Bloomin' Grapefruit!

You can take that whichever way you like! Both probably fit. My increase in allergy symptoms is explained. It is neat to see the pretty little blooms though, followed by the cute little baby grapefruit.

I figured that if I was already feeling "hayfevery" it wouldn't hurt too much more to make a very quick trip outside to take photos. I could definitely smell the flowers, and tried to avoid breathing as much as possible! Wouldn't you know, the battery in the camera would run out while I was out there, and I had to make a trip in to replace said battery, then back out to finish my photo taking.




This is a good over-view of a tiny section of the tree. You can see some open flowers and some buds. I think you can even see a blurry "set" grapefruit off to the side. All the photos are a little blurry when you look at the larger versions---it is quite breezy outside!




Here is a closer shot of just some buds! Aren't they cute? They look like they will be opening up soon!




And here is a final closer shot of some open blooms. Sorry for the bit of blurriness. You can see Mike's blog for a good photo of some set baby grapefruit! We don't seem to usually lose too many of the blooms or the baby grapefruit to wind, etc, so I guess once they are big enough to be more visible I will have to go out and cull a bunch of them. Maybe I will be more aggressive with it than I was last year. We lost very few of the bigger ones when we had the tail of the hurricane go through this past summer.

It is amazing to think that it is Friday already. This week has gone by quickly. Less than a week now till Anne's wrist surgery. We will all be so glad to be done with that.

I talked to Christine briefly on IM yesterday! She is being bothered by allergies, and was suffering from a bad headache. They were expecting an American couple who were to come look at the house. I think she said the guy is stationed at Ramstein. The movers are supposed to be back today to get Brian and Christine's unaccompanied baggage. The house will sure be empty now. I think they will be moving into temporary quarters early next week.

Had I mentioned that they are going to be putting traffic signals in at Murrell and Old Glory? Those are the roads that we take to get to the house---turn from Murrell onto Old Glory, and then right onto Crane Creek. We really do need the lights, and I will be glad when they are installed. The crews have been working on the initial stuff for a while now. They have been digging, putting in all the underground bits. Traffic continues to increase on Murrell, and the "over 55" development across the road has their main gate right there at that intersection. Some of them get quite impatient and don't use good driving practices!

Taking Down That Border!

I am now officially really ready and prepared for the delivery of the new bookcases. They can call any time now!

I wondered if the room would look funny now, with a big spot without border. Nope, it doesn't! I like it better. I was afraid we might have gotten so used to it, that it would be missed. No worries there! Here is a photo of the wallpaper border in Mike's cave:




The left edge just shows the part I had gotten to with ripping it off! My aim was to do this all with as little mess as possible, since there are some parts that will be harder to get to than others, and I won't want to have a big mess down the wall. I found that dampening the border with a slightly more than damp sponge made it quite easy to lift the edge and rip off the top part of the paper. Further dampening made it fairly easy to scrape off the lower part. This paper has/had a ton of glue, and left a lot of residue. I scraped off as much as I could, and used the meshy side of the sponge to wipe off as much as I could. I think I will try going over it all one more time, with warm soapy water. One really nice thing, there are no marks to remove. I know in some of the rooms, they used pencil drawn lines as guides, but that wasn't the case in the cave! Now for some comic relief...




Anne took this and must have jiggled the camera a bit, as it isn't quite focused. She nearly died laughing, as I was dampening the under part of the paper, and left the sponge while reaching to do something. I didn't even think about it, but the sponge stayed right where I left it. The sponge has mesh on the one side, and almost a velvety (soft hairy) covering on the other side. It is the velvety side that stuck so handily to the wallpaper!

I was surprised to see that in the photo, the part that has all the paper removed looks darker than the rest of the wall. While I was working on it, the area that had been papered looked lighter than the rest of the wall. All I can figure is that the glue residue photographed funny? This was taken before the final washings of the area. It all looks just fine, now!

The best part of it all is that I finished more than enough for the purposes of getting the bookcase put in. Now I can take my time with the rest, although I don't plan to drag it out too long. I so much like the look of it without the border, that I am anxious to have it all finished and off there! I am sure Mike will appreciate the disappearance of the flowery stuff, too! Once all that is done, I think I will start taking down the border in the kitchen.

