We're Faster Than We Look

Week before last Amelia started running a fever and obviously was not feeling well.  Darryl took her to the doctor who said that it was probably a virus and would not prescribe anything for her.  Darryl stayed home with her a couple of days and Amy stayed home a day.  By Sunday it looked as though she was going to be fever free for 24 hours.  Monday she went to school and after lunch the school nurse called saying that Amelia had a temp of 101.  Darryl gave us a call to see if we could help.  He and Amy both needed to be at work and it looked like she would miss school for at least another day, probably two.

I was in the process of making a batch of dressing to go with a turkey we have in the freezer.  I quickly finished up what I was doing.  We threw clothes in a suitcase and headed for Atlanta within 1 1/2 hours of Darryl's phone call.  On the way there, he let us know that the doctor said she had a sinus infection and finally prescribed some antibiotic for her.

We arrived around 10:30 PM.  We went right to bed and Amelia woke us up the next morning.  Amelia is always happy to see us.  We spent most of the day taking it easy.  She wasn't as active as she is sometimes, but she didn't seem to puny although she continued to have a little fever.  That afternoon we were reading together out of her "chapter" book, "Lemonade Wars".  She wanted to read just the parts in quotes and wanted me to read the rest which of course was the most reading.  Bubba was sitting across from us and while I was reading a pretty long section, he told me she was asleep.  She slept snuggled up against me for nearly an hour.  That seldom happens so I know that she wasn't feeling too great.

By the next day the antibiotic had started working and she went through the day with a temp below 99 degrees.  She was on target to go back to school Thursday.  We had a good day.  We danced some.  We played dolls some and we played a video game some.  She asked her Paw-Paw to read with her.  This time she took the longer part and got Paw-Paw to read the parts in quotations.  And, if he did not read without enough expression to suit her she would show him the proper way to read it.  Bubba also performed a chicken dance for Amelia and asked me if I could do that.  Of course, I could!  Anything for a laugh. That night after she brushed her teeth and was settled in bed, she asked me to check her temperature again. She wanted to make sure she was going to be able to go back to school.

Thursday she went back to school.  Bubba and I delayed returning home until the next day just in case she started to feel bad after she got to school.  We went to Jaemore Farms which is about 30 miles north of where Amy lives.  They recently started picking their strawberries and I wanted some.  While there we shared a strawberry fried pie and we each got a cup of homemade strawberry ice cream.  I love that place.  I can't wait until August to get some more of their good peaches.

Darryl had our car washed and vacuumed out for us Thursday night.  Then they took us out for Mexican food.  

I slept most of the way home on Friday.  Bubba listened to Fox News all the way home and I just snored away.  We both slept well that night.  That trip gets longer every time we make it.  But, we hope that they will always feel like they can call us when they need help.  I just checked and Amelia is doing fine and is happy to be back in school.  I'm sorry Amelia was sick, but we enjoyed the time we were with her.

By the way, one of her challenge words in spelling this week was onomatopoeia.  I just had to cut and paste it because I couldn't remember how to spell it long enough to write it myself.  Things have really changed in school a lot since Amy was in first grade.

We had a storm come through the Monday morning before we left to go to Amy's and our yard was a mess.  It looked like days of work but Bubba got it done pretty quickly.  

We have a camping trip with Joe and Judy coming up soon.  We're looking forward to camping at Lake Eufaula.  It will be our first time at that state park.  Hopefully, we'll catch some fish.

Mr. Clean, Boiled Eggs, Vacuum Cleaner, and Celery (Retirement Is Not All Fun and Games)

The month of April 2015 lay out in front of us.  There was nothing planned for the whole month.  The calendar was mocking us as there were no appointments, no reservations, nothing...  So we decided that we should be able to accomplish a lot around the house this month.  It was just a week ago that I had all my cleaning supplies out and was determined to go after every speck of dust in our house.  Then, of course, the opportunity to go fishing presented itself and I accepted.

Towards the end of the week I did clean bathrooms and bedrooms.  But for the first week that was it.

Yesterday Bubba and I worked together (rainy day) and rearranged the back porch and cleaned it good.  Yea!  We were finished by noon and did nothing the rest of the day.  But we did meet one of my goals.  

