redhenfarm

I'm surprised to be the first one here since many of you are earlier time zones. Glad to tell ya it's not raining this morning. I love waking up to the birds chirping as long as it's not the jays or crows with their harsh sounds. We'll be going to church this morning and then who knows? I like to get some fun in and maybe we'll drive to the beach (an area where the spring break group isn't as bad) and walk around a bit. How's everybody else this morning?

Happy anniversary, Theyd. I think you and DH have to be the nicest pair to put someone else in need ahead of yourselves today even though you surely deserved it. I hope the rest of the day was super.

Dee, forgot to say yes I remember Johnny Rivers. For the life of me I can't remember his big hit but I remember the sound of his voice. Whatever that song was I really liked it. Is that a senior moment or what?

Good morning everyone. Am I ever glad it's the weekend. It's been rainy most of the week. We had one big clap of thunder and lightening one day but that was all. Some days it poured and others it just rained off and on. So today I'll be home and plan on cooking. Yesterday when I was on the mail run at work I saw a bald eagle soaring. They nest out on the point where I work but it's always a treat to see them - first one I saw this year. They won't allow anyone to go out to the point during nesting time to protect them. I'm on my third cup of coffee so wide awake and I hear DH just got up so I'm going to make breakfast for us. Snowmom: Sounds like you are mighty happy about your secret pal box. Is the snow melting? Lois: Sorry about your loss. I'd better dash before DH pours a bowl of cereal! Jan

Hi Dee: Glad you are back. My DH retired last March. In all our years of dreaming about our future it didn't happen the way our dreams went. I went back to work two years ago in anticipation of DH retiring and my not being covered by health insurance. So he's at home all day, sometimes at loose ends, and I'm working in a stressful job and don't feel like doing anything after work. DH plays golf but it's not practical to do that every day. He plays while I'm at work so he is almost always here. I rarely have time to sit and think to myself and I've found that's pretty important to me. So I've had to be up front with DH about this. Now sometimes when I come home for lunch (which I do because there is nowhere to eat lunch but my desk and if I do that I keep working and my health was being effected) sometimes he makes sure he is gone somewhere. The other part is he now does a lot of the housework (just like I did when he was the sole worker) but it sure isn't the same. I love the guy. All I'm saying is it's a big adjustment and it's sad to me I can't take part in the free time he now has. I will also say I've heard from other women whose husbands retired they feel like they are underfoot all the time. So my advice: talk about it before it happens so it won't be as painful after the fact.

That is so true! DH's cousin just gave him a pile of photos. We recognized some (a few of DH and his brothers when they were kids, his grandmother and grandfather through the years) but many we don't have a clue. Some even have names but we don't know who they were. We sort of figured out some were his grandmother's sister and her family in Wisconsin years ago and the ones with the sister are usually marked "Martha" or "Me, my daughter, etc.". When we go through our own photos we'll have ones like "three fish DH caught in 1978"

Good morning. I've been having a hard time getting on here except later at night when it seems everyone is probably in bed already. Counting down the days to the weekend. Things haven't been bad. When I heard my boss was going on vacation I thought another staff person whose nickname could be "too big for her britches" would make things difficult but she has had to take on responsibility and I think it's an eye opener for her. Really got a lot of pouring down rain yesterday and even some thunder and lightening. This morning is wet but doesn't look as bad. Mommyof5: I think I'd like one of your muffins and some fresh raspberries for breakfast along with my coffee. Freezing muffins ahead sounds like a great plan. We don't get that hot but time is a problem for me. Hope all goes well for your DD and DS with their bio dad. Theyd: Hope things are okay for you at work. It sounds uncomfortable to have spy stuff. In my case, I know it's there and I never write personal emails at work or use the internet there to visit any of my personal sites (like here) not because I say anything that is questionable but because it's none of their business. That's a pretty heavy thing to have your boss's young daughter confide such stuff to you.

Here I am late in the day again. Got some rain today and most of this week. In some ways it's quieter without the boss there - she tends to talk at me from her office - often just venting about something but I have to stand and politely listen. So all in all things are going okay and the person acting in the manager's place this week has been okay. Phew! We have a lone daffodil blooming on the bank in front of our house. This is a place we keep hoping to fix (plant things on it). I don't think we have anything private at work. I know they can and probably do check up on what we do on our computers, voicemail, internet and may be the phones, too. They aren't allowed to videotape the students (which would solve a lot of vandalism) but wonder if they do us? Creepy.