Not much else from here. We had cranes in the yard yesterday--Mike rather startled them when he came around the corner of the house and almost ran right into them! He was making the rounds, looking for things to photograph. He has been enjoying the new lens and has taken a number of really good photos!

Nothing new from Brian and Christine. This is always a busy time, getting ready to move, closing out the old job, and looking forward to the new assignment, etc. Of course, having the baby keeps them on their toes, too!

Busy, Busy

Well, time is flying by. With any luck, we will be getting a call soon to arrange a delivery date for the bookcases! I can hardly wait!!!!! I am so looking forward to getting the rest of the books unpacked. I miss them! Not that there aren't plenty of other books in the house. I had no trouble filling the first 4 bookcases we ordered! Still, those lonely packed-away books are surely looking forward to their release.

And, the best part, is that I am ready for them! Another day or two would be okay, as I still want to take down at least part of the wallpaper border in Mike's cave. If all I do is remove the little bit at the spot the bookcase will go, that will be fine, as the rest can be done later. I just don't want to have to empty and move the bookcase once it is in place, unless it is for some other reason!

The best part was getting the space in our room ready---I got it all finished over the weekend. It is a wide space, as two bookcases will go in there, right next to each other. I have pretty well decided to "live" with the flowery wallpaper border and the paint color in there. We mostly sleep in there, with the lights off (haha), so the wall color and the border aren't as big a deal as the border is in Mike's cave.

Anne has blogged again, a neat quiz about her, on her One Day at a Time blog (link in the side bar). Just be sure to scroll down to see it, as it is a bit too wide to show at the top of the page.

I talked to Brian and Christine both on IM yesterday. It sounds like all is going well there. Their unaccompanied baggage will be packed and carted off on Friday. They will sure have an empty house after that leaves.

Mike's new camera lens arrived yesterday! He has been impatiently waiting for it to arrive since he ordered it last week. This is the lens that he has been saving birthday and Christmas money for. He had a lot of fun, it seemed, taking photos with it yesterday! I saw some of them, and they were truly awesome. Some of the ones he showed me were so detailed, you could see water drops on the swan's head! He does have one swan photo on Flickr taken with the new lens. No water drops on this one though.

Do I dare? Yes, I do! Here are some photos of hibiscus blooms that I took the other day.










They were taken with the old camera, of course. I find the new camera to be rather scary---all those bits and pieces and buttons and things to adjust and and and..... I am comfortable with the old one, and it still takes good photos, and suits me to a T!

We are done with our cold front, and are warming up again. We are back in the 70's and 80's again. Still no rain, except for that tiny bit last week. There was a brush fire to the south yesterday, down in Palm Bay. No danger at all for us, but a shame, as it was at a park down there, and there were houses that could be in danger if the fire wasn't contained in time. I haven't seen the paper yet to see if they did get it under control in time. Isn't it weird that our big fire risk times are in the winter and spring, and in California it is in the summer? But it makes sense, since our rainy seasons are reversed. Go figure!

Busy Morning

But I am sure, not as busy as the morning at the Walters house in Lufkin! They are into day two of the big neighborhood garage sale. I know Jo and Eric are hoping to sell a lot of things that they really don't want to take back to VA with them!

Christine has posted on the moving blog! It sounds like they are moving right along on the house cleaning. It is so much easier when the house is almost empty! It does help not having carpet to worry about too. The house is quite large, but I think it will all go pretty smoothly for them. Brian is good at dealing with all that too so that is a real help!

Mike tackled the doorbell today, as it suddenly stopped working one day. After much searching, he finally found one that was close to the right size. However, he found that it doesn't fit right. The home stores are all packed, it being the weekend, so I will look around on Monday and see if I can find something that will fit. The good thing is that he was able to get the wires on the new one hooked up, and the doorbell worked, so he did accurately pinpoint the problem. Now if we can just find a doorbell that will fit properly! I think in future, any time we are expecting a hurricane or part of one (!!), it would be a good idea to cover the doorbell and the lock on the front door. It is amazing how stuff gets blown into those little holes.

