March to April

We have a really whirlwind life. I keep thinking someday it will slow down a bit but have the distinct feeling that if it ever does I'll be on my deathbed.

 

March whizzed by quickly but we managed to make it to the dog park twice. The first time was early March when we met my good friend Becky and her dog "Jake". It was pretty cold but the dogs had a blast. We hadn't been to the new park since it opened. It's hidden away and you have to know where you're going to get there. You travel through a really nice neighborhood and just when you are about to give up finding it, the road turns into a gravel parking lot. Most definitely worth finding.

 

The dog park is a great place for dogs to run and play while us peeps get to talk with new peeps. During the second trip to the park with a couple of work friends, I met an old man who adopted a beauty from the humane society and brings her to the park every single day. I kick myself for not taking my camera that day. I love those kinds of stories. They stick with me. I sat and talked dogs with him for awhile. A photo would be a forever reminder of that sweet conversation.  Oh well.  

 

We traveled to Portland and had Easter with the grand kids. We did a lot of laughing and I am continually amazed at what wonderful human beings they are. Sweet, loving, kind, funny and beautiful. We took a nice walk to a bird refuge and later their dad bbq'd an awesome dinner. I made it almost all the way through a whole movie ("Snowwhite and the Huntsman") without falling asleep. We had a beautiful brunch and lovely visit at their Grandma W's house before we traveled home. An awesome way to send March out.

 

Which brings me to April. Hubby is scheduled for surgery on his hand on the 15th. He has been complaining for almost a year about his thumb hurting and finally went to see an orthopedic doc who says there is no cartilage left in the joint. No motorcycling for us until late June due to recovery time. Guess we'll do a little gardening and maybe some dog training. We took in another dog, "Remi". My pet sitter was moving and we offered our home to "Remi" because she just fits in here.

 

******

Last night we met a friend over at our fave Thai restaurant for a late dinner and listened to an awesome band from Portland.

 

Loving life and all the sweet things in it ...

love, susan

Ham Schpam

Do you love spiral ham?  I sure do. I love just about everything about it and today I noted the awesome gold metallic bag it came in.

 

Perhaps they've always packaged them in these beautiful bags but for some reason today it caught my attention. I love how they have "registered" this ham with an actual number. It sort of makes it an important ham, don't you think?

 

I normally only buy one ham a year and it is around this time. I don't have anything against ham but let's face it ... you buy a ham for two people and it doesn't take long to run out of ideas of how to cook it up to make it interesting. I don't think ham freezes very well so we suffer through eating it the whole week.  There will be grilled ham and cheese, ham & bean soup, cold ham sandwiches, ham & tomatoes with a little Pepper Jack cheese under the grill on a sourdough muffin, and perhaps even ham & cheese scones.

 

My hubby tries to stay away from processed meats but he was more than giddy when I produced this beautiful hunk of love. He could hardly wait for me to get a few slices on the pan to grill to go with the cornbread I had in the oven.

 

One of the many reasons I particularly love spiral ham is that it is pre-sliced into perfectly portioned slices and easy to get off the bone. I bought a small bag of 13-bean mixture from the bulk section and the bean soup is in the crock. I doubt we'll eat it all before the week is over but we'll try to not waste too much of it.

 

When I was a kid, mom made a lot of beans and ham. I got pretty tired of it and as an adult it has taken me a long time to come around to liking bean soup again. She had a way of letting those beans get awfully mushy by the time we were done eating a whole pot's worth of them and I have a little PTSD from that. 

 

While this is a lot to do about nothing, I wonder if you have a favorite spring-time food or memory that has become tradition? 

love, susan

The Hanky

It has been far too long since I sat down at my chair to write. I blame my new fancy, smart phone. Lots of fun stuff to play with. I hope I get over it sometime soon. I never wanted to be one of "those" people with a crook in their neck from staring at their phone too long.

 

This post is prompted by a conversation I had with Angie, my co-worker, who I spend a good portion of my day with answering phones and greeting people. We have had some lovely conversations about all kinds of things. But nothing has stirred me more emotionally than talking about handkerchiefs this week. I caught an old-fashioned cold on Sunday and was complaining about how raw my nose is getting from tissue. I made a remark about how I finally get why my grandma always used a real hanky. And that's how it started.