Ta da! Mine is going to the post office tomorrow. What fun it has been filling up that box.

I'm late getting here today. All went well but it was a busy day as usual. I started trying to leave at 4:10 and managed to get out the door at 4:25. I made Tex Mex Fiesta Casserole for dinner, an old favorite. Gonna read and collapse in a bit. Lois: Happy anniversary! I didn't know you could get books on family names like that. Cat: What a busy Sunday. I like the sound of the wallpaper with the rocks and water. I didn't like it when my DH had to travel for work either. Some years back they were sending him about 3 weeks at a time maybe 3 or 4 times a year. Not fun.

Inn of the Six Toed Cat Pea Salad Serves 6 1/2 cup Kraft fat-free mayonaise 3/4 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 teaspoon tumeric 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 2 tablespoons skim milk 1-1/2 cups cold cooked rice 1-1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed 3/4 cup finely chopped celery 1/4 cup finely chopped onions In a medium bowl, combine mayonaise, curry powder, tumeric, ginger, and skim milk. Stir in rice. Let set for 5 minutes. Add peas, celery, and onion. Mix well to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Gently stir again just before serving.

Brigid: Your bathroom sounds great.

Good morning. It's a beautiful morning here. Fifty three degrees right now. I just took my walk around the back yard in my bathrobe and garden clogs. We have a fir tree in the back corner that "planted itself" and was too big to remove when we got back here (without a lot of expense). The plus is the birds love it and there was a robin sitting on the very top singing it's heart out. I saw a lone raccoon earlier. I have six daylillies a coworker gave me last year that are looking healthy. Some I didn't get to see bloom last year so this year it will be a treat seeing what they are like. I saw things that really need to be moved - getting too big for their location. I love this quiet time of morning. Yesterday was unplanned and a lot of fun. I talked DH into taking me over to the quilt show across the river. Bought raffle tickets so at 3:30 today is the drawing. It's a beauty and I sure wouldn't mind it ending up at my house! Our original plan was to come right back home but we changed our mind and drove down the peninsula. We drove on the beach and parked to watch the waves. The tide was high so we didn't go far. Had a good talk about this and that. Sometimes we just have to get blasted out of our routines to do that. Then we looked in a couple of little shops and DH found a picture of a place further down the coast that he just loved and we ended up getting it for him for his birthday next month. Then lunch or "linner" (almost dinner) and home. He did get the lawn mowed. Snowmom: You have a lot of fun with your family history. Wow! 200 names! DH's cousin recently gave him some family photos. We had only 2 of his grandmother and 1 of his grandfather and now we've seen quite a few. His grandmother looked like a wonderful, warm, happy woman. Isn't it funny how our weather varies across the country? This is unseasonably warm here. Jan

Sounds like what my brother-in-law said. No dogs. Then the dog can only be in these places... and on and on. They have the absolutely most spoiled dog I've ever seen now! When we visited we were warned at the door not to look at the dog or she might get aggressive (!!!)and not to pet her or talk to her. So the dog sat looking at us growling and snarling if we started to move off the couch. Yikes! Cute as a bugs ear but who would know when you can't pet it or let it know you are looking at it.

It's cold this morning (46) but we're forecast for 65 so things are looking up. I should have put my fleece slippers on - feet are cold. We're going to an annual quilt show today and I'll get raffle tickets for a beautiful quilt they are raffling. I'm always sure I'll win but they haven't called me yet. After that I've got a lot of housework waiting.

Let us know if you ever find out how they got there. So new critters for you, eh? What do they look like? I never did find out if our neighbor caught their bunny that was running around our front yard and driveway. I hope so and don't want to know otherwise. We've got a busy street out front.

It's afternoon here. I'm home for lunch. Beautiful day here. We're at 50 degrees. It'll be a shorter day than usual for me because of the time I've already put in this week. Hurrah! Snowmom: So glad it is going well with your niece. A heat wave, eh? Brigid: Don't you love fresh paint? What color?