Oh, by the way, that photo of Meggie in Mike's chair---it was taken from above, so the bit of chair at the bottom is the back of the chair, and the bit at the top is the seat of the chair. Thought a little clarification was in order!

It is really pretty out today. We have had a cold front come through, and both today and tomorrow it is only to get into the 60's for the high. It is chilly but sunny and very pleasant out. It got quite cool in the house during the night, I might have to put the heat back on for tonight.

The jasmine has a good number of blooms open now. Once it is all filled out more, it will be really gorgeous when it is in bloom. Here is a close shot! The blooms are so little, it is hard to see them otherwise!

Movin' On Up

Or out? I had an email from Brian. The movers arrived yesterday as scheduled. There were 4 of them, I think. They arrived at about 9 a.m., started packing by 9.30 and sealed up the last crate just before 7 p.m. Brian says they only took two smoke breaks. He says they did a really good job. There are 6 regular crates, and 2 smaller ones. I am sure the house looks pretty darn empty. Of course, they still have the things they will bring on the plane, and the unaccompanied baggage too. I am not sure if they have a date yet for that last pack-up.

Brian says they plan to start cleaning right away, and get that all out of the way. Smart, right? Always best to get a head start on those things!




This is Meggie's second favorite spot to snooze! She loves to camp out in Mike's chair. There must be something special about the spot, as Mickey has discovered it too, and often beats Meggie to the spot! Sometimes, Mickey will sleep in the chair and Meggie will sleep on the table.

Not much going on here. We had a little bit of rain here yesterday. Truly a little bit. I don't think we got enough at the house to even show in the rain gauge, although it was enough to get everything wet.

I spent a bit of the day yesterday flattening out the last of the packing paper from the sun room. It was quite a big pile, from my big box-unpacking-orgy in there before Christmas. I left it for a good while, as the kitties loved playing in it---they would burrow under the paper and I am not sure they didn't play hide and seek or something! It is all gone now, at least as far as Meggie and Mickey are concerned! I also got some extra space cleared out in the computer room, in anticipation of the arrival of bookcases someday. Things are really coming along. I will be so happy to have the new bookcases!

Mike didn't walk yesteday, as the weather was still iffy. I think that was a wise decision, as Anne and I had heard some thunder late in the afternoon. I have still been using the nordic track, and I continue to increase my time. Anne still gets on it now and then too. She has found that it helps keep her back from hurting.

Happy Birthday, Mom (Walters) and Philip!!!!!

Yes, they share a birthday, but I don't think they have ever met.

Happy Birthday to you both!!!! And many happy returns of the day!!!!

Mom, here are some jasmine blooms for you!










There still aren't very many open yet. I think there are about 6 total open so far, but still plenty of buds on the vines. Yesterday when I was outside briefly, I could smell flower smells, and I think they were from the jasmine. It would have been a pretty smell, if I could tolerate those things!

Let's see, Phil, what would be a good photo for you? I have always liked this one, especially the fact that Mike actually took the photo, it isn't just something from the newspaper or online! I hope you like it too!






I hope you both have great birthdays!!!!!

We tied the old record high yesterday. The record high for the day was set back in 1977! Yes folks, we hit 90 degrees! It didn't feel that hot, not by a long shot. Of course, I was only out of the house a couple of times. The air index was not real good, between the allergins and the temperature, and we stayed in rather than have Anne risk an allergy attack. I think we really must be getting well used to the heat here though---I really wasn't sure if it was going to make it to the 87/88 degrees they were predicting. It actually was warmer here than it was in Orlando. It helps so much that we have the nice breeze, and it was really quite windy yesterday. It does help make it feel cooler.

I had forgotten to mention the baby swans! I see Mike made mention of them in his blog. When Anne and I were coming home from the base on Monday, and were turning on to our street, we saw a mama swan, and 3 babies, at that first lake. We were surprised and excited, as Mike had been watching for babies, and had rarely even been seeing adults, and hadn't seen any babies. We hope he gets a photo op soon! I wonder if the babies are just barely getting old enough to be out?

