I have discovered a new vegetable that I like - Bok Choy. Who knew?
You need to understand that I have been cursed with horrible tastebuds. There are so many foods I dislike that I have been termed a "picky eater" all my life. I have in recent years come to the conclusion that it's not my fault -- it's the fault of my tastebuds.
I mean, would anyone seriously decide to dislike so many foods? I have a nephew-in-law who says you should just eat everything and decide to like it. Unfortunately, my tastebuds disagree. They cause a visceral reaction to foods they've determined unsuitable. As in employing the gag reflex. That is not a pleasant experience and especially so if you're in the presence of others. As a result, there are many vegetables that are on my DO NOT EAT list -- so I'm overjoyed when I can find something on which we (my tastebuds and I) can both agree.
On the plus side, since most legumes reside on my DO NOT EAT list, this has turned out to be a blessing. Most legumes are high in purine which is a contributing cause to bouts of gout (properly known as gouty arthritis). Since I am currently suffering through a flare-up of that condition, I can proudly state I will eat no legumes!!
Friday, August 1, 2014
Sunday, February 10, 2013
PWM - Post Working Mode
Today I've been doing another spin-in-place dance trying to land on a task and complete it. So many choices! So much I want to do! I spin in place and end up accomplishing nothing.
It started with putting on my knee-hi's. They keep my feet warm while I walk around the house barefoot. The first one had a run so I toss it and go back to the bedroom to replace it. While there, I see a tin box I use to store loose beads. I covered the top in patterned paper last night and used rub-on letters to label it.
Clever, right? Well, the sides still show the advertising for the original container so I take it to Cal and ask if he can paint the rest of the tin white. After some discussion we decide it might mess up the paper on top because he wants to spray paint. I decide to paint it by hand and coat with Mod Podge, but I take two other tins to him for him to paint. Take one back because it's all white except for the advertising on the top and I'll cover that with paper. Which I proceed to do.
I go into Justin's room (my craft room) to look for my acrylic paint and foam paintbrushes. While there I see my many, many books on display and think I should check the authors in the OneClick database to see if I can get the book on audio and thus eliminate a paperback from my stash.
I go back to my room to start that task and see my Palm (where I keep an extensive book list by author-trust me, it's awesome) and that reminds me it needs to be charged. I pick it up to take it back to the desk but see the second tin that I've covered with paper.
I take the second tin to my desk to mark a straight line for the word I'll rub on. While there, I see my sewing machine set up in the living room so I can take in the waist of Ellie's stretch pants. Which reminds me I need to go to JoAnn's to buy some thread and other essentials. I go back to my knee-hi's, which I now need so I can finish getting dressed and go to JoAnn's.
Easily distracted?? Me???? Surely, you jest.
It started with putting on my knee-hi's. They keep my feet warm while I walk around the house barefoot. The first one had a run so I toss it and go back to the bedroom to replace it. While there, I see a tin box I use to store loose beads. I covered the top in patterned paper last night and used rub-on letters to label it.
I go into Justin's room (my craft room) to look for my acrylic paint and foam paintbrushes. While there I see my many, many books on display and think I should check the authors in the OneClick database to see if I can get the book on audio and thus eliminate a paperback from my stash.
I go back to my room to start that task and see my Palm (where I keep an extensive book list by author-trust me, it's awesome) and that reminds me it needs to be charged. I pick it up to take it back to the desk but see the second tin that I've covered with paper.
I take the second tin to my desk to mark a straight line for the word I'll rub on. While there, I see my sewing machine set up in the living room so I can take in the waist of Ellie's stretch pants. Which reminds me I need to go to JoAnn's to buy some thread and other essentials. I go back to my knee-hi's, which I now need so I can finish getting dressed and go to JoAnn's.
Easily distracted?? Me???? Surely, you jest.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Weddings. Generally happy events planned months, sometimes years, in advance and attended by numerous family members and friends. Unless you're my son, Brendan.
Brendan announced in July that he and his fiance, Roly Contreras, are getting married in August. There's a back story, so let me fill you in.
Brendan was introduced to Roly by one of his co-workers at Safeway. Roly works in the dot com division of Safeway. Which is outsourced. To the Phillipines. This means Roly lives and works in the Phillipines. They meet via Skype, find they have a lot to talk about and are merrily Skyping at least once a week. Brendan decides he needs to meet Roly in person so he takes a vacation to the Phillipines and meets her and her family. He's smitten.
He came home with a bad bug from the Phillipines and was sick for weeks and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a love bug.
My sister, Lynne, and I meet Roly on Skype and we think she's adorable. (Lynne happened to be visiting me in OR when Brendan proposed a conference call on Skype)
Months later, Brendan returns to the Phillipines and they tour all over Asia (some great photos for scrapbooking!) and Brendan proposes. She accepts. Happiness all around!
Roly comes to the US to visit and meet his family (poor girl, she'll never be the same). Originally, she was going to be here 5 wks but B couldn't stand the thought of her leaving so soon and since her tourist visa is good for 6 months, they decide to extend her visit. HAH Considering she was going to go back to the Phillipines at the end of June and they told me in July they were getting married, you can see not much water passed under THAT bridge.
They consulted an immigration attorney and she recommended they get married in order to extend her stay and start the process for immigration. They planned to do a simple court ceremony just to make it legal, having me and Dorothy (the lady that introduced them) as witnesses and then plan a church wedding for next year for friends and family to attend. They told me they were planning August 21 and would provide details later. They (meaning B) wanted this to be quiet; no fuss, no bother. I promised to not mention it to anyone.
Now, they come over almost every Sunday for dinner and a rousing game of crokinole (I know that makes some of you jealous!). So one Sunday B says their lawyer told them they had to wait until September for the marriage. Ok, I'm retired, I'm flexible. I can do this.
The next Sunday they tell me that they don't have to wait after all, and the lawyer said the sooner the better, so they're back on for August. It is here that our stories diverge. Cal and I remember it as "we'll let you know what day it will be". Brendan remembers it as "this is the day it will be". He claims since Cal and I are old, his version is correct. I beg to differ. I didn't write anything on my calendar so I'm pretty darned sure I was waiting for a date.
Ok. Fast forward to Monday, August 27. Keep in mind that Brendan and Roly were at my house the night before for dinner and crokinole. On Sunday night I got IM's from Stacey & Eric both (#1 son and DIL). For both of them to ping me it had to be somewhat important. It was after 11:00 when I responded so we didn't really connect until Monday. Eric said he didn't know if B was being a smart aleck or what, but when he asked B to join a fantasy football game B responded "I can't on Tuesday. I'm getting married". I had hoped Brendan would have mentioned it to his brother before now (I'd promised not to say anything so I hadn't). *sigh* MEN
Anyway, I'm frantically trying to get ahold of Brendan or Roly because I had a hair appointment on Tuesday and had Eric not said something, I might not have been home! Don't think I wouldn't have been p.o.'d to miss out on the marriage ceremony!
All's well that ends well. I rescheduled my hair appointment, and as you can see by the photos, we successfully got them hitched and she's now permanently a part of our family.
Just to make sure it stays permanent, they'll be doing it again next year in the US and then again in the Phillipines for a traditional Filipino wedding.
We are blessed to have Roly as a part of our family and I can't wait to see the babies they make, because they are bound to be adorable, right?
Brendan announced in July that he and his fiance, Roly Contreras, are getting married in August. There's a back story, so let me fill you in.
Brendan was introduced to Roly by one of his co-workers at Safeway. Roly works in the dot com division of Safeway. Which is outsourced. To the Phillipines. This means Roly lives and works in the Phillipines. They meet via Skype, find they have a lot to talk about and are merrily Skyping at least once a week. Brendan decides he needs to meet Roly in person so he takes a vacation to the Phillipines and meets her and her family. He's smitten.
He came home with a bad bug from the Phillipines and was sick for weeks and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a love bug.
My sister, Lynne, and I meet Roly on Skype and we think she's adorable. (Lynne happened to be visiting me in OR when Brendan proposed a conference call on Skype)
Months later, Brendan returns to the Phillipines and they tour all over Asia (some great photos for scrapbooking!) and Brendan proposes. She accepts. Happiness all around!
Roly comes to the US to visit and meet his family (poor girl, she'll never be the same). Originally, she was going to be here 5 wks but B couldn't stand the thought of her leaving so soon and since her tourist visa is good for 6 months, they decide to extend her visit. HAH Considering she was going to go back to the Phillipines at the end of June and they told me in July they were getting married, you can see not much water passed under THAT bridge.
They consulted an immigration attorney and she recommended they get married in order to extend her stay and start the process for immigration. They planned to do a simple court ceremony just to make it legal, having me and Dorothy (the lady that introduced them) as witnesses and then plan a church wedding for next year for friends and family to attend. They told me they were planning August 21 and would provide details later. They (meaning B) wanted this to be quiet; no fuss, no bother. I promised to not mention it to anyone.
Now, they come over almost every Sunday for dinner and a rousing game of crokinole (I know that makes some of you jealous!). So one Sunday B says their lawyer told them they had to wait until September for the marriage. Ok, I'm retired, I'm flexible. I can do this.
The next Sunday they tell me that they don't have to wait after all, and the lawyer said the sooner the better, so they're back on for August. It is here that our stories diverge. Cal and I remember it as "we'll let you know what day it will be". Brendan remembers it as "this is the day it will be". He claims since Cal and I are old, his version is correct. I beg to differ. I didn't write anything on my calendar so I'm pretty darned sure I was waiting for a date.
Ok. Fast forward to Monday, August 27. Keep in mind that Brendan and Roly were at my house the night before for dinner and crokinole. On Sunday night I got IM's from Stacey & Eric both (#1 son and DIL). For both of them to ping me it had to be somewhat important. It was after 11:00 when I responded so we didn't really connect until Monday. Eric said he didn't know if B was being a smart aleck or what, but when he asked B to join a fantasy football game B responded "I can't on Tuesday. I'm getting married". I had hoped Brendan would have mentioned it to his brother before now (I'd promised not to say anything so I hadn't). *sigh* MEN
Anyway, I'm frantically trying to get ahold of Brendan or Roly because I had a hair appointment on Tuesday and had Eric not said something, I might not have been home! Don't think I wouldn't have been p.o.'d to miss out on the marriage ceremony!
All's well that ends well. I rescheduled my hair appointment, and as you can see by the photos, we successfully got them hitched and she's now permanently a part of our family.