Today I pulled out all my cleaning supplies and set as my goal to clean down the hall, the living room, dining room, and kitchen.  What a lofty goal I set!  Bubba went outside to work in the heat and humidity to trim the shrubbery and I went to work inside.  By noon we were both exhausted and we have quit for the day.  That's okay.  We can do that, we're retired.  I fixed a salad for our lunch which in my opinion is more trouble than cooking a full meal.

Did you know that if you wrap your celery in foil when you bring it home from the store, it will stay crisp?  Bubba saw that somewhere and it works!

Yes, this is all I accomplished working all morning, but I can assure you that there is nary a speck of dust in this area.









While I was working, I began to think of some of my favorite practical things that I've recently discovered and decided I would share with my one or two readers.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is nothing new, but I've just recently found some things it can do that surprised me.

It will clean the grease spatters off an oven door.  I recently needed the repairman to come so I decided that my oven needed to be clean.  I tried a couple of cleaners on the oven door glass and then decided to try the Magic Eraser.  It worked and without a lot of elbow grease.

While cleaning on the back porch, I used the Magic Eraser to clean the ceramic tile in the area where Bubba fries fish.  It worked!  

It will also remove gunk from the floor when you're mopping.

I love my Bissell Zing Vacuum Cleaner.  I can carry it while I vacuum and it doesn't break my back.  The suction it has is amazing.  It was only $50 and I bought it from Amazon.











Bubba and I enjoy boiled eggs on our salads and as a mid-morning snack.  They are so hard too peel sometimes.  I've tried a lot of tips on how to peel them and adding baking soda to the water, but this is the best tip I've tried.  It will work on eggs that are really fresh which are usually the hardest ones to peel.

 Put the egg in a jar with a lid and about half full of water.  Then shake, shake, shake.

The egg comes out all cracked up like this.Occasionally on eggs that aren't as fresh, the peel slips off in the jar.  

In other news, I'm enjoying my iPhone 6 more that I thought possible.  All these pictures were taken with my phone and I think the quality is better than pictures I've taken with our camera.  I've heard from Amy more and when I sent my new phone number out, I actually got a call from a friend I had not talked to in a long time.

Amelia texts me while she is waiting for her food in a restaurant.  The first one from her said, "Hi Nana, what are you doing?"  I responded and asked what she was doing. "Texting", she said.

What House Work?

I mentioned in my last post a lot of things we hoped to accomplish over the next couple of weeks.  On Saturday, Bubba and I raked leaves until we were worn out.  Then I came in and fixed a carrot cake and potato salad to take to the church luncheon on Sunday.  By the time I got a Boston butt in the crock pot to cook overnight to take with us, I was exhausted.

We had a really nice service for Easter.  Attendance was great.  Afterwards we enjoyed a covered dish luncheon in the Fellowship Hall of the church.  When we got home, we got in our recliners and that was it for the day.

On Monday, we hit the yards with our rakes and before too long we had raked everything that we needed to rake.  Bubba will cut up the rest of the leaves with the lawnmower.

Tuesday we had to buy groceries so that took most of the day.  I still haven't figured out where all the food goes, but somehow we always end up at the grocery store.  Tuesday afternoon, Bubba's friend, Charles, stopped by the house and he had been on the river catching a few fish.  We decided that we would go the next day.

So Bubba got up Wednesday morning and cleaned up the boat and went to buy fish bait.  We were on the river by 9:30.  The fish were biting good enough to make it interesting and we tried several fishy looking sites.  We ended up with 31 and Bubba fried them all for supper.  Of course, we couldn't eat that many but he has assured me that he will eat them cold all day tomorrow.

In other big news, I ordered an iPhone today.  It is supposed to be here Friday.  When I e-mailed Amy about it, her response was "Praise the Lord!"  I hope that means she will communicate with me more since I will now be able to text easier.

Thursday I had a dentist appointment and then headed to Panama for a much needed pedicure.  Bubba went fishing with Charles and they weren't biting as good as they did yesterday so I'm glad I seized that opportunity to go fishing.

