brought it to the door to show us, and was disappointed we wouldn't let her (and the carcass) in the house. If you can't tell, we are very proud parents!

Notice the mouse sticking out of her mouth!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

 

Posted with Blogsy