While on the baby animal topic, we saw on the news that a baby giraffe was born at our local zoo, which is not more than maybe 2 miles from us. They showed pictures on the tv and it is so cute! Well, in the way that most baby animals are cute!

I got the space for Mike's bookcase cleared out in his cave yesterday. Just two more places to clear out, and I will be ready for the bookcases to arrive. I sure didn't want to wait till the last minute! I am so looking forward to having the rest of the books unpacked!

Well, this is getting too long, so I will wish Mom and Phil a happy birthday once again, and close for now!

And Now For Something Totally Different!

Here is Meggie, in one of her favorite spots. She loves the heat from the lamp, we think! She has a huge variety of ways of lying in this spot. Check here now and then for more of them!






Here's Mickey! She loves to get on the computer desk, especially when she can be sure of being in the way! She loves to rub on things---the desk, the monitor, your arm, etc, and often will lick my hand or arm. Strange little cat!






Humm, they call this thing a "mouse" but it doesn't look or smell like a mouse to me. They sure are strange people!

Another Monday

The weekends sure do zoom by quickly. I did find that Sunday afternoon dragged a bit though! I finally got busy and cleaned all the one pound plastic baskets of strawberries I had bought at the commissary. They were all still in pretty good shape. It took hours to get it all done though. I was cleaning strawberries when Mike left to walk, and I was still at it when he got home about an hour later.

I did get through them all though. Some of them were put on parchment paper lined cookie sheets, and went into the freezer. They are now safely ensconced in two quart-size ziplock freezer bags. The majority of the rest of the strawberries went to make freezer jam. They are busy "setting up" right now, and later this afternoon they can go in the freezer. There were some berries left, to be lightly sugared and put in the fridge for snacking. Yumm!

I have been busy paying bills this morning. Not fun, but it goes pretty quickly, so I can't complain too much!

I looked outside a minute ago, and saw that Sam and Ethel, two of our local sand hill cranes, and two buddies, were across the street in our neighbors' yard. However, the buddies looked really funny. Their legs were way too short. I took a second and third look, yes, they really were sand hill cranes. But what was going on with their legs???? Turns out, they were sitting on their knees! I don't think I have ever seen them do that before. It really was strange. They finally stood back up again, and wandered along.

It sounds like Cairns, in Queensland, Australia, got very badly hit by Cyclone Larry--a catagory 5 storm when it hit. Tropical cyclones are the Southern Hemisphere equivalent of our hurricanes. We are so relieved that our Aussie friends in Queensland are down in the Brisbane area, far to the south of Cairns. I am sure Anne has fond memories of Cairns, as it was the final stop on her 3 week visit to Australia with the People to People program. She spent her 16th birthday there too--in Cairns. By the way, Cairns is pronounced the same as the word "cans." In any case, I am sure they have a long road ahead of them, restoring order, rebuilding and repairing, etc.

Well, I had best go get some laundry started and some other house work done! Take care and more later!

This and That

Don't look at the truck. The focus/point of the photo is the tree. It is a bottlebrush, next door in Helen's yard. I was a little bit surprised when we moved here, to find so many of them, and they were in tree form. My Grandma and Grandpa Brady had one, at the end of the porch at their house in Elsinore. I think I always thought it was a vine type plant, as their's always seemed to vine and trail along in a lovely manner. Anyway, bottlebrushes remind me of them.

This tree is quite nice, and provides a nice touch of color most of the year. I can see it from the bathroom window while I am in the shower, and it makes for a nice view!

Brian reports that the customs guy who came yesterday was actually just someone from the moving place, seeing how much stuff they had, etc, so they will be ready to come pack them up on Thursday. A case of wires crossed, I guess? I imagine they are still busy trying to get things sorted out and weeding out things they don't want to bring back with them. It sounds like they have things well under control. I know they will be glad when the move is all done and over with!

Anne has been doing more spinning, and knitting. She has a couple of knit projects that she wants to be sure to get done before her surgery. She sure won't be able to knit with her arm in a cast, even if it is a light one. She has been regaining a little bit of weight! We are all really happy about that.