To make a long story short, I have to get some things done around the house on Friday and Saturday.  It's always easy to put off housework for doing almost anything else.  So cross your fingers that I'm able to get some work done before Sunday.

Bubba caught the first fish of the day.

Then I caught my first fish.  Yes, I'm wearing gloves -- no worm gooey on my hands!

Isn't this one a beauty?

I love catching these.

We both love eating them!  Good times & Good food!

Georgia Veterans and Seminole State Parks

After a couple of weeks of spring weather, we decided that we wanted to get some camping in and take advantage of all those beautiful warmer days.  Even though it was spring break for a lot of schools, we figured that campgrounds situated on lakes would not be that popular right now.  Well, we were half right and half wrong. 

We wanted to go back to the Georgia Veterans State Park in Cordele, GA, because the first time we visited there the dogwood were in full bloom and we had never seen such a beautiful sight.  When we went there with Joe and Judy at the end of April, the dogwood had already bloomed out.  According to our calculations, the last week in March should be perfect for dogwood.  Well, we did see some beautiful dogwood, but mostly not in the park.  I think we were about a week too soon this time.  Also, we were hopeful that we would get a place on the lake but we were not counting on it.  That is a good thing; there was nothing left on the lake.  They have another area that is more wooded for camping that we stayed in.  It makes up for not being on the lake with really big sites and a lot more privacy.  We did have a good site there and we were happy; however, it was so cold that we were limited in being able to enjoy the outdoors from our recliners.  We did take several long walks which we enjoyed.

We found a little restaurant at the entrance to the park which we had overlooked on past trips probably because it is built onto the end of a gas station and didn’t look like much.  When we got to the park and got set up on Friday, we were starving and decided we would try out this little restaurant.  They had stopped serving lunch and were in the process of shutting down until suppertime, but they offered to fix us a hamburger.  It was really good and we vowed to return the next night for their catfish special.  It just goes that you can’t always judge by the outside appearance of places.  This place was so clean and the people there so friendly that I’m looking forward to eating there again.

Other than the dogwood, we wanted to go back to Cordele for the sausage we have found there.  We went back to Stripling’s and bought enough sausage to last us for a while.  I’m thinking that we need to go back there in August.  That is when we got the green peanuts and boiled them at the camp site last year.

After spending three nights there, we went down to Seminole State Park near Bainbridge, GA.  This is one of our favorites.  We were not looking forward to running into a spring break crowd again because we really like to be on the water there.  The days were starting to warm up and it was feeling like spring again.  Imagine our surprise when we had the pick of the sites on the water!  I guess this part of Georgia had their spring break at a different time.

We went into Bainbridge for a few groceries and ate lunch at restaurant, Ricky’s, which we had eaten at before.  They have a very good buffet and we enjoyed a delicious meal again.  Making the day even better was the Belk’s store that was located next door.  I was able to find a bargain (Tervis tumblers) that we had been wanting for the camper.  So that was just a little perk as there is nothing like a bargain to make the day better.

Our last day at Seminole is perfect.  (I’m sitting outside writing this now.)  The sun is shining.  I’m wearing my short pants and short sleeves.  Bubba has been out on his kayak and now he is sitting beside me reading.  Since I’m finishing up my blog, I’m going to get back to my book.  For some reason I had “Swiss Family Robinson” on my Kindle and I started reading it.  I don’t think I’ve ever read it before although I saw the Disney movie several times.  It’s pretty good although I usually prefer a mystery, usually one where the woman sleuth solves the crime.

We go home in the morning where plenty of things need our attention.  Easter Sunday awaits us and for the first time in several years we will be at home.  I don’t prefer it; that’s just the way it is sometimes.  Our neighbor, Mr. Patterson, has been ill for the past few weeks and had been in a rehab facility for the past two.  We think he will be home this weekend and we’re looking forward to having him back where he belongs.

We’ll be at home for a while now.  In addition to some projects in the yard and around the house, I’m hoping I have an opportunity to see some of my friends from work.  They are really the only thing I miss about working.  I also have some doctor appointments I need to make.  That’s hard to do when you feel good.

As much as we enjoy our camping trips, we always remark when we return, "There's no place like home.!"

