Happy Thanksgiving

 Hi~!   Remember me? Sure you do!!

It has been oh 4 months since I blogged.  I have today and tomorrow off work so I thought about wishing everyone who celebrates a Happy Thanksgiving!

I sure would have loved to post today about COVID 19 being in the past, but alas it is still spreading rampant here in the U.S.  A vaccine is in the works, though I won't be running to be first in line.  It worries me that they streamlined this on a fast tract....(to who knows what for those who get the first shots). Anyway didn't want to make this a doom and gloom blog, so enough about that.

Despite COVID, life goes on...my granddaughter is days away from being 10 months old.  My other daughter had her baby boy October 1st.  Here is a picture taken just a few days ago as the youngest is out visiting her sister (and others) for Thanksgiving.  My little extended family is growing. :)  So I can say I am a proud grandmother or Grams as I like to go by....to a granddaughter and a grandson.  I haven't seen Asher in person yet. I'm sure I will some day.  I have to just be cautious with this ongoing pandemic.

After years of working for the same employer, I decided to make a move to a smaller company that had better pay, and better opportunities.  I did this in September and am very happy with my new employment, although it is still very busy and I often work seven days a week.  (The reason I haven't been blogging this year much.)

I am still having fun singing on the online karaoke when I can.  I make sure I am still exercising 6 days a week and eating healthy.  It is the same old routine but I like it.  I feel grounded and content.  I am not one of those people who has to go out and do things, all the time (or even sometimes).  So luckily I do not have any issues with isolation or depression that others during this pandemic are experiencing. For that I am grateful.   Hubby feels the same way I do, so we are on the same page about our lives right now.  He supports me for working so many hours as he knows I love what I do, and it helps to save more toward retirement.  I'm hoping to retire in about 4 years.  We'll see.  I may always still work part-time somewhere after being retired a bit.  I don't know.  I've got plenty of time to think about it.  Hubby and I do want to take some road trips on Route 66 when I retire which I'm looking forward to.  

Well I hope everyone is staying safe, and happy!!  Until next time. :)

Nearly 2 months later...and COVID 19 still rampant

Hi !  I'm sorry it has been close to 2 months.  And here in America COVID 19 is still going rampant....in fact Texas has been hitting some records (and not in a good way).  Prayers to all!

I thought I owed it to ya'll to at least post a blog this week since I have had this week off!
It is the first full week vacation I took off in over 2 years!  It was a staycation but a much needed rest for my brain.  LOL.

I spent part of last weekend finishing up our tax returns since we took advantage of the extended filing date.  I was glad to get that done.  I also cleaned up my office as that had been a while too.  My desk has never looked better!  There is wood there under all that dust!

One of our dogs had been developing a bad bacterial skin infection so I spent part of my time off taking care of her.  She has had 3 baths with special shampoo (that has to soak in for 10 minutes) and I sewed some leg sleeves for her from ace bandaging to cover a spot on one leg that she keeps licking to help that heal better.  Her skin condition is improving but we did go ahead and have her tested for food allergies and she is allergic to some foods including beef and rice (which most of the dog foods we give her have). So a change in her diet is also happening.

When I gave her the first special shampoo treatment I forgot to take any kind of timer with me so I doubt it was the full 10 minutes.  The second time I shampooed her I remembered a timer but didn't bring anything else in the shower area with me, so I was really bored though I did rub her back a lot to rub the shampoo in better.
By the third time I got smart and also brought my iphone in so that I could have something to do in that 10 minutes time. :)

A long 10 minutes for Tika

Hand sewn sleeve

Keeping her from chewing!

 Then we also saw the youngest and her daughter on Thursday for a nice visit.  We hadn't seen her in over a month due to this pandemic but we sure had a great time. Our granddaughter is such a joy and was laughing a lot!  Such a happy baby!

Baby Adeline - almost 6 months old

Snicker, snicker

Other than that I also sorted through some clothing and jewelry that really needed organizing. I also got to watch some Netflix.  All in all a very nice week off, though it went by too fast.  At least I still have a whole weekend to go before having to really use my brain again! :)

Almost Memorial Day....

Hi !  It is me.  Hubby guilted me into blogging this evening by asking me when the last time was that I blogged and I couldn't remember.  So I opened my blog to see when exactly was the last time. I was happy to be able to say "I just blogged last month" in response to his question. And since I'm here anyway I might as well post since I don't know when I will get the chance to again soon.  Why is that?  It is because I have been working more than ever.  LOL.