Mike did some checking and found there are a number of park/nature areas around here. I think he went and check out one of them this morning. He has blogged again and has a photo of a big bird he spotted! Really neat! He has been out for a walk today too. I have been increasing my time on the nordic track---I do it in two segments, so that the sciatic nerve doesn't start bothering me.

Nothing much going on here, so I think I will go for now. Jo, I hope you all are having a good time in Lufkin with Mom and Dad! Say hi to Russ, Amy and Skyler for us!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!!

And, Happy Birthday, Kathleen! I'll not be telling your age, just in case! (In case you don't want it broadcast!) We hope you have a great birthday! In lieu of shamrocks, I present this photo of greenery from the yard.




Sadly, it is dollar weed. It is much smaller than it looks when you click on the photo, as I took it close up. At least if it has to be a weed, it is a sort of cute weed?

While I was at the side yard anyway, I took a photo of the very first open flower on the jasmine! There are plenty more buds, so it should all look quite nice later on.




Isn't it pretty? It was a close up too, the flower is teeny.

Anne and I had kind of hoped to make it to the beach yesterday afternoon, but it was so late by the time we got out of the house, we changed our plans. We went to our outdoor mall and had a good walk instead. The weather was really nice, not too hot, so it was really a good time to do that. They are putting in an A C Moore, which is a craft store. We will enjoy having a good browse once it opens. It will be nice to have yarn so much closer! There are a number of other shops and restaurants going in too. Meanwhile, the Outback going in down on Wickham is coming along. The outside is almost done and they have the sign up. Hurrah!

Meanwhile, back in Germany.....Brian and Christine were to be dealing with the customs guy today. I believe it has mostly to do with making sure yard tools are clean, etc. I don't know what else might be involved. I think Brian said the movers are due next week, so I know they will be very busy.

Well, that is it for now. Once again, Kathleen, Happy Birthday!

Sunny Breezy Day

That is what it is like outside, sunny and breezy. It is cooler than yesterday, 71 degrees right now, and only expected to get a bit higher into the 70's. It is a change after 86 yesterday!

Spring is definitely here. How can I tell, you ask? The oak tree, which was almost bare, has re-leafed! It only seems to take a couple of days, from the first hint of green, till the leaves all seem to be in place, full grown overnight it sometimes seems. Also, the little row of bushes in the bed in front of the dining room window are in bloom. Just a sec..... there, I went outside and took some photos--here is the best one!






While I was outside anyway, I went around to the side of the house to check on the jasmine. It continues to grow and spread, as desired, and I noticed it has buds on it! It should be in bloom soon. I will keep an eye on it so I can post pix of that too!

So, even in a really warm climate like this, there are signs of spring, if you just ignore the temperatures and look! I also noticed a dragonfly yesterday afternoon. They seem to leave during the winter months. There should be new baby swans soon, if they aren't already in place. How cool is that?

Okay, enough of spring. I can tell it is spring anyway, from the allergies. They aren't too bad, just a few sniffles, but I don't look forward to the grapefruit blooming. Oh well.

The bug man did make it over yesterday, right on time. We do so enjoy the lack of bugs that results from regular spraying. Unlike the store-bought sprays, the sprays Mark (the bug guy) uses have no scent--or at least barely do. Can you imagine, he told me they used to add the scent---it was considered a safety thing. Go figure, eh? They stopped adding it when more and more people (and bug guys!) started having allergic symptoms from it.

Anne and I made a trip to the base yesterday afternoon, to do some more fridge and freezer replenishment. They are both still pretty empty, but are getting there. They had a good special on strawberries, so I got 3 more containers. I will freeze some so Anne and I can make strawberry sorbet some time. And to just have. I have even been thinking about making freezer jam, now the the freezer is so empty. It is always so good, and I know Anne and Mike like it. We will see.....

Not much else going on here. I did get a lot of sorting done in the living room, and I want to get more done in the dining room too. And I still have to get the spots ready for the new bookcases! It will be so much fun to get the rest of the books unpacked and shelved. I miss my books! Once they are all out, I can get to work on finally getting them all cataloged and can see just what all I really do have, what I am missing, etc.

Like Sands Through the Hourglass..

So are the days of our lives?