Just to make sure it stays permanent, they'll be doing it again next year in the US and then again in the Phillipines for a traditional Filipino wedding.
We are blessed to have Roly as a part of our family and I can't wait to see the babies they make, because they are bound to be adorable, right?
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Being retired is ... GREAT! To have time to do what I want, within reason, with no time pressures and to get PAID for doing nothing. What, I ask you, could be better?
The getting paid part is problematical.
I applied for Medicare, since I'm of sound mind and certainly old enough. I was going to delay my Social Security benefits until my full "retirement" age of 66. Just another year, so doable. The difference is about $100 a month, so I was going to wait.
Now picture this: on a Monday I apply for Medicare benefits online. When completed, it says I will need to take some documents to my local office for verification - my birth certificate and my naturalization papers. It basically says the sooner the better because a delay will hold up the processing of my application.
Being retired, with time to call my own, I decide to go to my local (Hayward) Social Security office the next day. Which I do. I patiently wait for my turn, which didn't take as long as I'd expected. The nice young man tells me I should have waited until someone called me (say WHAT!) because he can't yet pull up my application. It hasn't hit their system yet. BUT, he will take photo copies of my documents and log that he's verified they were original documents and merrily send the copies on their way to the office that will process my application. *sigh* He then asks me why I'm applying only for Medicare and not my Social Security benefits. I explain that my SS "retirement" age is 66, so I'm waiting. Seriously, people .. when you read all their literature it sounds like the best thing to do is wait! He "looks it up" and tells me that by NOT taking the $16,000 I'd get this year -- at the rate of $100 extra per month, it will take me 13 years to make it up. Well, I don't need a degree to do the math. I'll take my money now, please.
He recommends that when I get home I go online and apply for my Social Security benefits. Which I do. It won't let me. Tells me the information I'm providing is different from what they have on file. So now the phone calls begin. Have you tried calling SS? You can eventually get through, but you have to jump through some hoops to get a living human being. I call. They tell me to be patient; it's because the Medicare application is pending and once that's completed I can then apply for SS. Fine.
On Sunday I check online for the status of my Medicare application. It says it's pending but I'll probably have to take some documentation (yep, you guessed it -- my birth certificate and naturalization papers) to my local office in SAN JOSE! Another call to SS but I called the local Hayward office. These numbers are now in my speed dial. They explain the San Jose office processes the Medicare applications and all is good. They still have the copies of my documents and will fax them once more to the San Jose office to make sure they get them.
On Monday I get a call from a very nice lady at the San Jose office. She explains that my Medicare application is being processed but they will need to verify some documents (guess which ones). I told her my sad story of jumping the gun and taking the documents to Hayward the day after I filled out the online application. She checks a few "systems" and doesn't find the documents but says there's one more she can check but she doesn't have access to it at the moment. I love computer systems. Especially mega systems like the government uses. Systems that go back so many years who knows if everything is up-to-date? I'm guessing not.
She promises to get back with me on Friday - she's waiting a few days to make sure the documents hit one of her "systems". In the meantime, she says, I may want to take my documents BACK to Hayward because her "system" shows me as a permanent resident, not a naturalized citizen. Are you kidding me?? I've been naturalized since November of 1959!! She explains the Immigration and Naturalization computer system isn't integrated with Social Security so they wouldn't have that information. But, I explain, when I applied for my social security card way back when, surely I must have had to prove my citizenship or legal residency at that time, and since I was a CITIZEN, that should have gone on my record. Nope, it's showing me as a permanent resident. Might want to get that updated.
So I'll be making another call to my local SS office to see WHY the nice young gentleman who helped me didn't notice this one little glitch while I was sitting there in the office with my documents in hand.
And they want to nationalize health care. OMG
The getting paid part is problematical.
I applied for Medicare, since I'm of sound mind and certainly old enough. I was going to delay my Social Security benefits until my full "retirement" age of 66. Just another year, so doable. The difference is about $100 a month, so I was going to wait.
Now picture this: on a Monday I apply for Medicare benefits online. When completed, it says I will need to take some documents to my local office for verification - my birth certificate and my naturalization papers. It basically says the sooner the better because a delay will hold up the processing of my application.
Being retired, with time to call my own, I decide to go to my local (Hayward) Social Security office the next day. Which I do. I patiently wait for my turn, which didn't take as long as I'd expected. The nice young man tells me I should have waited until someone called me (say WHAT!) because he can't yet pull up my application. It hasn't hit their system yet. BUT, he will take photo copies of my documents and log that he's verified they were original documents and merrily send the copies on their way to the office that will process my application. *sigh* He then asks me why I'm applying only for Medicare and not my Social Security benefits. I explain that my SS "retirement" age is 66, so I'm waiting. Seriously, people .. when you read all their literature it sounds like the best thing to do is wait! He "looks it up" and tells me that by NOT taking the $16,000 I'd get this year -- at the rate of $100 extra per month, it will take me 13 years to make it up. Well, I don't need a degree to do the math. I'll take my money now, please.
He recommends that when I get home I go online and apply for my Social Security benefits. Which I do. It won't let me. Tells me the information I'm providing is different from what they have on file. So now the phone calls begin. Have you tried calling SS? You can eventually get through, but you have to jump through some hoops to get a living human being. I call. They tell me to be patient; it's because the Medicare application is pending and once that's completed I can then apply for SS. Fine.
On Sunday I check online for the status of my Medicare application. It says it's pending but I'll probably have to take some documentation (yep, you guessed it -- my birth certificate and naturalization papers) to my local office in SAN JOSE! Another call to SS but I called the local Hayward office. These numbers are now in my speed dial. They explain the San Jose office processes the Medicare applications and all is good. They still have the copies of my documents and will fax them once more to the San Jose office to make sure they get them.
On Monday I get a call from a very nice lady at the San Jose office. She explains that my Medicare application is being processed but they will need to verify some documents (guess which ones). I told her my sad story of jumping the gun and taking the documents to Hayward the day after I filled out the online application. She checks a few "systems" and doesn't find the documents but says there's one more she can check but she doesn't have access to it at the moment. I love computer systems. Especially mega systems like the government uses. Systems that go back so many years who knows if everything is up-to-date? I'm guessing not.
She promises to get back with me on Friday - she's waiting a few days to make sure the documents hit one of her "systems". In the meantime, she says, I may want to take my documents BACK to Hayward because her "system" shows me as a permanent resident, not a naturalized citizen. Are you kidding me?? I've been naturalized since November of 1959!! She explains the Immigration and Naturalization computer system isn't integrated with Social Security so they wouldn't have that information. But, I explain, when I applied for my social security card way back when, surely I must have had to prove my citizenship or legal residency at that time, and since I was a CITIZEN, that should have gone on my record. Nope, it's showing me as a permanent resident. Might want to get that updated.
So I'll be making another call to my local SS office to see WHY the nice young gentleman who helped me didn't notice this one little glitch while I was sitting there in the office with my documents in hand.
And they want to nationalize health care. OMG
Thursday, November 10, 2011
It has been a long time since I've posted anything, but as I'm now down to my last 7 working months in Oregon it seems fitting that I start blogging again. Winding up the adventure, so to speak.
The past 3 years have been eventful -- my cancer scare and hysterectomy 2 years ago (has it really been that long?), my emergency appendectomy this September (do I see a surgical pattern here? surgery every 2 years?) and sadly the death of my friend and co-worker, Peggy Lyle from lung and bone cancer.
Yesterday was Peggy's funeral service. I'm sure a great number of people from the Austin ServicePoint attended. It's still so hard to comprehend that Peggy's gone! She was diagnosed in August with lung cancer when she thought she had a really bad case of bronchitis that she just couldn't shake. From August to November 5. Such a short period of time. No time really to get used to the idea that she might leave us. Only 52. We would talk practically on a daily basis. Mostly about work, but not always. She could always make me laugh. If I had questions about anything she's the one I'd call. No matter how busy she was she would always make time for anyone who needed her expertise. Always a smile in her voice. A hard worker. Dedicated employee. Great mom and grandma. Some days it just overwhelms me how much I miss her.
Rest in peace, Peggy.
The past 3 years have been eventful -- my cancer scare and hysterectomy 2 years ago (has it really been that long?), my emergency appendectomy this September (do I see a surgical pattern here? surgery every 2 years?) and sadly the death of my friend and co-worker, Peggy Lyle from lung and bone cancer.
Yesterday was Peggy's funeral service. I'm sure a great number of people from the Austin ServicePoint attended. It's still so hard to comprehend that Peggy's gone! She was diagnosed in August with lung cancer when she thought she had a really bad case of bronchitis that she just couldn't shake. From August to November 5. Such a short period of time. No time really to get used to the idea that she might leave us. Only 52. We would talk practically on a daily basis. Mostly about work, but not always. She could always make me laugh. If I had questions about anything she's the one I'd call. No matter how busy she was she would always make time for anyone who needed her expertise. Always a smile in her voice. A hard worker. Dedicated employee. Great mom and grandma. Some days it just overwhelms me how much I miss her.
Rest in peace, Peggy.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Butter Tarts
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner.
I was speaking with my hairdresser during my last appointment, bemoaning the fact that when my boys were young I hated when they had "ethnic" days at school and they were to bring a food item to share with the class that was related to their heritage. "There's nothing Canadian", I complained. We used to eat a lot of Shepherd's Pie, but that's really more English. "Well," said Colleen - who is from Canada - "there's always Butter Tarts."
I laughed. We grew up with butter tarts. Mom always made them for holidays and sometimes for special occasions. I have fond memories of watching her pull a pan from the oven and begging for one before she could even set it on the counter. I remember them filling my mouth with flavor and tasting the butter ... they were SO good!
"They're not Canadian!" I said with authority. "Of course they are", she replied. She challenged me to check with my friends at work and see how many of them had even heard of butter tarts. She assured me there would be few, if any. I went her one better. I did a Google search on the 'net. Sure enough! Butter tarts are from Canada .. actually from Ontario, which is where I was born. Imagine! I did check with my friends at work and Colleen was right - none of them had ever heard of butter tarts.
Well, the obvious next step was to get a recipe. Right? I wrote to my aunt, Elaine, who still resides in the frozen north and asked if she happens to have a family recipe for butter tarts. It was several days later that she replied. She'd looked through her recipes but couldn't find one for butter tarts. She recommended I search for them on the 'net because there are a lot of them out there (who knew?) I did a search but didn't find what I wanted. Most of them used Karo syrup and I *know* mom didn't use Karo syrup in hers. The ones that didn't use Karo syrup used those premade tart shells that are the size of a moon pie. Nope. I was disappointed, needless to say.