 

A couple years ago, while stopping in to see my aunt, she handed me a quart-sized ziploc bag that contains some old photos, a hand-written letter I had sent to grandma, two scarves and the beautiful pictured handkerchief that belonged to my grandmother. Grandma had died the year before and I did not attend her funeral. I hadn't really thought about her dying. I am the queen of denial. That's just how I roll.

 

I opened that ziploc bag the same day my aunt gave it to me and it was like letting a genie out of a bottle. Ugh. I couldn't stop crying so I stuffed all those things, including my feelings, neatly back into the bag, zipped it up and tucked it away into the drawer with the other things that cause me to cry.

 

Until today, I hadn't looked at that hanky or the photos since the day they were given to me.

 

Time really does heal wounds.

 

Today, I took those scarves out and wrapped them on my head, closed my eyes and tried to remember grandma wearing them. It occurs to me that she always had curlers on when she wrapped the scarves on her head. I don't know. It's been too long. Maybe she wore them around her neck. 

 

But oh, the handkerchief.  It is the most beautiful and I remember that she always had one in her purse.

 

I miss her terribly but today I didn't cry. I smiled and marveled about the chain of events that leads me everyday.  Thank you, Angie, for the conversations on a daily basis. If not for that, I don't know when I would have ever opened that ziploc bag.

love, susan

Goin' Old School

A post the other day garnered a comment: "kickin' it old school" and it got me to thinking about old school stuff. 

 

Yeah, I love packing up peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for an old fashioned picnic. I miss those days with my kid when we would spend a Saturday afternoon at Alaskaland in Fairbanks. There's nothing more wonderful than getting in the car and forgetting about time & worries by going to the park and feeding the squirrels and birds, petting a few stray dogs and listening to kids laugh ... and then cry when mama says it's time to go. It also serves as a good way to avoid doing those ugly chores like laundry and picking up the dog poop.

 

I also love talking to my peeps on the phone. That's considered old school nowadays. Isn't that crazy?  My son has been calling me more often ... usually on Sundays ... and I'm really digging it. I know texting is a great way to relay information quickly but I especially love those friends and family who still take time to have a real, live conversation.  Don't you?

 

And how about letter writing? I have a friend I left behind in Arizona who surprises me with her "old school" notecards. I owe her one right now ... I should be writing it instead of this.

 

And oh, how about the old school Sunday drive?  When was the last time you went on one?  It's not really old school for us.  There is hardly a weekend goes by that we don't get in the car and drive somewhere. Sometimes only 40 or 50 miles, sometimes 300. We tend to solve the world's problems on Sundays. And truthfully, it's the best time for undivided attention to each other. And, packing a lunch to go along makes it more than old school.

 

So, how do you kick it old school?

 

love, susan

Excuses

Oh brother, it's March 8th and I haven't even opened up a "March" photo file on my 'puter yet.

<----- This is my February squirrel.

I blame FB and my new smart phone.

I'm obsessed with the new phone ....

  and "Words for Friends" ....

  and FB ....


Note to self:  must put down the phone and live life.


Stay tuned ....

   it's gonna be a fabulous weekend.


On my list of things to do, not necessarily in this order:

Go to the antique show at the TRAC to visit my friend, Kristy's, space
Finish cleaning up that tree that fell in November
Take the dogs for a walk
Clean up the herb garden
Watch a movie

What are you doin' this weekend?

love, susan


The Best Things

What's the best thing that has happened this week?

• We went to the beach
• I took a long nap two days in a row
• We shared a yummy Hawaiian omelet two days in a row at our most favorite local eatery in Newport (the Newport Cafe)
• We walked out on the dock and watched the fishermen get ready to go out to sea
• We watched a whole movie together
• I shot some great photos
• My hubby met a man who is turning 100 in a couple of days. He was feeding the seagulls at Boiler Bay with a huge smile on his face. I think it made my hubby feel really young. Love that!!
• We stood on the dock and watched the sea lions
• Talked to lots of people with dogs
• I had Monday off
• I noticed it is completely light at 5pm when I get off work

If I stop long enough to look around, I can always find things that qualify as the "best things" that happened this week.

What are some of the best things that have happened to you this week?  Do tell!

love, susan

P.S.  Yes, my husband is licking my cheek in this photo. He thinks it's so funny to do when I'm trying to get a pic of us together. He makes me laugh!