Isn't that how the beginning of one of those soap operas went? Both of my grandmothers liked to watch their soaps, that is where it comes from! I don't like them, don't watch them, (soaps, not Grandmas!!!) etc. But, the memory does play funny tricks on us sometimes, and reminds us of long forgotten phrases, etc. I guess this one is somewhat fitting?

It is beautiful outside again. I don't generally get tired of it. I am not even tired of the sunny days, as has sometimes happened. Does that mean I am getting more and more used to it? Of course, too little rain has consequences, with increased wild fire risks, etc. Our area is quite nice and green still, so I don't think there is too much risk near us. Meanwhile, Crunchy Frog's weather report and AOL agree that it is 78 degrees outside. They generally disagree on the current temperature. Is it a conspiracy? In any case, I won't complain about the weather.

Mike is out for a walk. I will be getting on the nordic track soon. There is always something to do, right? I am glad that we are at least making an effort to take care of ourselves and get healthy. I know we won't regret it.

There is not much going on around here. This past week was busy with the doc appts. This week is clear, so far. It will be a relief, to tell you the truth. I hope to get some more sorting done. I have had a slight reprieve, as on Friday I called the unfinished furniture place I ordered the bookcases from. They said the bookcases should be ready about the end of the month. Whew! I am glad they are taking a just little longer than the 6 week or so the guy said when I ordered them. I just am not ready yet. So, I had best get a move on and get ready! I want to be ready for them before they arrive, rather than making a mad scramble after they have called to set up a delivery date. Once the new bookcases are in, I can get to work on emptying more boxes! Hurrah!!!!! That will free up so much more space, once the rest of the book boxes are emptied. I will finally have a realistic hope of finally getting the house arranged and things settled. It is about time, right?

He Fixed It!!

Yes folks, the repairman fixed it. The broken fridge, that is! What could be better--he came in a timely manner--he called as he was leaving the appointment before mine (I actually had nice warning time!), he quickly found the problem and had the part he needed! And it wasn't the compressor! I don't think I could ask for much more.

Turns out it was the relay that leads to the compressor (that nasty "c" word that usually means a lot of money). Thank goodness we got to skip that one! He found the part in his handy trusty van, and got it installed. He asked about the water filter in the fridge--yes, it really really did need to be changed. He actually had the right one in his van too, and replaced the old one for me. The charges were way less than a new fridge would have been!

I had thought I would go grocery shopping in the afternoon, but he said it likely wouldn't be down to the right temperatures till the evening and technically you should give it 24 hours, so I decided to hold off. Even this morning, they are a little higher than they should be, but just a little. I have adjusted the temperature settings in the fridge and that should take care of it. So, we will do some shopping after Anne's appt this afternoon.

On the plus side, it is nice to have the freezer all nice and clean. I still have a little bit of cleaning to do in the fridge, but at least all the perishable stuff is out of it now.

This week has held much more excitement than we needed, and not fun excitement. Doesn't that stink? It is more than time for some really good luck (although I consider the fridge good luck in that the timing was okay and it wasn't the compressor!) Anne sure needs some good luck. She really isn't happy about having to have surgery on her wrist, but she also doesn't want to live with it as it is, so there isn't really any choice.

Just a quick little reminder, today is the 10th, and that means that the Pampered Chef catalog sale I am doing for Christine ends in just 4 days. If you want to order something, and need any assistance, please email me or leave a comment on this blog and I will get in touch with you! Thanks so much, it is greatly appreciated!

What Else Can Go Wrong?

This will be quick, and without much detail, as I have housecleaning to do. Great fun, right?

Even more fun was finding out yesterday evening that the freezer was not freezing. Anne came and showed me ice cubes that were melting, and mentioned that she had gotten water out along with the ice cubes. That is NOT supposed to happen. Great fun. A check showed that there was a definite problem. I called Sears, for lack of any better idea of who to call. We have always been able to count on Sears for appliance repairs. They don't care if it was bought at their store or not.

Well, they can't come till tomorrow (Thursday). I asked for a morning appt, since one was available. I just hope it can be fixed! I was just as glad that they couldn't come till Thursday, since Anne had her appt with the orthopedist today.