A week or so later, I was looking through a cookbook I had given my mom years ago. It was a cookbook that my church had put together a published and I had given one to each of my sisters and my mom. Mom had even inscribed my name and date in the front cover "Sharon - 1979". I have the same cookbook at home in Dublin and I know it has the BEST carrot cake recipe EVER and I was looking for it. As I'm thumbing through the dessert section I came upon a page that had been added to the cookbook .. it was typed, but not in the format of the other recipes. Lo and behold, it was a recipe for BUTTER TARTS! and no Karo syrup!! OH MY GOSH
You cannot imagine how excited I was. I told several friends about it and how I wanted to start making them .. to practice as it were, so I could do them every year for Christmas and make it part of our family tradition. I said the only thing I'd do different would be to use prepared pie pastry. I have it on good authority from Jill Manley (my daughter-in-law's sister) that Pillsbury Pie Crust is the closest to homemade she's ever found .. and that girl can make a mean pie!!
Marletta liked the idea so much she went to the store, bought two boxes of pie crust and left them in my refrigerator. I laughed when I got home and opened the 'frig! Since "the girls" were coming over that weekend for scrapbooking I went shopping for the rest of the ingredients and got to baking.
They were a hit! One batch makes about 4 dozen tarts and they taste so buttery .. even though there are only 4 T of butter in the whole batch. I'm still working on perfecting them -- getting the timing and oven temperature just right. They still boil over a bit more than I like but I'm getting no complaints from my taste testers. Ryan comes by my desk every day just in case I might have brought some in to work.
So now the recipe. You wouldn't believe how easy the filling is to make. The hardest part is the pie crust but if you use pre-made it's easier. Just fitting them into the little tart pans (now called mini-muffin pans!) is a bit of a pain .. but well worth it. I hope you'll give them a try and I really hope you enjoy them as much as I do .. well, WE do -- because there are several people here who would tell you they are very good.
I bought two tart pans from Target .. Wilton brand for $12.95 (really! cuz there's no tax here) .. and each makes 24 tarts. One pie crust will make a dozen tarts if you use a water glass that's 2 1/2 to 3" across. You do need to roll it out just a bit with a rolling pin so it's more circular and will do 12 circles (9 along the outside edge and 3 in the center). The recipe doesn't tell you to cut out the pie crust into 3" circles and pat them into the tart tins .. that's assumed.
Mom's Butter Tarts
1 1/2 cups currants or raisins
4 T butter (or more)
2 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
Few tsp rum or rum flavoring
Chopped nuts
Pie pastry
Soak currants or raisins in boiling water for 5 min or until they are plump - drain. Beat butter until creamy. Add eggs and brown sugar and beat until foamy. Add rum, chopped nuts and currants. Pour filling into uncooked tart shells.
Bake in 375 oven for 15-20 min or until brown. Cool slightly before removing gently from pans to wire rack.
So, from Cecilia Robichaud Dunlop, and me -- ENJOY!
I was speaking with my hairdresser during my last appointment, bemoaning the fact that when my boys were young I hated when they had "ethnic" days at school and they were to bring a food item to share with the class that was related to their heritage. "There's nothing Canadian", I complained. We used to eat a lot of Shepherd's Pie, but that's really more English. "Well," said Colleen - who is from Canada - "there's always Butter Tarts."
I laughed. We grew up with butter tarts. Mom always made them for holidays and sometimes for special occasions. I have fond memories of watching her pull a pan from the oven and begging for one before she could even set it on the counter. I remember them filling my mouth with flavor and tasting the butter ... they were SO good!
"They're not Canadian!" I said with authority. "Of course they are", she replied. She challenged me to check with my friends at work and see how many of them had even heard of butter tarts. She assured me there would be few, if any. I went her one better. I did a Google search on the 'net. Sure enough! Butter tarts are from Canada .. actually from Ontario, which is where I was born. Imagine! I did check with my friends at work and Colleen was right - none of them had ever heard of butter tarts.
Well, the obvious next step was to get a recipe. Right? I wrote to my aunt, Elaine, who still resides in the frozen north and asked if she happens to have a family recipe for butter tarts. It was several days later that she replied. She'd looked through her recipes but couldn't find one for butter tarts. She recommended I search for them on the 'net because there are a lot of them out there (who knew?) I did a search but didn't find what I wanted. Most of them used Karo syrup and I *know* mom didn't use Karo syrup in hers. The ones that didn't use Karo syrup used those premade tart shells that are the size of a moon pie. Nope. I was disappointed, needless to say.
A week or so later, I was looking through a cookbook I had given my mom years ago. It was a cookbook that my church had put together a published and I had given one to each of my sisters and my mom. Mom had even inscribed my name and date in the front cover "Sharon - 1979". I have the same cookbook at home in Dublin and I know it has the BEST carrot cake recipe EVER and I was looking for it. As I'm thumbing through the dessert section I came upon a page that had been added to the cookbook .. it was typed, but not in the format of the other recipes. Lo and behold, it was a recipe for BUTTER TARTS! and no Karo syrup!! OH MY GOSH
You cannot imagine how excited I was. I told several friends about it and how I wanted to start making them .. to practice as it were, so I could do them every year for Christmas and make it part of our family tradition. I said the only thing I'd do different would be to use prepared pie pastry. I have it on good authority from Jill Manley (my daughter-in-law's sister) that Pillsbury Pie Crust is the closest to homemade she's ever found .. and that girl can make a mean pie!!
Marletta liked the idea so much she went to the store, bought two boxes of pie crust and left them in my refrigerator. I laughed when I got home and opened the 'frig! Since "the girls" were coming over that weekend for scrapbooking I went shopping for the rest of the ingredients and got to baking.
They were a hit! One batch makes about 4 dozen tarts and they taste so buttery .. even though there are only 4 T of butter in the whole batch. I'm still working on perfecting them -- getting the timing and oven temperature just right. They still boil over a bit more than I like but I'm getting no complaints from my taste testers. Ryan comes by my desk every day just in case I might have brought some in to work.
So now the recipe. You wouldn't believe how easy the filling is to make. The hardest part is the pie crust but if you use pre-made it's easier. Just fitting them into the little tart pans (now called mini-muffin pans!) is a bit of a pain .. but well worth it. I hope you'll give them a try and I really hope you enjoy them as much as I do .. well, WE do -- because there are several people here who would tell you they are very good.
I bought two tart pans from Target .. Wilton brand for $12.95 (really! cuz there's no tax here) .. and each makes 24 tarts. One pie crust will make a dozen tarts if you use a water glass that's 2 1/2 to 3" across. You do need to roll it out just a bit with a rolling pin so it's more circular and will do 12 circles (9 along the outside edge and 3 in the center). The recipe doesn't tell you to cut out the pie crust into 3" circles and pat them into the tart tins .. that's assumed.
Mom's Butter Tarts
1 1/2 cups currants or raisins
4 T butter (or more)
2 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
Few tsp rum or rum flavoring
Chopped nuts
Pie pastry
Soak currants or raisins in boiling water for 5 min or until they are plump - drain. Beat butter until creamy. Add eggs and brown sugar and beat until foamy. Add rum, chopped nuts and currants. Pour filling into uncooked tart shells.
Bake in 375 oven for 15-20 min or until brown. Cool slightly before removing gently from pans to wire rack.
So, from Cecilia Robichaud Dunlop, and me -- ENJOY!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Later days ...
This is my on-call week .. getting up at 3am to run environment checks then working a full day. Fun. Last night I stayed up late to start working on a last-minute project that had to be completed this morning. This morning I decided to go in to the office early because it's difficult doing the last checks remotely and I needed to finish up that project. SO..one would think I'd be able to leave early but NOOOOOOO.
I had to go straight from work to the car dealer in Oregon City, about an hour's drive. Fortunately only 1/2 hour from my house. Traffic wasn't TOO bad and I got there about 5:15 for my 5:00 "appointment". Picked up the loaner car and scooted back home. So tired I couldn't wait to get home, grab a quick bite to eat and then crash.
As I was eating, I decided to set up my laptop for the early morning session, and Y I K E S! I'd left it in my car!! OH NO! In a panic, I'm dialing the dealership, calling the service dept .. but they close at 6:00 and it was 6:04. Drat. I called again, got a wrong number. Called again and tried the office ... closed. Called again and got the sales department. One of the guys who sold me my car. He said he'd run out to the service dept and see if someone were still there. Oh, joy! He was able to get my computer bag and he would be there until 8:00. Hallelujah!!
Of course, the downside is that I had to drive all the way back there to pick it up. Then back home. Now I'm feeling sorry for myself and nursing the bruises from kicking myself in the rear for being such a dunderhead. Hey .. I'm sleep deprived. So off to finish eating and then to bed for my LAST early morning. Is it Friday yet???
I had to go straight from work to the car dealer in Oregon City, about an hour's drive. Fortunately only 1/2 hour from my house. Traffic wasn't TOO bad and I got there about 5:15 for my 5:00 "appointment". Picked up the loaner car and scooted back home. So tired I couldn't wait to get home, grab a quick bite to eat and then crash.
As I was eating, I decided to set up my laptop for the early morning session, and Y I K E S! I'd left it in my car!! OH NO! In a panic, I'm dialing the dealership, calling the service dept .. but they close at 6:00 and it was 6:04. Drat. I called again, got a wrong number. Called again and tried the office ... closed. Called again and got the sales department. One of the guys who sold me my car. He said he'd run out to the service dept and see if someone were still there. Oh, joy! He was able to get my computer bag and he would be there until 8:00. Hallelujah!!
Of course, the downside is that I had to drive all the way back there to pick it up. Then back home. Now I'm feeling sorry for myself and nursing the bruises from kicking myself in the rear for being such a dunderhead. Hey .. I'm sleep deprived. So off to finish eating and then to bed for my LAST early morning. Is it Friday yet???
Sunday, October 18, 2009
It has been a LONG time since I've visited this page. So much has happened in the past year and a half.