“The Part I’ve Always Wanted”

One of the best things about being retired is that we can visit family more often especially when something important is going on.  Amelia told us the last time we were there that the children’s theater workshop that she attends was going to do a play and she was going to be the Little Red Hen, which according to her is “the part I’ve always wanted!”  Wow!! Can you imagine an actress getting her dream role at the age of seven?  Well, of course, we wanted to be there for this momentous occasion.

In preparation for the visit, I baked her (us) a Texas Sheet Cake which is a very moist chocolate cake with a very rich chocolate frosting.  I could tell when I tasted the frosting that this was going to be a cake that Darryl and Bubba would not like so I jumped in and made a sour cream pound for them.  I had bought a can of decorator’s icing so that I could write on the chocolate cake for Amelia.  Just let me say that I now have great admiration for cake decorators everywhere.  You can see that I was too shaky while trying to write with the icing.  It looks like I had the palsy or something. When we arrived, I handed Amelia the cake and told her it was hers.  She said, “Awwww, thank you.  That is so sweet!”  It has only been a month since our last visit and she already seems older somehow.

I promise.  It was better tasting than it looks!

We gave her the clothes rack and doll clothes we had made for her and she seemed quite pleased.  She dressed her dolls up in their Halloween costumes for a picture.

Amelia seems pleased.

Dolls are ready for Halloween.

Her Aunt Judy had made French berets for her dolls.  (She says it only took 45 minutes for each one.)  We also had to get a picture of those.  Thanks, Aunt Judy!  They were a hit.

It's hard to believe that she can make these so quickly.

Darryl grilled some delicious hamburgers for dinner and of course we had dessert.  Amy had made one of my favorites, Blueberry Yum-Yum.  She and I enjoyed a sampling of the chocolate cake and the yum-yum.

Amelia’s costume for the play was complete other than something for her head.  Amy ad I went to Joann’s Fabric Store and bought a tiara type headband and a red feather boa.  I tacked the boa to the headband with thread and needle in several places so that it would stay together.  It made the little red hen costume just perfect.

Monday, I had lunch with my cousin, Vicky, while Bubba stayed at home and took it easy.  I also did a little shopping on my own and was able to find a cute pair of shoes to wear Easter.  It should be noted that after Bubba counted my shoes in 2009 and called me at work to tell me how many pairs I had, that I got rid of every pair that was too worn or hurt too much to wear which left me with very few shoes.  Now that I’ve got some new navy shoes to wear with my new navy blouse and pants, I need another top to wear with my navy pants so that I can wear my new navy shoes more.  It’s like a never ending cycle.  It’s like painting a room and then having to buy new furniture.

Tuesday we met Amy at the high school where we left our car and picked up Amelia. Then we went to the Aurora Theater and met Darryl for the play.  I am totally not prejudiced in any way.  Amelia had the longest speaking part and she spoke clearly, loudly, and slowly enough that I could actually understand what she was saying.  She did great!  I’m glad she is getting this opportunity.  She is a very confident little girl and speaking in front of an audience doesn’t seem to phase her.

Amelia stomps her foot and is angry as she tells the lazy farm animals why they will not get to help eat her fresh baked bread. 

 The Cast and Their Teachers

I think our Little Red Hen is adorable!

Flowers from dad for the actress! 

 Amy, Amelia, and Darryl

Paw-Paw, Amelia and Nana

After the play we went to Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner.  I guess acting made Amelia ravenous.  She ate almost all of her mac and cheese and her fruit cup.  Of course, when we got home we enjoyed more chocolate cake and yum-yum, called out spelling words, and went to bed.  It was a fun day and well worth the seven hour drive up there.

The next day we headed home.  Usually we wait until 9:00 EST to leave, but we thought we would try leaving earlier.  That did not work.  We were in the worst traffic ever.  It added an extra hour to our drive that we could have spent relaxing and drinking coffee at their house.

We are so proud of our Little Red Hen.  In addition to being a great actress, she recently won a writing contest for first graders at her school.  There are about 15 first grade classes and her story was selected for first place.  Her mom, the English teacher and a writing contests winner herself, has apparently passed her writing gene to her daughter.  I’m hoping Darryl has passed down his math gene!