I remember rag curlers - I think that's what they were called. My aunt would wind my damp hair around rags. I remember running out of electricity during a storm and we all went over the a neighbor's for potluck because they had natural gas and could cook without electricity. I remember playing outside in the summer with the neighbor kids until it was dark and we all headed home. We played hide and go seek, statue and leap frog and we'd roll down the hill on the grass (and got grass stains on our clothes . I can remember after a neighborhood get together walking down the back field to my grandmothers house with my sister and a neighborhood friend with all our arms linked while we sang "The ants go marching one by one..." and it seemed like the best time in the world. Do kids get to do things like that anymore?

Good morning. 48 degrees here and raining.Yesterday I was so tired after work I went to bed at 7:30 and got up at 5:30 this morning. Snowmom: Will pray for your neice. I remember when one of my kids was just about that age or maybe a bit older and reached up and touched a hot burner. It just doesn't occur to them they can get hurt. More snow, eh? One of these days you are going to tell us it's all gone and the sun is out. Will that be May? Jan

I want to do #1 also. We live on a hilltop and the cars zoom over this hill (supposedly 25 mph). When I'm watering out front I'm awfully tempted to go "Ooops" with the garden hose. The hairdryer would be more effective.

I remember hearing yellow is a "buy me" color for houses but can't remember where/when I heard that. It's hard to not be able to plant when you have the itch. Our previous neighbors behind us had a property out in the country for years and she would grow trees in containers and then when they got too big would plant them around the perimeter of the property out there. They moved last year. She was a pretty formidable gal so I bet the bulldozers didn't dare go near her trees. Jan

Good morning everyone. Snowmom: Pets can sure be that way. "everybody get up" and then they go back to sleep. Thank you for your prayers. Busy day for me at work. A local farm store is going out of business so DH got 3 big bags of cat food, bird seed and suet at 40 per cent off. Have a good day all and Happy St. Patricks Day. Jan

Good morning! Oh, Snowmom, I remember (my pre-working days) when I didn't have anything planned. I'm really longing for those days again. My boss is gone next week to Missouri and I dread it. She is a good support to me. There are three nurses where I work who try to run rough shod over everyone. I have almost quit twice because of their meanness. So here it's only Tuesday and I'm dreading next week. Sorry to be such a downer this morning. Chat was fun last night. Getting to be time to mail out those Spring Fling boxes, eh? I need to tuck a few more things in and make sure the box is good and strong to travel all those miles. Jan

Good morning. It's 39 here right now. Sad to see the weekend gone. Mondays are busy (but not as bad as Wednesdays). We usually have a waiting room full of students who don't want to go to class - coughing and hacking and looking pained until staff are out of sight and then I can hear them talking and laughing . The nurses are getting better at saying "Go back to class". Snowmom: When you told your story about getting locked out and having to climb over the gate I was afraid you'd say you couldn't get back over going back. Being diabetic we aren't supposed to go barefooted. When I took classes at the hospital I heard a horror story from a lady who stepped on a popcorn kernel and couldn't feel it. Becca: We considered putting up plastic on the windows in the winter but got stuck wondering what to do about the big windows. Also when the sun is out I like to be able to see outside. Every now and then we talk about new windows but know they would cost so much. Theyd: That is a lot of 3's! What is your lucky number? I'll remember chat tonight. Jan

Good morning. We're at 46 degrees now and the high will be 52 with light rain. Snowmom, I cannot beat your story by far! It did remind me of many years ago when our kids were young and we all went to the middle school track to run. We had a new car. After running a mile we discovered the keys were locked in the car. I think it's the first and only time we did that. So walk a mile home and for the life of me I can't remember how we got into the house but it was all locked up. Yesterday was really good. I got the kitchen/dining room cleaned up, floors mopped (I love walking barefoot on clean floors), and would you believe I finally took down the New England Christmas village on top of the entertainment center. So I'm taking out more spring/Easter things. DH bought me daffodils last week (ours bloom in April) and they make me happy every time I look at them. Then I pruned the roses (heh, heh deer - I got there first). Theyd: Happy birthday a little late I just love Saturday and Sunday. No rushing and dashing out of here. I can just sit and drink my coffee in leisure. Have a great Sunday everyone. Jan