We had a surprise Happy Birthday, Congratulations (on retiring) and We'll Miss You! party for Carol Morgenstern last night. Tami F and her daughter Heaven were instrumental in putting it all together. We planned this over a month ago and picked 10/17 as the best date for everyone. It gave us time to organize, it was the week before her kids come up to take all her furnishings back home to Livermore and was between her actual birthday (10/12) and her retirement date (10/30). Sounds good, right?
Since the inception of the "party" and the actual happening a lot of monkey wrenches kept popping up.
I had small cancer scare (uterine lining cells are becoming abnormal-technically endometrial hyperplasia atypia which is actually pre-cancerous) resulting in various tests and procedures with the end result being a hysterectomy which will take place on November 2.
I also had a sleep study done because I am ALWAYS tired in the morning and have been for years. Told most of my life that I'm lazy ... turns out I have sleep apnea and have probably had it for 50+ years. I actually had 2 studies done because I could NOT fall asleep for the first one. Had to have a "sleep aide" (read drugs) for the second one. Slept fine! But required two nights at the hospital for the study, appointment for getting the CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine and trying to learn to live with 10 pounds of air pressure being shoved up my nose while sleeping~! Still working on that one.
At work our little group of 3 comprising the Telephony team were in an office by ourselves, but there are new positions being created for Service Point so they need our office for a director and we had to move across to the other side of the building out in the open .. no more privacy. My co-workers, being guys, moved their equipment and were all good. Leaving behind all the phone cords on the floor and the extraneous stuff we'd collected over the past year. Typical men. Don't know who they thought was going to clean up all of that! ME -- besides moving all of my junk, and I do collect a bit of junk. :)
Not only was there moving involved at work, but Commercial is changing the format of their operation and their changes require telephony changes which made our team sort of at the forefront. They are "going live" on Monday which meant many extra hours of work for the preparation, working last Friday until 9:30 and having to work Saturday morning, the day of Carol's party!
During ALL of this, I'm also packing up my bedroom and bathroom because movers are coming on the 24th to take all my furniture to Tigard. I'm renting a room from a wonderful lady I met at work. She lives in Gresham with her new husband, but still owns a home in Tigard where she stays a couple nights a week to shorten her commute. She's happy to have me there so someone will be there when she isn't and I'm happy to have a place to live that I can still afford. Unfortunately this requires a lot of time to pack up and move the boxes down 2 flights of stairs. I've been taking most of the boxes over to the new house on the weekend. That was before I'd decided to hire a moving company. They said it will take only 2 hours to move my furniture so I may throw in the boxes too. It will be worth the extra $$.
So in the midst of all this stress, we're having Carol's surprise party. Tami and Heaven did most of the work, and Tami asked me to pick up the cake from Costco. We were going to do it together, but she was unable to get away and Heaven was sick, sick, sick. She had the pickup scheduled for Saturday but I had to work Saturday from 9-1 and I was supposed to go to a baby shower at 2, then Carol's party at 6. I changed the pick-up to Friday after 4:00 .. turns out I had to work Friday until 9:30 pm! I took a break at 4:00 and got the cake and Tami was going to send Heaven to pick it up from me. Nope. Heaven was still sick. Tami was still unable to get away (taking care of a sick friend) and it was now past 6:30 pm and no one who would be going to the party was still in the office. *sigh*
Talk about stress.
I put the cake in my trunk (didn't want Carol to see it by mistake!) and on Saturday after I got off work, I ran the cake over to the hotel (Heaven works at a local hotel and was able to get one of the conference rooms for our party) but was now very late for the baby shower and I hadn't get purchased a gift. I was unravelling and decided I'd have to be a no-show for the shower. I still needed to pack some boxes for crying out loud! I was also supposed to fix some bbq shredded beef for the party but I didn't get it into the crock pot on time (we had it for dinner tonight though!)
My sister assures me once I start getting oxygen in my lungs and body every night via my CPAP I'll be able to think and plan ahead like a normal person. I was seriously getting an average of 2 to 3 hours sleep every night. And not all at the same time. Sleep apnea causes one to cease breathing while asleep and the brain wakes you up just enough to kick start your breathing. Then you'll have another apnea episode, wake up, breathe, go back to sleep, stop breathing, wake up...etc. For the past umpteen years I've been a fairly high functioning chronically tired (as in sleep-deprived) person. It explains so much. So while I'm not crazy about being hooked up to the machine and having to wear an unsightly mask every night, I'm looking forward to the moment when I get a full night's sleep!
All of this was to tell you that the party was a great success!! In spite of all the silly monkey wrenches. Carol was completely surprised. Told her I was dropping some clothes off for Heaven because they were having a clothing drive at her workplace. When we walked in the door to the room most of the lights were off and the minute she walked in they hollered SURPRISE. She cried. It was great. A lot of fun.
Today Carol and I took a drive to the Oregon coast town of Astoria. Walked around a bit, did a little shopping and back home. It was a restful way to spend the day...so now back to work. I have boxes to pack!! Where the heck did all these books come from . . . . .
We had a surprise Happy Birthday, Congratulations (on retiring) and We'll Miss You! party for Carol Morgenstern last night. Tami F and her daughter Heaven were instrumental in putting it all together. We planned this over a month ago and picked 10/17 as the best date for everyone. It gave us time to organize, it was the week before her kids come up to take all her furnishings back home to Livermore and was between her actual birthday (10/12) and her retirement date (10/30). Sounds good, right?
Since the inception of the "party" and the actual happening a lot of monkey wrenches kept popping up.
I had small cancer scare (uterine lining cells are becoming abnormal-technically endometrial hyperplasia atypia which is actually pre-cancerous) resulting in various tests and procedures with the end result being a hysterectomy which will take place on November 2.
I also had a sleep study done because I am ALWAYS tired in the morning and have been for years. Told most of my life that I'm lazy ... turns out I have sleep apnea and have probably had it for 50+ years. I actually had 2 studies done because I could NOT fall asleep for the first one. Had to have a "sleep aide" (read drugs) for the second one. Slept fine! But required two nights at the hospital for the study, appointment for getting the CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine and trying to learn to live with 10 pounds of air pressure being shoved up my nose while sleeping~! Still working on that one.
At work our little group of 3 comprising the Telephony team were in an office by ourselves, but there are new positions being created for Service Point so they need our office for a director and we had to move across to the other side of the building out in the open .. no more privacy. My co-workers, being guys, moved their equipment and were all good. Leaving behind all the phone cords on the floor and the extraneous stuff we'd collected over the past year. Typical men. Don't know who they thought was going to clean up all of that! ME -- besides moving all of my junk, and I do collect a bit of junk. :)
Not only was there moving involved at work, but Commercial is changing the format of their operation and their changes require telephony changes which made our team sort of at the forefront. They are "going live" on Monday which meant many extra hours of work for the preparation, working last Friday until 9:30 and having to work Saturday morning, the day of Carol's party!
During ALL of this, I'm also packing up my bedroom and bathroom because movers are coming on the 24th to take all my furniture to Tigard. I'm renting a room from a wonderful lady I met at work. She lives in Gresham with her new husband, but still owns a home in Tigard where she stays a couple nights a week to shorten her commute. She's happy to have me there so someone will be there when she isn't and I'm happy to have a place to live that I can still afford. Unfortunately this requires a lot of time to pack up and move the boxes down 2 flights of stairs. I've been taking most of the boxes over to the new house on the weekend. That was before I'd decided to hire a moving company. They said it will take only 2 hours to move my furniture so I may throw in the boxes too. It will be worth the extra $$.
So in the midst of all this stress, we're having Carol's surprise party. Tami and Heaven did most of the work, and Tami asked me to pick up the cake from Costco. We were going to do it together, but she was unable to get away and Heaven was sick, sick, sick. She had the pickup scheduled for Saturday but I had to work Saturday from 9-1 and I was supposed to go to a baby shower at 2, then Carol's party at 6. I changed the pick-up to Friday after 4:00 .. turns out I had to work Friday until 9:30 pm! I took a break at 4:00 and got the cake and Tami was going to send Heaven to pick it up from me. Nope. Heaven was still sick. Tami was still unable to get away (taking care of a sick friend) and it was now past 6:30 pm and no one who would be going to the party was still in the office. *sigh*
Talk about stress.
I put the cake in my trunk (didn't want Carol to see it by mistake!) and on Saturday after I got off work, I ran the cake over to the hotel (Heaven works at a local hotel and was able to get one of the conference rooms for our party) but was now very late for the baby shower and I hadn't get purchased a gift. I was unravelling and decided I'd have to be a no-show for the shower. I still needed to pack some boxes for crying out loud! I was also supposed to fix some bbq shredded beef for the party but I didn't get it into the crock pot on time (we had it for dinner tonight though!)
My sister assures me once I start getting oxygen in my lungs and body every night via my CPAP I'll be able to think and plan ahead like a normal person. I was seriously getting an average of 2 to 3 hours sleep every night. And not all at the same time. Sleep apnea causes one to cease breathing while asleep and the brain wakes you up just enough to kick start your breathing. Then you'll have another apnea episode, wake up, breathe, go back to sleep, stop breathing, wake up...etc. For the past umpteen years I've been a fairly high functioning chronically tired (as in sleep-deprived) person. It explains so much. So while I'm not crazy about being hooked up to the machine and having to wear an unsightly mask every night, I'm looking forward to the moment when I get a full night's sleep!
All of this was to tell you that the party was a great success!! In spite of all the silly monkey wrenches. Carol was completely surprised. Told her I was dropping some clothes off for Heaven because they were having a clothing drive at her workplace. When we walked in the door to the room most of the lights were off and the minute she walked in they hollered SURPRISE. She cried. It was great. A lot of fun.
Today Carol and I took a drive to the Oregon coast town of Astoria. Walked around a bit, did a little shopping and back home. It was a restful way to spend the day...so now back to work. I have boxes to pack!! Where the heck did all these books come from . . . . .
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
It's raining, it's snowing. . .
The news last night said we'd have snow today so I expected to wake up to a winter wonderland this morning. Nope! At 5:30 it was clear and dry. By the time I left for work at 6:45 it was still clear, but started to rain .. just a very light sprinkle. Halfway to work it became more of a drizzle and by the time I hit the parking lot there were pretty big drops. Enough that I pulled up the hood of my jacket. Once I got inside the building the snow started. I've been taking short video clips all morning.
Right now we have huge silver-dollar size clumps falling. Looks like a cloud is disintegrating. You can tell who's from California because we're all excited about the snow (except maybe for those who lived through the blizzard of '08) while the people from Oregon are more jaded.