She will have to have surgery on her wrist. Well, there is the option of not doing anything. But, if she were to take that option, she faces no alleviation of pain-- it won't get any better than it is. She still has enough pain that it wakes her up, so that just won't cut it. Surgery, it is. The date is set, it is 6 April. It is out-patient surgery, so in and out. As my dad calls it, drive by surgery. It will be done arthroscopically, so there will be minimal intrusion. She will probably be in a light cast for about 4 weeks, and then a splint for about 4 weeks. She will also have more pt. She is not happy about it, but the alternative is not an option. There are no guarantees that the surgery will help---although it should. It won't make it any worse, and that is really good news. But at this point, and at her age, it is stupid not to do everything possible.

Well, I have to go and finish clearing out the freezer, and part of the fridge. I got some fridge thermometers, and they are reading about 60 degrees, in both sections. Way too warm. Did I say that I really hope the guy tomorrow can fix it? I really do! Check back tomorrow for an update!

OOPS??

Okay, I am looking at the blogs, and wanted to go to Christine's Pampered Chef page to look at the host info, and when I clicked on the link, it didn't go. To her page, I should say! Oh dear. I don't know if it works for you all or not, but I figured I had best go ahead and blog with the address so you all can get there if you wish to. It is:

www.pamperedchef.biz/chefchris81

So sorry for the problem, I hope it hasn't been an inconvenience to anyone. I guess I will have to check with my mentor and see if I did something wrong in putting in the link.

Otherwise, it is Friday. Nothing new to write about, I guess. Anne and I did see a movie yesterday, it was pretty good. It was nice to have an afternoon out, doing something fun. After the movie we walked around the outdoor mall---literally did, as we walked all the way around the store side of the outer ring. The weather was nice, bright and sunny, and warm. We had a good chat, got some exercise and a little bit of sun...couldn't ask for much more. Today we will go to a library book sale, and maybe check and see what is new at Joann's.

Catching Up

Well, sort of, anyway! I know it has been a few days since I have blogged. The days at the Court House---Monday and Wednesday---were long and tiring. But, it was a good feeling to do ones civic duty, to actually serve on a jury, to manage to agree on a verdict, and to now be free from jury duty till next time the computer randomly picks my name! It was an interesting experience, and I feel that I learned a lot. I was also extremely glad to find that most people reporting for jury duty seem to leave off the perfume and cologne (THANK HEAVENS!!!) and I wasn't bothered by scents and smells. Hurrah!

Now to try to get back to every day life. Anyone who reads Christine's blog (see link in sidebar if you don't!) knows that I agreed to do a catalog sale for her. I know almost no one here, since life has primarily revolved around getting Anne to work, getting Anne to doctor appts, unpacking boxes, avoiding hurricanes (!!), etc. If you read this and have any burning desire to order any Pampered Chef items, let me know! I will even put a link to their online catalog! Here it is: link to Christine's Pampered Chef webpage Once you have clicked on this and the web page comes up, you will want to look the catalog/order info. It seems that the different servers show the page differently. Christine says that hers shows a button on the right hand side that says "Order Pampered Chef Products". When I went to it, through AOL, I found a button at the bottom of the page, that says "Order Products". (If you just want to take a look around first, you can always just click on Our Products, at the top of the page.)

Anyway.....if you click on Order Pampered Chef Products, or Order Products, it will take you to a page that lets you tell whose show you are ordering for. Look at window 1, put my first name in the first slot and last name in the second one (I tell you this, because I noticed "organization" but not "first name" the first time I looked, only put the last name in that slot, and got the same page back, asking me to put a valid name!) Then click Find Host, and it will take you to a page that lists the product catagories. You can look at the whole catalog this way. And, if you see anything you want to order, as long as you have signed in to my catalog party, I will get the credit, and it will help Christine meet this goal she has to meet. If you want/need any more info, please let me know. Thanks to anyone who does order, Christine will appreciate it as much as I do. No obligation though...!!!!

Not much going on, and I think Anne and I are going to a movie today, to get her out of the house and busy doing something fun, so I have to scoot along for now. Take care and be good--haha! More later....