Good morning!

"Rise and shine" - my mother would say that every morning to get us up for school, along with rattling the pots and pans to begin breakfast!

I just got home yesterday from our Washington, DC trip. We had a wonderful time - weather was perfect. We saw the play "Streetcar Named Desire" at the Kennedy Center, with Cate Blanchette - she was amazing. The fall colors (that we really don't see down here) were breathtaking! My sister lives on the Hill so we walked every day. Shopped. Ate well, not always healthy, but today is a new day. There was a new hamburger place that was receiving a lot of attention (Spike Mendelson? Iron Chef) opened it. Delicious hamburgers and fries and a milkshake to die for! Doesn't sound gourmet, but it was packed with customers and not very cheap either - 3 hamburgers and shakes and two fries were $47!!!

A high school that my niece is interested in attending was having a winter carnival/bazaar so we toured the grounds. Unbelievable. Looked more like an exclusive college than high school. My sister and her husband are already very anxious about the applications and pre-qualifications. For 9th grade!

Today I will spend unpacking and taking potential flying objects out of the yard in case Hurricane Ida gets too close. I didn't know about her until we landed yesterday. Hopefully, she will just fizz out and go on her way.

Let's have a good week. I'm so happy to be back home and with my husband, even with Ida joining us. Plus, New Orleans Saints won again. It was definitely not pretty, but first time in Saints' history that they are 8-0!!

Welcome back Jan. I forgot you were in DC last week! You were missed! glad you had a good time.

Spike Mendelson was a Top Chef contender. He was really arrogant and I could not stand him although I felt he had talent - if only his arrogance did not interfere with his talent so much.

"Mornin' Glory!!"

That's what MY MoM would say to get us out of bed as she was pulling those warm, toasty covers off of us... : )

Nice to meet you, Jan. I used to hang out here until 2 years ago, but couldn't log on again after I moved till I got a new computer and new ISP. I hope that Ida steers clear of you.

Hi Suzanne!

I am hoping for a great week too. Let's go out there and make it happen. Make today count!

Tikanis

Tikanis, so nice to meet you, too! I'm fairly new, compared to most of the nice people here, but love being a part of this great group! Look forward to getting to know you....

About Ida, thanks. Hopefully, she won't cause any trouble.

Good morning, everyone!

How nice to come in and see 3 posts from 3 different people already!!! Maybe this will be the week that everyone checks in - let's hope!

Jan, I also forgot that you were going to be out of town. I'm glad you had such a good time with your sister. And, fall is so gorgeous other places (just not down on the coast!), so you got your fill of that and some good foods, too. Today is that new day and a new week to get back on track.

My morning greeting was always "Good morning, sunshine!" I always woke my sons with that, and now my granddaughters - but only if they sleep later than me, which is very rare.

Yesterday at church was the Veteran's Day luncheon. Everybody brought their best and yummiest foods obviously. I didn't taste a bad food in the bunch. I came home with no leftovers from my cornbread casserole as people went back for 2nds! I even got email requests last night for the recipe. I must have gotten it right on my first time participating. YEA!

Today I'm going to go Christmas shopping for my DGDs. My son and DDIL took the girls to Toys R Us on Saturday and let them look. Then, he took pictures of them holding items that they'd like and emailed them to me for first pick! I promised him last night that I'd get out there today and select our gifts for them so that he can then release the list to all the other family members. My DDIL has always been so good about letting us have first pick without ever being asked. Maybe it's because I try hard to be so good to them, and they know that we have so many kids to buy for between hubby and me. I also have lots of other errands to run and phone calls to make. What a Monday this is shaping up to be.

Tikanis, your Monday sounded somewhat tame (for you!), so I wish you a good one!

Suzanne, thanks for starting us off this week. Hope your hubby arrives home safely and soon!

Wishing y'all a safe and uneventful day!

Good morning!

Amy, I love your painting! Is it a view that you have?

Tikanis--are you a case manager? :)

We had a good weekend, too. We spent the weekend in Cincinatti, and went to the zoo, and bummed around. It's nice to get away for a couple of days. Now, I'm sitting here looking at homework...sigh... :)

Hugs,

Maddie

Tikanis,

To the right is my new lasagna garden - it's hard to tell but it is over 50' long. It will be a border. If it's a success I will continue it along the whole edge of this lawn which is over 300'.