It's supposed to rain this afternoon and wash it all away .. and I hope that's what happens! Better that than rain that turns to ice. Yikes!
Right now we have huge silver-dollar size clumps falling. Looks like a cloud is disintegrating. You can tell who's from California because we're all excited about the snow (except maybe for those who lived through the blizzard of '08) while the people from Oregon are more jaded.
It's supposed to rain this afternoon and wash it all away .. and I hope that's what happens! Better that than rain that turns to ice. Yikes!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
so long...but not goodbye!
I've not gone the route of New Year's resolutions this year, but I have made a to-do list of all the things I keep putting off and I'm trying to tackle at least one task each week. Number one on the list was to get my laptop fixed. My wireless card stopped working!! Just stopped--right in the middle of cruising through the internet. This was about 2 months ago. It wasn't a huge issue at the time because I'm plugged in directly to the cable modem.and BUT this week Cal surprised me with a printer/scanner/copier/fax machine that is WIRELESS! How cool is that .. if only my wireless card on my computer was working.
When I was home for the holidays, Justin said he had the same problem with his laptop (and we have the same brand) and it's a known issue for certain models. If mine is on the list, it's a free repair. Mine is on the list. I called this week and had to run through some trouble-shooting tests to prove that yes, indeed, my wireless card is NOT being recognized by the computer. No duh! I told them that when I first called!!
Well, they've sent me a box with all the packing materials so I can ship it off to the repair facility in TN, where they will replace my motherboard. I completed a backup this evening and I'm about to disconnect. Yes, I can feel the trembling starting in my fingertips. I believe I'm having the beginning of withdrawal symptoms.
As I sit here trying to play on your sympathy (do I hear any AWWWW's??) I must confess that I may be able to bring my work laptop home and as long as I don't connect through VPN I may be able to get on most web sites. We'll see. There are some things I won't be able to do because I don't have admin rights for that computer so I can't download anything or upload any pictures. But I can live with that ... I think.
If not .. hang tight and cross your fingers for an efficient repair and a swift return delivery! Until then, behave yourselves.
When I was home for the holidays, Justin said he had the same problem with his laptop (and we have the same brand) and it's a known issue for certain models. If mine is on the list, it's a free repair. Mine is on the list. I called this week and had to run through some trouble-shooting tests to prove that yes, indeed, my wireless card is NOT being recognized by the computer. No duh! I told them that when I first called!!
Well, they've sent me a box with all the packing materials so I can ship it off to the repair facility in TN, where they will replace my motherboard. I completed a backup this evening and I'm about to disconnect. Yes, I can feel the trembling starting in my fingertips. I believe I'm having the beginning of withdrawal symptoms.
As I sit here trying to play on your sympathy (do I hear any AWWWW's??) I must confess that I may be able to bring my work laptop home and as long as I don't connect through VPN I may be able to get on most web sites. We'll see. There are some things I won't be able to do because I don't have admin rights for that computer so I can't download anything or upload any pictures. But I can live with that ... I think.
If not .. hang tight and cross your fingers for an efficient repair and a swift return delivery! Until then, behave yourselves.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Sticker shock!
Yesterday I HAD to get gas in my automobile. Costco is on the way home if I go the roundabout way so off to Costco I went. The lines weren't too bad, and besides ... I had my book to listen to on my Zen (Janet Evanovich's "Motor Mouth") so Ididn't mind waiting. Had the attendant fill 'er up ... still trying to adjust to sitting in the car while I get waited on hand and foot. Okay, just hand. They don't do windows.
It wasn't until much later at home that I pulled the receipt out of my purse and glanced at it. Had to look again. Then once more. Surely there's some mistake?? How many gallons did I get, anyway? 8.317 Huh. And the total price was only $14.30! Say what?!! It wasn't that long ago that I paid as much as $30 for the same tank of gas. Wowza.
So with the money I saved on gas, Carol and I went to Baja Fresh in Beaverton (or Tigard .. never quite sure where one ends and the other begins) and after dinner we joined a group of ladies for an evening of making cards. The kind you mail to people. Had a lot of laughs and came home with 3 cards and a bookmark for $7.
Had a call from Linda Wrenn, a long-time friend who moved to Colorado too many years ago. Her husband Larry has business in Portland and Seattle so she's coming with him. He'll drop her off here on the Monday and pick her up on the following Saturday! We'll have a full week to play and catch up on 'stuff'.
This came on top of the call I had earlier in the week from my friend and fellow crocherer (that's how they pronounce it in Australia) Jenny King. There's a Knit and Crochet Show in Portland May 15-17. She's going to be here for that -- probably teaching at it as well -- so we'll be able to spend some quality time together. She'll be in Dallas, TX the prior week for a fiber show but that won't be nearly as much fun.
This is all so exciting! Maybe 2009 is the year for visitors to Portland. That would be cool. I have 34 vacation days this year so I might as well put them to good use. Ok, sure. Those of you who can't make it up here probably think I should use some of them to come home once in awhile. I will!
I have just enough time to sneak in one episode of Dead Like Me before it's time to hit the hay, so I'll talk with you later!
It wasn't until much later at home that I pulled the receipt out of my purse and glanced at it. Had to look again. Then once more. Surely there's some mistake?? How many gallons did I get, anyway? 8.317 Huh. And the total price was only $14.30! Say what?!! It wasn't that long ago that I paid as much as $30 for the same tank of gas. Wowza.
So with the money I saved on gas, Carol and I went to Baja Fresh in Beaverton (or Tigard .. never quite sure where one ends and the other begins) and after dinner we joined a group of ladies for an evening of making cards. The kind you mail to people. Had a lot of laughs and came home with 3 cards and a bookmark for $7.
Had a call from Linda Wrenn, a long-time friend who moved to Colorado too many years ago. Her husband Larry has business in Portland and Seattle so she's coming with him. He'll drop her off here on the Monday and pick her up on the following Saturday! We'll have a full week to play and catch up on 'stuff'.
This came on top of the call I had earlier in the week from my friend and fellow crocherer (that's how they pronounce it in Australia) Jenny King. There's a Knit and Crochet Show in Portland May 15-17. She's going to be here for that -- probably teaching at it as well -- so we'll be able to spend some quality time together. She'll be in Dallas, TX the prior week for a fiber show but that won't be nearly as much fun.
This is all so exciting! Maybe 2009 is the year for visitors to Portland. That would be cool. I have 34 vacation days this year so I might as well put them to good use. Ok, sure. Those of you who can't make it up here probably think I should use some of them to come home once in awhile. I will!
I have just enough time to sneak in one episode of Dead Like Me before it's time to hit the hay, so I'll talk with you later!
Monday, January 5, 2009
We love the rain!
My fears of yesterday eve were unfounded. After the fun snowfall (it really was pretty!) the weather warmed up, it rained all night and washed the snow away! It was raining lightly this morning and pretty much cleared up for the rest of the day. We're supposed to get some heavy rain later this week but the weekend is supposed to clear up and be sunny! Perfect time to go scrapbook shopping.
Audrey told me today she found a great scrapbook store in Milwaukee, which is about 30 min from here. Looks like a roadtrip for Saturday!
I'm on call this week so had to get up really early Sat and Sun to run reports. Have to finish them by 8:30 central, which is 6:30 our time. Takes me about 2 hours or so to finish them. You do the math.
I've noticed in the pictures that Stacey posts, she's wearing the hat I knit for Ellie more than Ellie wears it! I guess I'd better knit one for Stacey too! I had a message on Facebook from Stacey's sister, Jill, saying she loves Grace's hat but it's too small for her (Jill). She wants one too. Will do some yarn shopping this weekend too.
One of the nifty gifts I got for Christmas was a FLIP video camera. Cal and I both got one. I've been taking videos of our apartment to share with you guys and I'm going to try to upload them here. Let's see how this works:
Audrey told me today she found a great scrapbook store in Milwaukee, which is about 30 min from here. Looks like a roadtrip for Saturday!
I'm on call this week so had to get up really early Sat and Sun to run reports. Have to finish them by 8:30 central, which is 6:30 our time. Takes me about 2 hours or so to finish them. You do the math.
I've noticed in the pictures that Stacey posts, she's wearing the hat I knit for Ellie more than Ellie wears it! I guess I'd better knit one for Stacey too! I had a message on Facebook from Stacey's sister, Jill, saying she loves Grace's hat but it's too small for her (Jill). She wants one too. Will do some yarn shopping this weekend too.
One of the nifty gifts I got for Christmas was a FLIP video camera. Cal and I both got one. I've been taking videos of our apartment to share with you guys and I'm going to try to upload them here. Let's see how this works:
This is the first episode .. I have more to post at a later date. :) I also got a camcorder for taking real movies but they will be too large to post here. See? there's a purpose for each one!
The other happy-making thing for me is the Roku box I bought to stream my Netflix Instant movies to my TV! I only have basic cable upstairs and there's not much to watch. I can watch Netflix on my computer, but then I have to sit at my computer table to watch them. NOW I can stream movies to my TV and watch them from my bed! Pure heaven!!
I have to post this now to see if the video will work. Later!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Oh, the weather outside is frightful ...
Everyone around here keeps talking about "the snow of '08" and lamenting that we're only 2 weeks into winter so there's bound to be more. Well, it's here. All day I was expecting rain, but nope! It started snowing. Real snow .. not the ice crusting of 2 or 3 days ago.
Carol came home yesterday and I had to relinquish the garage (we take turns) so my car was parked on the street because I hadn't moved it. I went down a few hours ago to park it in the driveway, hoping that it will give me a little respite from snowfall. I just looked out my window and what I can see of my car is completely white. I had cleared all the windows when I moved it but they are completely whited out now. The street isn't completely blanketed because of the traffic, and it's really not a major snowfall when one looks at the lawns -- maybe an inch? But an inch on a car is a LOT! I'll have to run out there early tomorrow and warm the car up before I head out. Dang.
I wanted to mention how much I enjoyed seeing everyone when I was home. Some people I didn't get to visit with long enough (Pat, I promise...next time we'll do lunch together in that cool cafeteria!) and even though I technically was home for a long time, there was so much to do that I didn't have time to do all I wanted. So much to do and so little time to do it.