Need a little poke (prompt) for writing? Visit Mama Kat's Writing Workshop. She has hundreds of fun writing prompts.


Mama's Losin' It

Winter Road Trip Pics ~ Newport, OR

 

Signs of Life

What a gorgeous day we're having on the east side of my home state, unlike those poor folks over in Connecticut.

 

This morning I had to turn the car around in the driveway to get the sun to melt the heavy frost from the windshield. By the time I got home with groceries, it had warmed up enough to be outside with just my vest on. I decided to grab my camera and see if anything is poking its head up in hopes of spring. 

 

<<<< Look what I found! Amongst the weeds, there is a bulb sprouting up. Don't ask me what it is. I think it may be a hyacinth but don't quote me. 

I also found a huge, dead squirrel at the bottom of a tree that leads directly up to the bird feeder. My guess is he ate himself to death because I could find no signs that any of our constantly-hungry animals attacked it. That's one less "welfare" recipient at the bird trough. I love the squirrels, don't get me wrong. But they scare the birds away.

Here is another sign of life. I don't know what this plant is called but the flowers are chocolate colored when they bloom. I think they are a smidge early but who am I to say? I'm happy as ever that this plant has survived my home-wrecking border collie. She has totally taken my back lawn down to dirt with her heavy footed landings and take-offs while frisbee catching. I love her more than the lawn.  

Next I decided to take a peek inside the tub I used for putting all my veggie scraps and egg shells last summer. Once I placed the leaves on the top last fall I haven't paid any attention to it. I wondered if there would be a "hot spot" in the middle of it after all the colder weather we've had. I got my little hand rake out and upon closer examination I noticed another sign of life. How exciting!!

 

It doesn't take much to entertain me. I suppose you've guessed that about me already. I wonder what this is growing in my compost??? Regardless, I'm thrilled that my compost is capable of sustaining some kind of life and that all my efforts to recycle my veggie scraps last summer were worth something. I think I'm going to have some rich compost! It's probably time for me to think about adding more to it now. I've been too lazy to put anything in it all winter.

 

The best part of today is not here yet, I'm sure. I have a turkey in the oven and plans to get a lot done today. I just had to share this while I'm taking a break from some major house keeping. I'm not going to go crazy though, keeping in mind what my grandma used to say, "housework makes you ugly". I can't afford to do too much of it.

Hope you have some signs of life wherever you are. Just stop and look around. I'll bet you find some!

love, susan



What 7am Looks Like

This is what 7am looked like yesterday when I stepped on the sidewalk for my little jaunt to the bus stop.

I'm a blue sky, sunshine junkie.

It has a been a busy week and I'm tired but the morning skies really cheer me up.

Long week. No plans. Just living one day at a time, squeezing as much joy out of whatever I can, like catching the sliver of a morning moon.

It's the little things ....

love, susan

My Very Favorite 2013 Super Bowl Commercial

There were a lot of funny commericals, as always, during the super bowl this year. This one really caught my attention and although it's not funny, it really got me. Two minutes is a long time to keep someone's attention for a commercial!  I miss Paul Harvey, don't you?

My favorite funny commercial?  I'm embarrassed to say it was the godaddy.com commerical. The fact that I can remember who's commerical it is goes to show the power of advertising.

What was your favorite?

Random Super Saturday Thoughts

^

^

You know who should have a super bowl?

^ This squirrel ^

 

So, who's playing tomorrow anyway? I need to know. Just kidding. I really don't care. We'll be sitting at home alllllll day tomorrow while my hubby preps for a colonoscopy on Monday. I can't remember the last time I watched a football game.  We're not fans.  However, that new 40" HD tv just might bring the sexy back in football for me.  But probably not. Oh how I wish Madonna was doing half-time this year. The only part of the game I watched last year wasn't even the game. I turned on our old tube as Madonna took center stage. She was so awesome even on that crappy box ... I can't imagine what it would be like on this new one!  Perhaps Beyonce will bring it. I don't even know what Beyonce sings. How sad is that?

 

So, while the rest of the country is tuning in and sitting back with a big bowl of super bowl chili, I'll be encouraging my guy to drink another glass of yummy liquid laxative and try to watch the game. There's always the great commercials, right? 

 

By the way, what does Beyonce sing?

 

love, susan