Straight ahead is the arbor. Grapes are planted and hopefully will survive their first winter. Behind that are the apple trees and next year I will add peach trees and possibly plum.

Along the fence to the right of the arbor are blueberry bushes. That fence line is 140' and the other side of that is the "chicken" park. Inside there is tons of new ground to plant...all in good time.

Inside the chicken park. Look at the places I have to plant now!!

What a day! NOTHING went as planned lol! Such is life....

Suzanne, WOW!! is all I can say. What a beautiful place you have. That is SOME garden all right. Now I really wish I was there! You could probably use a worker or two! And I love that you call it a chicken "park"! Is this all newly cleared land? Or is this new property? PROMISE me that you will photograph your progress. What are you putting in that lasagna bed?

My bike broke for the last time today : (
Not worth investing any more $ in repairs, so I will be on the lookout for a deal on a new or gently used one this week. So I'll stick to just the treadmill for now. Can't complain because it's working, and that's what counts!

Have a good night, everyone,

Tikanis

Rise and shine and greet the new day!! (another MoM-ism)

I have 4 patients and some paperwork. Then bike shopping.

What's on everyone's agendas today?

Tikanis

Good Tuesday all,

It's another warm and wonderful day here in NH.

Tikanis, good luck bike shopping. If you know what you want it should be too bad! All this property is newly cleared. After the ice storm in December 2008 we decided to clear the stands of ancient white pines from the property. We cleared approximately 4 acres and already had a 3 acre pasture. So out of 15 acres almost half of it field again. Some old timers have stopped by to say how much they love it and to tell us that this is how the property used to look when it was a farming community! I love hearing that. Most of it will be pasture and chicken park but I will have lots of room to plant things.

In this photo everything you see in the forefront was white pine forest - you could not see the house or the barn from this point. The only open space was the field which out behind the barn. Note: The grape arbor/orchard area is to the right of the garage and the chicken park is behind the house. The arbor had not been built yet.

Am I boring the rest of you yet??

Nope, not boring to me at all! Beautiful, serene pictures. You have a beautiful property/home, Suzanne!

Ida came and went - windy and lots of rain, but no big deal, fortunately. Lost power for a little while around 3 a.m., but our generator immediately kicked in. It's warm, gray and dreary, and if I don't hurry up and make the bed I'm tempted to jump back in!

Just ordered some music CD's of an artist my sister was playing when we went to the Kennedy Center. She sounds like Billie Holliday - I've already forgotten her name, but it's something like Madeleine Peyroux? Good stuff.

Enjoy the day.

Jan

Good afternoon! It's warm (79 F.) and very windy. This is thanks to Ida, I understand. I'll take it!

I just got home from helping to serve the Veteran's Day luncheon at our community center. We had about 150 people today, and only about 35 of them were vets, but that's the usual amount of attendees to these monthly luncheons. My sorority helped cut and serve the pecan and pumpkin pies, poured and served tea, and just generally pampered everyone. It was also good PR for our group. We had 2 women who asked questions about us and are actually coming to our monthly meeting tonight!

I am now big-Christmas-shopping finished! What I couldn't find yesterday while shopping in another town was ordered last night on Amazon.com! Now I'm free to pick up little odds and ends at my leisure. The pressure is off. Whew! This was the easiest shopping time I've ever experienced. I'll wrap my Dallas son and DDIL's gifts and take them with me when I drive up in 2 weeks.

Suzanne, those pics of your place are so pretty. Love the 'chicken park'!

Maddie, it's good to see you posting. Glad you and Rog got away for the weekend.

Jan, I'm glad y'all dodged any real problems from Ida!

Tikanis, wishing you a successful bike-shopping trip!

Dinner tonight will be at my meeting for me, and hubby will dine with the vets at his VFW meeting. Weigh in is tomorrow, and I fear that Olivia is in jeopardy of losing a limb. Pray for her salvation, friends! :-)

Good early morning!

Milkdud, I hope you do well at your weigh-in. I didn't go to Weight Watchers Monday morning (weather was bad and I was very tired from the trip.) I don't need to get in the habit of making excuses. It's so easy for me to get out of a routine, just the slightest change in schedule can do it for me, if I let it. But I'm not. Strapping on my walking shoes as I type. Sunshine and highs in the low 70's today - what's not to like?