When I went to Farmers (the new building) to see whomever was there, I went to lunch with Barb, Lynda, Joyce, Leslie and Cathy at Red Robin .. across the street from the office. During lunch I had call on my cell phone. There aren't too many people who call me on my cell phone. I knew most of them were at work and I was eating lunch with the others. I answered the phone and it was Carlos! My co-worker here in Hillsboro. Turns out he was in PLEASANTON! Actually on Hacienda looking for the office building. He supports that facility as the Avaya engineer. How funny is that! I seriously think he just missed me so much he made up an excuse to see me. When I went over to the office to see Jaime, there was Carlos .. big as life.
Here's a little "who knew" tidbit. Several years ago I had a food allergy test done. I'm allergic to 7 foods and eating them cause me to have a dry cough and/or my throat will swell. One of the items I'm allergic to is quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). I'd never heard of it. My sister told me it's a grain that's used in South American countries for flour and such ... not to worry, I'll probably never see it!
One night, while at Eric's, Stacey made a delicious spaghetti supper. When we're about halfway through it, she asked me how I liked the pasta. It's really good! say I. She smiles really big and tells me that it's made with QUINOA! How about that! She proceeds to tell me all the benefits of this great product ... and I'm laughing to myself. What are the odds? She felt bad when I told her I'm allergic to it, but why would I go around telling people I'm allergic to quinoa?
To add to this story, after I get home, I make a run to Costco and you know how the food samplers are out in force. There was a new cracker/chip that I tasted and it was pretty darned good! It has flax and sesame and just lightly salted. The carbs were decent. I bought a bag and they tasted just as good when I got them home. While eating them (and after consuming several) I was reading the bag. I read everything..if there's no book handy I'll read labels, ok? Huh. One of the ingredients in this great tasting product is .. you guessed it .. quinoa! I swear, I will now have to read every friggin' label because it appears this product is now invading the northern continent.
I was told that if I purge all the foods I'm allergic to for 30 days, I can reintroduce them one at a time in small amounts and I may be able to build up a tolerance for one or more of them. The problem is one of the main things I'm allergic to is brewers' yeast. Doesn't sound like such a big deal until you realize brewers yeast is used to make vinegar and vinegar is a main ingredient in just about every condiment known to man. I don't know if I can make it 30 days without ingesting anything that has vinegar in it! I gave up bananas, I drink soy milk but I've not been able to go without all dairy products (sour cream - yogurt - cottage cheese!). Maybe that will be one of my 2009 goals. To make it 30 days without my allergy foods. Can I do it? I don't know .. stay tuned!
Carol came home yesterday and I had to relinquish the garage (we take turns) so my car was parked on the street because I hadn't moved it. I went down a few hours ago to park it in the driveway, hoping that it will give me a little respite from snowfall. I just looked out my window and what I can see of my car is completely white. I had cleared all the windows when I moved it but they are completely whited out now. The street isn't completely blanketed because of the traffic, and it's really not a major snowfall when one looks at the lawns -- maybe an inch? But an inch on a car is a LOT! I'll have to run out there early tomorrow and warm the car up before I head out. Dang.
I wanted to mention how much I enjoyed seeing everyone when I was home. Some people I didn't get to visit with long enough (Pat, I promise...next time we'll do lunch together in that cool cafeteria!) and even though I technically was home for a long time, there was so much to do that I didn't have time to do all I wanted. So much to do and so little time to do it.
When I went to Farmers (the new building) to see whomever was there, I went to lunch with Barb, Lynda, Joyce, Leslie and Cathy at Red Robin .. across the street from the office. During lunch I had call on my cell phone. There aren't too many people who call me on my cell phone. I knew most of them were at work and I was eating lunch with the others. I answered the phone and it was Carlos! My co-worker here in Hillsboro. Turns out he was in PLEASANTON! Actually on Hacienda looking for the office building. He supports that facility as the Avaya engineer. How funny is that! I seriously think he just missed me so much he made up an excuse to see me. When I went over to the office to see Jaime, there was Carlos .. big as life.
Here's a little "who knew" tidbit. Several years ago I had a food allergy test done. I'm allergic to 7 foods and eating them cause me to have a dry cough and/or my throat will swell. One of the items I'm allergic to is quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). I'd never heard of it. My sister told me it's a grain that's used in South American countries for flour and such ... not to worry, I'll probably never see it!
One night, while at Eric's, Stacey made a delicious spaghetti supper. When we're about halfway through it, she asked me how I liked the pasta. It's really good! say I. She smiles really big and tells me that it's made with QUINOA! How about that! She proceeds to tell me all the benefits of this great product ... and I'm laughing to myself. What are the odds? She felt bad when I told her I'm allergic to it, but why would I go around telling people I'm allergic to quinoa?
To add to this story, after I get home, I make a run to Costco and you know how the food samplers are out in force. There was a new cracker/chip that I tasted and it was pretty darned good! It has flax and sesame and just lightly salted. The carbs were decent. I bought a bag and they tasted just as good when I got them home. While eating them (and after consuming several) I was reading the bag. I read everything..if there's no book handy I'll read labels, ok? Huh. One of the ingredients in this great tasting product is .. you guessed it .. quinoa! I swear, I will now have to read every friggin' label because it appears this product is now invading the northern continent.
I was told that if I purge all the foods I'm allergic to for 30 days, I can reintroduce them one at a time in small amounts and I may be able to build up a tolerance for one or more of them. The problem is one of the main things I'm allergic to is brewers' yeast. Doesn't sound like such a big deal until you realize brewers yeast is used to make vinegar and vinegar is a main ingredient in just about every condiment known to man. I don't know if I can make it 30 days without ingesting anything that has vinegar in it! I gave up bananas, I drink soy milk but I've not been able to go without all dairy products (sour cream - yogurt - cottage cheese!). Maybe that will be one of my 2009 goals. To make it 30 days without my allergy foods. Can I do it? I don't know .. stay tuned!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
There's snow in them thar' hills!
It's snowing like crazy in OR .. and I'm glad I'm in CA!! I've been sent pictures and heard the wailing via phone .. those CA transplants are having a time of it. I'm hopeful that it will be all done by the time I get home. Wishful thinking?? One item for concern is that the airports will be open on Dec. 27. I say this only because my roommate, Carol, had to drive home because her flight was cancelled! She was supposed to fly out at 6:15 tonight and had to change her plans. It dawned on me earlier that I could possibly have the same scenario going home. Ok. Right now .. while you're reading this, cross your fingers!
I have a lot to catch up on and I think for that reason I keep putting off doing an update but I just have to share this with you. You've maybe heard me say from time to time that Cal is crazy. This is proof. For years, whenever we grab fast food -- and it doesn't matter where we get it -- he ALWAYS buys enough for 3 or 4 people when it's just the two of us. He has a prodigious appetite anyway, but he "needs" to buy enough--just in case. I don't know what it's in case of, but he's done this as long as I've known him.
Anyway, tonight we decided to get Arby's. I asked for a beef 'n cheddar sandwich (my favorite) and 2 potato cakes. Okay, I know they're not good for me. But they're small, right? And they put only 2 small cakes in a box and I really want 3. So I get two orders so I can have 3 cakes. Makes sense? Well, he comes home and tells me he thinks the people at Arby's might think he's strange or crazy (if I'd been there I could have confirmed this). He ordered 2 sandwiches, one for each of us, and SIX orders of potato cakes. Now normally that would be 12 small potato cakes. But NOPE! They asked if he wanted the "large" order and being Cal, he said to himself, why not? The large order is THREE potato cakes and each one is twice the size of the little ones. We had SIX boxes with THREE HUMONGOUS potato cakes in each box. I laughed so hard I thought I'd cry. I'm still giggling. If we lived in China, none of the kids would be starving.
More tomorrow.
I have a lot to catch up on and I think for that reason I keep putting off doing an update but I just have to share this with you. You've maybe heard me say from time to time that Cal is crazy. This is proof. For years, whenever we grab fast food -- and it doesn't matter where we get it -- he ALWAYS buys enough for 3 or 4 people when it's just the two of us. He has a prodigious appetite anyway, but he "needs" to buy enough--just in case. I don't know what it's in case of, but he's done this as long as I've known him.
Anyway, tonight we decided to get Arby's. I asked for a beef 'n cheddar sandwich (my favorite) and 2 potato cakes. Okay, I know they're not good for me. But they're small, right? And they put only 2 small cakes in a box and I really want 3. So I get two orders so I can have 3 cakes. Makes sense? Well, he comes home and tells me he thinks the people at Arby's might think he's strange or crazy (if I'd been there I could have confirmed this). He ordered 2 sandwiches, one for each of us, and SIX orders of potato cakes. Now normally that would be 12 small potato cakes. But NOPE! They asked if he wanted the "large" order and being Cal, he said to himself, why not? The large order is THREE potato cakes and each one is twice the size of the little ones. We had SIX boxes with THREE HUMONGOUS potato cakes in each box. I laughed so hard I thought I'd cry. I'm still giggling. If we lived in China, none of the kids would be starving.
More tomorrow.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Settling down in Davis
Wowza. What a week.
I flew in to Sacramento on Thursday .. yep, Thanksgiving!! Gary dropped me off at the Max train about 3:00 pm and I had a leisurely 1.5 hour trip to Portland airport. I must say, the TSA agents at that airport are the best! They actually talk to you as human beings, smile and joke around! They greet you in a friendly manner and wish you a pleasant trip. Imagine!! The TSA agents at the Oakland airport could take lessons!!
Jillian (Stacey's sister) picked me up at the airport in her Lexus SUV. This baby has a camera at the rear of the car for backing up. Sweet. Jill had just spent a week with the munchkins, throwing in one of her own for good measure. In spite of feeling very sick, she managed to bake cookies, take them for their Christmas photo-op and other activities that put me to shame. I'm making it clear right here and now that as Nana, I do not do the "perfect Aunt Jill" things! I'm good with the hugs and cuddles, but not so much the active stuff.
Jillian happily left for home the next night after Eric and Stacey came strolling in around 2:30. Eric's surgical site is already beginning to heal, and with all those staples, he looks like he has a zipper up the back of his head.
My job here so far has been to wash dishes .. by hand .. because their dishwasher is no longer working. Stacey has Calvin researching dishwashers for her so they can replace it. I also attempt, feebly, to keep the munchkins entertained; pick up Legos by the dozen; pick up various articles of clothing that are strewn around the house by an engergetic 2.5 (almost This Many!) year old who prefers wearing only underwear; and dispensing hugs and cuddles when allowed.