Two Weeks at Home (What Have We Been Doing?)

We had two pretty busy weeks at home.  In a way I wished we had been camping because we got the first hint of springtime and that makes me want to go somewhere.

Bubba was busy outside.  He bought some black spray paint and painted our outside furniture after blasting off all the loose paint with the pressure washer.  It is now a nice shiny black and looks great.

No leaves in this picture.  It didn't last long.

He replaced our hibiscus plants that just never seem to survive cold weather with two new ones.  One of them has two different color blooms on it, one is a peach ruffle and the other is a deep pink ruffle.  How cool is that?  It’s a good thing because until I realized that they were both on the same bush; I couldn’t make up my mind which color I wanted.  Bubba chose a big single bloom for the other one.  I love hibiscus.  They bloom like crazy until cold weather and I just love looking at them.  As I’ve said before, the hibiscus has a good life lesson for us in that the bloom only lasts one day.  To me that says make the most out of the time you are allotted.  I think $20 for two plants that bring so much beauty to our summer days is well worth it.

This is the plant with the two different color blooms.  The peach bloom is not there today.

We also bought a beautiful green fern for our newly painted cart.  I’ve been roasting a lot of vegetables lately and they usually call for the addition of parsley or dill after they have finished cooking so we thought we would try our hand at growing herbs.  I now have parsley that is ready to clip and the dill is also growing nicely. 

While Bubba was working so hard outside, I was sewing doll clothes.  I really enjoy this although I’ve not seen Amelia playing dolls enough to think that she needs very many doll clothes.  It is a fun thing for me and not nearly as stressful as sewing real clothes.  I’ve now got three Halloween costumes complete with trick or treat bags for our next trip to Atlanta.  I think Amelia will like these since she requested a witch dress and a ghost costume (“But not a sheet, Nana”).

The ghost headpiece is made from an old laundry bag.

Bubba was called upon to assist with the witch’s hat.  (It involved precise measurements.)  I also found a clothes rack on Pinterest made out of pvc pipe and Bubba built it in about five minutes.  He also cut down some baby clothes’ hangers for her doll clothes.

American Girl Clothes Rack

I put up my Easter decorations even though I know that no one will see them but Bubba and me.  Amy and family are going to Baton Rouge for Easter.  But I always tell Bubba that we are worth it.  I’m pretty sure I believe that.

As I was decorating I came across some wreath making items in my craft box that I never finished , who knows how many years ago.  I finished two new ones.  Then I was inspired and after consulting Pinterest, decided to make Amy one for her front door.   I love the hydrangeas used on wreaths, but I discovered rather quickly that they need a 24 inch wreath and not an 18 inch.

My wreath

Amy's Wreath

I also went to Marianna and had a pedicure done by my old friend Tori.  She used to work with me at the prison and I’ve missed her.  She is just getting started in cosmetology and she did a wonderful pedicure.  It was nice to visit with someone who speaks English while getting my toes done.  She did a great job and I will be going back to see her.

My piggies are ready for spring.

What’s ahead?  We’re going to Atlanta soon to see Amelia in a play and we have some camping planned.  After that we have some time at home again.  Our yard needs raking AGAIN.  The beauty of the spring flowers is totally messed up by the brown of all the leaves.  What is so bad is that Bubba has already raked front and back clean once this year.  Another chore that I’ve been putting off since I retired is washing the windows.  I can’t even remember the last time that we cleaned windows other than the ones in the living room.  Fishing should be getting good soon and we’re looking forward to some good fresh fried bream. 

 It's beginning to look a lot like spring! 

Except for the leaves!

I know that I haven’t mentioned diet in a long time.  I seem to be maintaining within three or four pounds.  We continue to eat healthier – a lot of fresh vegetables, whole wheat products instead of white wheat, and as much fresh fruit as we find in season.  It’s almost time for pineapple to be good again!  We also have salad for our lunch a couple of times a week.   My foot problem has finally healed.  I’m almost afraid to say it because I don’t want to jinx it.  I’m starting to walk more and I’m enjoying it.  What more can I say?  Life is good.