Did anyone watch "The Biggest Loser" last night? Another very emotional episode. Next week is "makeover" week, which is a fun one to watch.

Hope it's a beautiful day for everyone.

Jan

Happy Veteran's Day all,

Our little towns are all a buzz getting ready for our Veteran's Day parades! I love this. I love watching the soldiers and patriots marching down the street so proudly. I'll tell you that I can't watch these parades without shedding many tears.

Milkdud, there is NO WAY anyone should be done with Christmas shopping yet! LOL You amaze me. I have to really think hard about what I want to give as a gift and it takes forever. I just can't get into the mood until after Thanksgiving. I hope Olivia gets to stay intact! It would be so cruel to have to chop off one of her legs!

Jan I will watch BL tonight - thanks for the warning. I will have my box of kleenex by my side. LOL It's an amazing season so far.

It's a gray but warm day here!

Good morning! It's warm again today and sunny. A beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Well, Olivia is safe for another week. I turtled! That was amazing considering all the eating events I've enjoyed this past week. Even at my meeting last night, there were such tempting and tasty goodies which I couldn't pass up. I've decided to up my veggie intake this coming week as that has been lacking lately.

Suzanne, enjoy your parade. Sounds like a special time.

Jan, how was your walk, and how long do y'all walk? I need to start doing that, but it's tough to convince myself of that.

I worked out on my rebounder before going to the chiropractor this morning. Had a good adjustment and am going every two weeks now. Then at the end of our TOPS meeting, we did 10 minutes of chair exercises which are pretty vigorous considering you're just sitting in a chair. We had music today, and that really energized everyone.

Dinner tonight will be something pretty healthy and safe at Applebee's. They're honoring veterans today with a free meal, so the guys wanted to go. My friend and I are both in TOPS, so we'll be watching what we eat!

Wishing everyone a happy hump day!

milkdud, glad Olivia is safe - ha! Enjoy your dinner at Applebee's!

We usually walk on the average about 1 and 1/2 hours each morning, from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Weekends we take a break or go on our own. I wore shorts this morning, and it was a little nippy on the legs! But it made me walk faster! It helps having a walking buddy, although sometimes we kind of get on each other's nerves....

Suzanne, I knew not to "spoil" the ending for the Biggest Loser. I can't wait to hear what you thought about it....

Hello!

I don't know how I missed Maddie's post way back up there. Hi Maddie! Yes, I am owner, operator and case manager.... : )

Milkdud, WHEW!! I was wondering as to the expense of getting prosthetic limbs for an octopus. One less thing to worry about. Now, what about this turtle??

Jan, that's a lot of walking. I do 30 minutes on the treadmill as I don't have a walking buddy right now. I find I am more inclined to exercise when I can do it in my pajamas. I turned 1/2 my garage into a mini gym and I am much more faithful now. Still, it would be nice to have a buddy...

Suzanne, have fun at the parade. My flag is flying high today!

Today is another one of those "administrative days". See how nicely I am avoiding my paperwork?

Thank you veterans for all you have done for us. I am greatful.

Make today count!!

Tikanis

Tikanis, 'turtling' is when your weight stays the same as it was the week before. No gain, but no loss. It's a good thing when an innocent octopus's limbs are at stake. LOL Most of us turtled today because there have been 3 big eating events that most of us attended this past week. Next week is looking pretty safe, so I hope to see some kind of loss.

Jan, that's a really long walk, girlfriend! I'm most impressed. Wow! I don't think I've ever walked that long in my life - intentionally, anyway. :-)

Well, off to run a few errands. Great to see the new posts!

Hi everyone,

I emailed BJ earlier today and this was her response. Please send lots of light and prayers her way.

Greetings my friend,

Where in the heck are you? I hope all is well. Stop in at the forum we miss you.

xxx...ooo

I'm in a state of depression.
One of my very good friends lost their 9 month old baby to complications of that STUDID swine flu. The funeral is on Friday.
We're all heartbroken.
And not that it matters, but I've gained every pound of weight I ever lost back.
Sometimes, I hate the fact that life is so fragile.
I'll be back...soon.
Love,
BJ

suzanne, thanks for sharing BJ's note - what a terribly sad time for her and her friend. I'm so very sorry and will keep them all in my prayers.