Somebody, who shall remain nameless, is heading into grouchy because the level-headed member of their family won't let him bend over their mini-computer for hours on end (huh!) and doesn't like not being able to do ANYTHING. Pain meds make you feel good, so common sense tends to flee. If it were his child in this situation, he'd be saying the same things, but doesn't like hearing it when it applies to him.
He's still doing his blog on a daily basis, so check it out at http://www.eblosch.blogspot.com/ if you haven't already. The good news is that he's doing better every day, for which we're thankful.
For those of you who have been yelling at me for not checking in...this counts!!
I flew in to Sacramento on Thursday .. yep, Thanksgiving!! Gary dropped me off at the Max train about 3:00 pm and I had a leisurely 1.5 hour trip to Portland airport. I must say, the TSA agents at that airport are the best! They actually talk to you as human beings, smile and joke around! They greet you in a friendly manner and wish you a pleasant trip. Imagine!! The TSA agents at the Oakland airport could take lessons!!
Jillian (Stacey's sister) picked me up at the airport in her Lexus SUV. This baby has a camera at the rear of the car for backing up. Sweet. Jill had just spent a week with the munchkins, throwing in one of her own for good measure. In spite of feeling very sick, she managed to bake cookies, take them for their Christmas photo-op and other activities that put me to shame. I'm making it clear right here and now that as Nana, I do not do the "perfect Aunt Jill" things! I'm good with the hugs and cuddles, but not so much the active stuff.
Jillian happily left for home the next night after Eric and Stacey came strolling in around 2:30. Eric's surgical site is already beginning to heal, and with all those staples, he looks like he has a zipper up the back of his head.
My job here so far has been to wash dishes .. by hand .. because their dishwasher is no longer working. Stacey has Calvin researching dishwashers for her so they can replace it. I also attempt, feebly, to keep the munchkins entertained; pick up Legos by the dozen; pick up various articles of clothing that are strewn around the house by an engergetic 2.5 (almost This Many!) year old who prefers wearing only underwear; and dispensing hugs and cuddles when allowed.
Somebody, who shall remain nameless, is heading into grouchy because the level-headed member of their family won't let him bend over their mini-computer for hours on end (huh!) and doesn't like not being able to do ANYTHING. Pain meds make you feel good, so common sense tends to flee. If it were his child in this situation, he'd be saying the same things, but doesn't like hearing it when it applies to him.
He's still doing his blog on a daily basis, so check it out at http://www.eblosch.blogspot.com/ if you haven't already. The good news is that he's doing better every day, for which we're thankful.
For those of you who have been yelling at me for not checking in...this counts!!
Monday, November 24, 2008
An attempt at catching up!
Wow! How can so much happen in such a short amount of time???
It has been difficult to get back on here and "talk" after Jan's funeral. I must say the girls did a fantastic job with the memorial service. She would have been so proud of them! It was a bittersweet day ... seeing people I hadn't seen in years ... spending some time with Barb ... and realizing more every day how much we are going to miss Jan. She was truly one of the sweetest women I've ever known.
She did so much to make MY life better, more than she ever knew. She started a wonderful tradition by having my bunch of hooligans over for Christmas dinner one year. That evolved into our two families sharing birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas from November through January. That has always been such a blessing to me and I thank her for it. I also thanked her numerous times!
I saw Barb at the service and we made tentative plans to get together on the next day to go to Joyce's open house. I never made it, because Stacey called and they were having a little Halloween party at her mom's for the kids. It had been planned for weeks and they didn't want to disappoint them. Jill (who could be an official party-planner) did a bang-up job of trick or treat baskets, prizes and food for all. The kids whacked the heck out of a pinata and although the day was laced with sadness it was also laced with joy in being together.
Work has been busy as all get out (just how busy IS that, anyway?). I'm learning more every day, but the more I learn the more I have to do! My job comes with a lot of freedom ... no one watching to see that I take exactly 45 minutes for lunch ... but it also comes with a lot of extra time put in. I work at least 1 or 2 hours extra every day and often we work right through lunch. When we have "free time", we take it! I really love what I do and that will make the 6 years fly by.
If you read my last blog you know Eric's surgery is now behind us! YAY I say that like it was a burden for me!! LOL Eric's a bit of a worrier .. he's been playing "what if" since he was 2. This wasn't a hastily made decision on his part and up to the end he was "what if"ing. Some of you have seen the pictures Stacey took -- happy smiling Eric from the front, and head shaved right up the midde with two incisions starting at the base of his neck and extending up 3/4 of his skull. The lower incision is where they did the actual surgery and the upper incision is where they took out tissue to put on the lower part.
Eric has started a blog (eblosch.blogspot.com) where he's relating his Chiari adventure. It's worth a read! He's really funny!!
I'll be flying home Thanksgiving. My flight leaves at 6:30 and I'll get to Sacramento around 7:50. Eric and Stacey will be getting home from CO the same day, but they'll be in about 3:00. The rest of the family will be here for Thanksgiving dinner and I can only hope they'll save me some leftovers.
I'll be spending the first week, and as much of the second week as they need, in Davis. Then it's home to Dublin to get caught up on things around the house and to spend time with some dear friends. I'll be home until December 27, when I fly back to Oregon. I'll be getting in touch with some of you the second week of December when I know more what my plans are. I can't wait to see everyone!!
The nights are getting chillier here. I've actually turned on the heater for a few hours when I get home. It's 34 outside right now. Got my bedroom heater turned on to 50. It gets too warm if I turn it up more than that. Weird, huh.
I need to find some shoes to wear because these sandals won't cut it for the winter. Friends at work told me to try Dansko shoes so I need to go shopping!!
It's past my bedtime so I'd better close. I'll try to get back to weekly postings just because I miss you all so much. If anyone wants to see Eric's two photos (one happy face and one shaved skull) let me know and I'll send the link.
Be sure to check out his blog and I'll see some of you SOON!
It has been difficult to get back on here and "talk" after Jan's funeral. I must say the girls did a fantastic job with the memorial service. She would have been so proud of them! It was a bittersweet day ... seeing people I hadn't seen in years ... spending some time with Barb ... and realizing more every day how much we are going to miss Jan. She was truly one of the sweetest women I've ever known.
She did so much to make MY life better, more than she ever knew. She started a wonderful tradition by having my bunch of hooligans over for Christmas dinner one year. That evolved into our two families sharing birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas from November through January. That has always been such a blessing to me and I thank her for it. I also thanked her numerous times!
I saw Barb at the service and we made tentative plans to get together on the next day to go to Joyce's open house. I never made it, because Stacey called and they were having a little Halloween party at her mom's for the kids. It had been planned for weeks and they didn't want to disappoint them. Jill (who could be an official party-planner) did a bang-up job of trick or treat baskets, prizes and food for all. The kids whacked the heck out of a pinata and although the day was laced with sadness it was also laced with joy in being together.
Work has been busy as all get out (just how busy IS that, anyway?). I'm learning more every day, but the more I learn the more I have to do! My job comes with a lot of freedom ... no one watching to see that I take exactly 45 minutes for lunch ... but it also comes with a lot of extra time put in. I work at least 1 or 2 hours extra every day and often we work right through lunch. When we have "free time", we take it! I really love what I do and that will make the 6 years fly by.
If you read my last blog you know Eric's surgery is now behind us! YAY I say that like it was a burden for me!! LOL Eric's a bit of a worrier .. he's been playing "what if" since he was 2. This wasn't a hastily made decision on his part and up to the end he was "what if"ing. Some of you have seen the pictures Stacey took -- happy smiling Eric from the front, and head shaved right up the midde with two incisions starting at the base of his neck and extending up 3/4 of his skull. The lower incision is where they did the actual surgery and the upper incision is where they took out tissue to put on the lower part.
Eric has started a blog (eblosch.blogspot.com) where he's relating his Chiari adventure. It's worth a read! He's really funny!!
I'll be flying home Thanksgiving. My flight leaves at 6:30 and I'll get to Sacramento around 7:50. Eric and Stacey will be getting home from CO the same day, but they'll be in about 3:00. The rest of the family will be here for Thanksgiving dinner and I can only hope they'll save me some leftovers.
I'll be spending the first week, and as much of the second week as they need, in Davis. Then it's home to Dublin to get caught up on things around the house and to spend time with some dear friends. I'll be home until December 27, when I fly back to Oregon. I'll be getting in touch with some of you the second week of December when I know more what my plans are. I can't wait to see everyone!!
The nights are getting chillier here. I've actually turned on the heater for a few hours when I get home. It's 34 outside right now. Got my bedroom heater turned on to 50. It gets too warm if I turn it up more than that. Weird, huh.
I need to find some shoes to wear because these sandals won't cut it for the winter. Friends at work told me to try Dansko shoes so I need to go shopping!!
It's past my bedtime so I'd better close. I'll try to get back to weekly postings just because I miss you all so much. If anyone wants to see Eric's two photos (one happy face and one shaved skull) let me know and I'll send the link.
Be sure to check out his blog and I'll see some of you SOON!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Eric's surgery
Eric's surgery was this morning. They started about 9:00 am PST and it took 4 hours. When Stacey called me they had moved him to recovery and the doctor said Eric had squeezed his hand so he was coming out of the anaesthesia.
The surgery went well. One of the tonsils (they're like a cartilage protrusion at the base of our skull) was completely blocking the opening, restricting the flow of cerebral spinal fluid. They removed a lot of bone and cauterized the tonsil on the right. He will be in recovery for a while before they move him to intensive care. They put some pins in to stabilize his head .. and he thought he had headaches before!!
I'll keep you posted as I hear more.
I'll be flying to Davis on Thanksgiving (I leave here at 6:30 pm) and stay with Eric and Stacey at least a week. More if they need me. I don't come back to Oregon until December 27. Don't ask ME how I pulled it off!! I'm just glad I was able to.
I'll check in again later ...
The surgery went well. One of the tonsils (they're like a cartilage protrusion at the base of our skull) was completely blocking the opening, restricting the flow of cerebral spinal fluid. They removed a lot of bone and cauterized the tonsil on the right. He will be in recovery for a while before they move him to intensive care. They put some pins in to stabilize his head .. and he thought he had headaches before!!
I'll keep you posted as I hear more.
I'll be flying to Davis on Thanksgiving (I leave here at 6:30 pm) and stay with Eric and Stacey at least a week. More if they need me. I don't come back to Oregon until December 27. Don't ask ME how I pulled it off!! I'm just glad I was able to.