The company I work for has gone 100% remote for the most part and with that and the low interest rates, it seems that everyone is working all the time. Well not ALL the time. There is the needed energy (food) time and brain rest (sleep) time that are important to squeeze in between the work time. I'm working so much that I've had to stop and ask my hubby if we are still on COVID19 lock down.  He said "You look familiar but I can't quite remember your name".

So hopefully you are convinced that I haven't had the time to blog because I really haven't. That being said, my granddaughter is nearly 4 months old and I haven't seen her for over 2 months, we have already hit our first 100 degree day here in Texas this year and Memorial Day is right around the corner.

That pretty much gets you caught up. :)

Toilet Paper

If your area is anything like mine, toilet paper is one of those hard to find necessities today!!
Every time we order curbside, delivery or even give up and go into the store, there is none to be found.

When my mother was still alive I used to shake my head when she'd insist on using just one square of toilet paper to wipe. She grew up in the depression era and I guess it just stuck with her to always be very conservative with toilet paper use.  When I took her to doctor appointments and she had to use the rest room, I'd insisted she used MORE than one little square.  I don't know how she did it, because I definitely need more than one little square.  I was afraid to ask her how much she used when she went #2!

Growing up during the Depression was a challenge for many I gather from the stories my mom told.  One dim light bulb for the one light over the dining room table.  Eating bread with lard on it was a treat, and going without was a daily event.  I'm hoping that with this pandemic and how long it is taking to get through the states, that we don't head in that direction.  So many are already losing their jobs or have loved ones who are sick or both. Hope we will all get through this strong!!

Back to the toilet paper shortage though, these days I do find myself trying to count out no more than 4 squares when I use the toilet, well unless it is #2.  ;-)

What do we do when we are told to stay home?

Farmers Market was Open

I have been really yearning for some honest to goodness fresh vegetables for a while now.  The stores have been understandably sorely lacking in that department and I found out that our local farmers market was still taking place in a shopping center parking lot in town.

I donned a pair of thin gloves for protection and went on Saturday when it opened in the morning.  Although I could not find any eggs that hubby wanted me to get, I was able to get loads of vegetables to satisfy my fresh veggie withdrawal.

I picked up beets, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, carrots, scallions and also got some local honey and fresh strawberries. Although one of the fingers of one glove got a hole in it, I was still very pleased with my purchases and there weren't a lot of people there at the time I went.  

A spinach salad with carrots, scallions and califlouwer was in order for lunch! :)

Then I blanched and froze most of the vegetables to have as sides with dinner for the next few weeks. I did the carrots this evening after work.  I feel much better about the vegetable situation now!

Fresh Spinach Salad 

Blanching broccoli and cauliflower

Beets cooling after blanching

Chopped carrots, ready for draining and freezing

Near the end of March..

I know it has been over a month since I blogged and that was not intentional.

Things at work were getting busier and then I went to visit my granddaughter the first weekend in March after the news of the virus spreading to the US was increasing.

I hope that everyone reading this is safe and well and did not have anyone close to you pass away from this horrible covid-19 pandemic.  It is really a scary situation and it is hard to not be worried about everyone's future.  I feel such respect and frustration (empathy) for the areas hardest hit and the hospitals and doctors/nurses, etc., trying to deal with the lack of equipment, masks, beds, all the things that are so badly needed.

I am grateful that my loved ones are healthy and safe and I hope they remain that way.  My oldest is pregnant and due the beginning of October.  She has a lot of nausea from the pregnancy but hopefully it will go away very soon.

The stores have been picked over by hoarders over and over unfortunately and there are several items that are rarely available.  Hubby was waiting outside one of the three grocery stores in town at 5:30am to try to get some things we needed last Tuesday.  He didn't get everything but was able to get some ground beef and chicken. Our county is on a 'stay at home' order and nothing but essential businesses/services are open right now.

I was happy to find out that the Farmers Market (food is essential) was still going on and was open this morning. It is held in a shopping center parking lot.  I got there when it opened to try to avoid crowds.  I wore a pair of thin gloves that we happen to have but I did get a hole in one of the fingers so it didn't really help that much.  I really was missing getting fresh vegetables and was so happy to get broccoli, beets, carrots, spinach, cabbage, strawberries, and a few other things I can't recall now.  I plan to blanch and freeze small portions of much of the vegetables so that I can pull out what I want to heat up to go with dinners.  We have only had canned vegetables for a while and that is just not the same.

Hubby and I are staying at home for the most part except for shopping for food.  We used a curbside pick up today which went pretty well and we are going to try a delivery service too.  I really don't like him going out at all because he has lung issues from having smoked so many years so I would consider him high risk.  

I am, as I'm sure we all are, looking so forward to being on the other side of this monster!!