((BJ and friend)) Some things just make absolutely no sense. Sending love, light and prayers your way.

Glad you are all losing or staying the same!

Tikanis - glad to see you back!!!

I have been MIA but the good news is construction is well underway and I have been involved with that and very, very busy with work. Hope to have time to slow down and catch up with all of you and my life in general this weekend.

Suzanne, your property is gorgeous.

I will try and post some construction pics before/after within the week. I am a picture taking fool!

Will try not to be MIA so much - take care and be safe!

Glad Ida wasn't a big deal to Milkdud and Jan.

Take care,

Donna

Good Morning!

Dear BJ, I am so sorry to hear of this! Thoughts and prayers coming your way. My heart goes out to the family of that little one. What a tragic loss.

Donna, thanks for the welcome back! What are you building?

Busy day ahead today....

Tikanis

It's Friday, YAHOO!!

Come out, come out, where ever you are! Don't make me talk to myself any more than I already do... : )

What is everyone up to this weekend? Inquiring minds, you know.

Tikanis

Good Friday all,

I have tons of chores to do this weekend in preparation of winter!

Yesterday I went to Equine Affaire in Springfield, MA. It was a great day and I saw tons of people that I haven't seen in a long time. Lots and lots of horses of course! It was fun.

DH is FINALLY home this morning! First time I have laid eyes on him in six weeks! He looks pretty good too! LOL Should be a fun weekend getting caught up.

TGIF - check in if you can.

Good Saturday all,

It's raining here which puts a damper on the outside work today! I woke up to see five deer in the new field. It was nice to know that they were safe from the hunters!

Hope you can check in and say hello.

Hi yourself, Suzanne! Sorry to hear about your rain. I know you were looking forward to some outdoor time : (

I am running errands this morning, hoping to pick up a new bike and some desperately needed new clothes. Then, back home to putter in the winter garden. I feel a homemade soup craving coming on...

Next??

Tikanis

Good Saturday morning, everyone! It's sunny and warming up here to 79 this afternoon.

I've been up and out to my church women's monthly meeting. Our guest speaker today spoke about her husband's death from breast cancer 5 years ago. He was diagnosed 20 years ago, and with chemo, he had 7 cancer-free years, then they found spots on his lungs, and with Tamoxifen (sp?) he had another 5 good years before it moved to his brain. I'd never thought about men having breast cancer before, but it accounts for 10% of the BC deaths these days.

Donna, that's great that your construction is under way! I'd love to see progress pics.

Suzanne, at least you're rained in with your hubby at home, right? It could always be worse. LOL

Tikanis, I hope you find your perfect bike and new clothes. Have fun out in the garden, too!

BJ, I'm sending you good vibes and comforting hugs. Please pass them on to your friends. How sad for everyone.

We played canasta with our friends last night, and it was almost like old times. Lots of laughs, bad jokes, and ribbing about our playing. We've been erratic about playing since our friend Larry died, but I hope we get back to playing regularly because it's good for all of us to get together.

I think that hubby and I are going sightseeing this afternoon. There's a town called Spring about an hour away from here, and their 'old town' is officially opened and dressed up beginning today for Christmas. I've never been there, so it will be fun to see it at its prettiest the first time. I'm always up for finding fun odds and ends for those little 'extras' at Christmas or even for birthday treats.

Hubby has decided to join the church, so tomorrow is the big day. He's been waiting until all our friends could be in attendance to join, and it's taken 2 months to reach this day. He's already immersed in several volunteer things around there, so this is almost just a formality. I'm glad he came to this decision on his own without any pressure from me, too.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Happy Saturday all.

Suzanne - it is raining here too, but I am at work, so it doesn't really matter. Glad DH made it home safely.

Donna - I thought of you when they showed the Shore on the news the other morning WOW. You must be thrilled to get this project underway.

Jan - you are really so dedicated to eating well and exercising - I am very proud of you and your chilly legs.

I am going to a friends house for Paella tonight, it should be fun and she is a great cook, so dinner will be delicious.

Enjoy your evening.

Milkdud - I hope you enjoyed playing tourist today.

Tikanis - what fun to get a new bike.