I'll check in again later ...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Update
Some of you have asked for details about Jan's services. There will be a memorial service at 1:30 on Friday afternoon at:
Wilson & Kratzer
825 Hartz Way
Danville Ca
925 820-2999
In lieu of flowers, feel free to make a donation to
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
Western States Affiliate
Gift Processing Dept
1710 Gilbreth Road
Burlingame Ca 94010
Condolences can be sent to Stacey and Eric Blosch; 706 Oriole Avenue, Davis CA
I'm working 1/2 day tomorrow and then driving home. Hope to get there by 10:00 pm. I'll be at Eric's on Thursday helping with the kids so they can take care of business. I'll probably head back here on Sunday .. but that's still up in the air.
You all take care and I'll check in once I get back to Oregon.
Wilson & Kratzer
825 Hartz Way
Danville Ca
925 820-2999
In lieu of flowers, feel free to make a donation to
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
Western States Affiliate
Gift Processing Dept
1710 Gilbreth Road
Burlingame Ca 94010
Condolences can be sent to Stacey and Eric Blosch; 706 Oriole Avenue, Davis CA
I'm working 1/2 day tomorrow and then driving home. Hope to get there by 10:00 pm. I'll be at Eric's on Thursday helping with the kids so they can take care of business. I'll probably head back here on Sunday .. but that's still up in the air.
You all take care and I'll check in once I get back to Oregon.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
News
I was going to catch up on all the trivia, but Eric called this morning and Stacey's mom, Janice Tucker, passed away either last night or this morning. Stacey's sister, Jill, went over this morning to spend time with her mom and found her in bed. It's a great shock to all of us. Jan was a wonderful lady and she'd met some of you through scrapbooking. I'm REALLY going to miss her!
As a result, Eric's surgery will most likely be postponed. No information on that as yet. I'll be coming home for Jan's services and be on hold for everything else until the kids know what they're doing.
I do need to tell you that Cal's first cataract surgery was successful. He had a small piece that is normally left around the edge, break loose. They're waiting to see if it will dissolve on it's own or if they need to take it out.
Any and all prayers for the family to help them get through this loss will be greatly appreciated.
As a result, Eric's surgery will most likely be postponed. No information on that as yet. I'll be coming home for Jan's services and be on hold for everything else until the kids know what they're doing.
I do need to tell you that Cal's first cataract surgery was successful. He had a small piece that is normally left around the edge, break loose. They're waiting to see if it will dissolve on it's own or if they need to take it out.
Any and all prayers for the family to help them get through this loss will be greatly appreciated.
Monday, September 29, 2008
...and darkness descends
Pat Winnie wrote that she's having blog withdrawal so I promised I'd post something tonight. It's starting to get dark earlier and earlier. Sunset is 6:58 tonight, although it's 7:00 pm and still dusk outside MY window. It's still dark when I get up in the morning and doesn't start getting light until close to 7:00. *sigh*
Carol told me at dinner that we're supposed to be in for a storm this weekend. I just looked up the weather on Weather.com and it shows "possible showers" starting Thursday with actual rain one or two days. Where does that equate to a storm?? It *has* been a bit windy the last couple nights, which is really neat. Slammed by bedroom door shut a couple times. That'll wake you up! We were downstairs and SLAM. Wowza.
Saturday I went to Centralia WA with Carol's supervisor, her sister and her sister's friend. We were scraphopping. Two stores in Centralia and one in Battle Ground. We did a lot of laughing and sharing of stories (they have some good ones!) and sharing ideas. I was worn out when I got home. Then on Sunday Cindy from the credit union came over and I showed her how to make the mini album. She stayed until about 3:00. As much fun as I had, when the entire weekend is busy it doesn't feel like I've had a weekend.
I started training last week on assigning tickets from our work request queue. Sheesh. There's so much involved with each request ... 2 or 3 places to record it and then creating the assignment. And I'm still so slow at it. I've been working overtime just to try to keep up. Brought my computer home tonight to work on it for a couple of hours.
One of the issues that seems to keep popping up is that we are 2 hours behind Austin, TX and Olathe, KS. They forget that and poor Christian is getting calls really early in the morning.
There's a conference call set up for all of GITO (Global IT-our group) so I reserved a room and have the video equipment ready to go. I called Peggy to see what number we dial in to and she tells me it's been rescheduled for Thursday. I didn't get any notice about rescheduling, so I write to the exec's secretary for clarification. She said Austin was rescheduled for Thursday, but the rest of us are tomorrow. Then Peggy asks Adrian and he gets on the phone with me and said he wants us to join the Austin conference -- all of Dalton's team will be in the same meeting -- at 9:00 CDT. Uh, Adrian? You want us to be here at 7:00? Which means I have to be here by 6:00-6:30 to set it up! Shoot, Carlos can barely make it in by 8:30. There's NO WAY he'd be in by 7:00! Adrian let us off the hook and we're doing the 9:00 meeting tomorrow. Whew.
I finished the mini-album I was making of Colin. It went in an entirely different direction from what I originally planned. It was just going to be a bunch of his baby pictures, but I wound up doing one that's more family oriented. It is SO cute!! I have a bunch of ideas for more of them. I have to order more Ellie pictures before I can finish hers, but have to wait for payday.
Cal called to let me know his schedule for his cataract surgeries. His first one is October 14, and Eric's going to work from our house so he can be with him. (THANK YOU, Eric) The second one is scheduled for November 18. I'll have to use the days I'd scheduled for Thanksgiving to go home for that so I'll be having Thanksgiving up here. I've already had two invitations to join people for the holiday, so that's nice. Of course, if I stay here, I'll spend the day with Tami and Heather.
I'm still driving home 10/29 .. Peggy said since we worked on Labor Day, I might get to take the day before as well. Otherwise, I'll leave right after work and drive halfway, spend the night and finish up the next morning.
Christian shared a cool web site with me: https://www.23andme.com/
For $399 you can have your genetic profile done! Check out the web site .. it tells you how many different characteristics, etc they report on. Find out where your ancestors are from, what diseases you may be prone to. I think it's fascinating and I'm saving my money to have it done.
Just shared Stacey's latest pics with several of you (I can add you if you want, but that means you have to look at pics of my grandkids every month) and seeing Colin in his soccer uniform reminds me of when my kids were playing soccer. Almost the same color uniforms. Time certainly does fly.
Speaking of time, it's flying even as we speak. I still have work to do, so I think I've bored you enough for this session. Hey! the wind is picking up! I love hearing the leaves rustle right outside my window. I hope some of you are planning to come up for a visit next year! I miss all of you like crazy and can't wait to see you.
Take care, everyone, and keep in touch! Love you all!
Carol told me at dinner that we're supposed to be in for a storm this weekend. I just looked up the weather on Weather.com and it shows "possible showers" starting Thursday with actual rain one or two days. Where does that equate to a storm?? It *has* been a bit windy the last couple nights, which is really neat. Slammed by bedroom door shut a couple times. That'll wake you up! We were downstairs and SLAM. Wowza.
Saturday I went to Centralia WA with Carol's supervisor, her sister and her sister's friend. We were scraphopping. Two stores in Centralia and one in Battle Ground. We did a lot of laughing and sharing of stories (they have some good ones!) and sharing ideas. I was worn out when I got home. Then on Sunday Cindy from the credit union came over and I showed her how to make the mini album. She stayed until about 3:00. As much fun as I had, when the entire weekend is busy it doesn't feel like I've had a weekend.
I started training last week on assigning tickets from our work request queue. Sheesh. There's so much involved with each request ... 2 or 3 places to record it and then creating the assignment. And I'm still so slow at it. I've been working overtime just to try to keep up. Brought my computer home tonight to work on it for a couple of hours.
One of the issues that seems to keep popping up is that we are 2 hours behind Austin, TX and Olathe, KS. They forget that and poor Christian is getting calls really early in the morning.
There's a conference call set up for all of GITO (Global IT-our group) so I reserved a room and have the video equipment ready to go. I called Peggy to see what number we dial in to and she tells me it's been rescheduled for Thursday. I didn't get any notice about rescheduling, so I write to the exec's secretary for clarification. She said Austin was rescheduled for Thursday, but the rest of us are tomorrow. Then Peggy asks Adrian and he gets on the phone with me and said he wants us to join the Austin conference -- all of Dalton's team will be in the same meeting -- at 9:00 CDT. Uh, Adrian? You want us to be here at 7:00? Which means I have to be here by 6:00-6:30 to set it up! Shoot, Carlos can barely make it in by 8:30. There's NO WAY he'd be in by 7:00! Adrian let us off the hook and we're doing the 9:00 meeting tomorrow. Whew.
I finished the mini-album I was making of Colin. It went in an entirely different direction from what I originally planned. It was just going to be a bunch of his baby pictures, but I wound up doing one that's more family oriented. It is SO cute!! I have a bunch of ideas for more of them. I have to order more Ellie pictures before I can finish hers, but have to wait for payday.
Cal called to let me know his schedule for his cataract surgeries. His first one is October 14, and Eric's going to work from our house so he can be with him. (THANK YOU, Eric) The second one is scheduled for November 18. I'll have to use the days I'd scheduled for Thanksgiving to go home for that so I'll be having Thanksgiving up here. I've already had two invitations to join people for the holiday, so that's nice. Of course, if I stay here, I'll spend the day with Tami and Heather.
I'm still driving home 10/29 .. Peggy said since we worked on Labor Day, I might get to take the day before as well. Otherwise, I'll leave right after work and drive halfway, spend the night and finish up the next morning.
Christian shared a cool web site with me: https://www.23andme.com/
For $399 you can have your genetic profile done! Check out the web site .. it tells you how many different characteristics, etc they report on. Find out where your ancestors are from, what diseases you may be prone to. I think it's fascinating and I'm saving my money to have it done.
Just shared Stacey's latest pics with several of you (I can add you if you want, but that means you have to look at pics of my grandkids every month) and seeing Colin in his soccer uniform reminds me of when my kids were playing soccer. Almost the same color uniforms. Time certainly does fly.
Speaking of time, it's flying even as we speak. I still have work to do, so I think I've bored you enough for this session. Hey! the wind is picking up! I love hearing the leaves rustle right outside my window. I hope some of you are planning to come up for a visit next year! I miss all of you like crazy and can't wait to see you.
Take care, everyone, and keep in touch! Love you all!
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