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My Son Came By

August 8, 2012

He called to say he was taking Friday off. He had a few things to do and would be here around 4PM. The bay bridge gets backed-up with weekend ocean goers. (Is that a word?) Luckily, he was over before it got bad.

I got out the crab meat and corn I had frozen when Sweetums was sick and had no appetite. A neighbor had given us about a dozen ears of corn, most of which I had to freeze. The crabcakes I made were still pretty good and so was the corn. I felt better. I don’t like freezing fresh food. I only buy what I think I will use in a week. Fresh tastes so much better.

My son brought me this beautiful straw hat. He got it from Goorins. I haven’t worn it yet. I don’t want to sweat on it. It’s too nice.

Tags:Bay Bridge, beautiful straw hat, freezing fresh food, no appetite, weekend ocean goers
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Egg Salad to Tuna Salad

July 26, 2012

Sometimes, I like to make egg salad. But Sweetums thinks it’s gross and disgusting. What does he know? He’s from Oklahoma. Well! I’ve come up with the perfect solution. And we both get what we want. I hard boil two or three eggs and make myself an egg salad sandwich. There is about enough left for half a sandwich. I get out a can of tuna ( Have you noticed that they are getting smaller?) and dump it in the egg salad. Sweetums says it’s the best tuna salad he ever tasted. Go figure.

And Cora had tuna water. And it was good.

Tags:Cora, egg salad, gross and disgusting, Sweetums, tuna salad
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My Toes Hurt

July 21, 2012

It was overcast and only 70 degrees when we went out this morning. It was sunny and 90 two days ago. Instead of trying to avoid as much sun as possible, we walked around the defunct horse farm. They keep it mowed so it was an easy walk. We walked down the side drive, then over to the track. There are weeds now and grass is trying to sneak in. We took the long way around and came through the barns on the way back. It was so enjoyable to walk at a good pace without sweating. The bushes around the pond have really grown. Sweetums mentioned that there were fewer geese than in the past. I wonder why. Maybe next time, I’ll check for fresh fox holes. When we got back, I had my usual aches and pains. But it’s hours later now and my toes still hurt. It’s so weird.

I’ve made good progress on my shawl. Sometimes I get a little lost and have to backtrack. I keep losing yarn overs and trying to pick them back up when I purl back can be aggravating. There have also been times when my end of the row and the directions end of the row did not coincide. So I just fudge it. It is one of the joys of using variegated yarn. I do have one obvious hole that I have no idea how it happened. I haven’t decided if I will fix it yet.

Tags:fresh fox holes, horse farm, losing yarn overs, sweating, Sweetums, variegated yarn
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Sweetums was Pooky

July 11, 2012

But he’s much better now. On our morning walk Tuesday (two weeks ago), we had to turn back before reaching the end of the block. By Wednesday night, he couldn’t make it to the bathroom without stopping to catch his breath. When I went to bed, I decided that he would be going to hospital as soon as I was up. Instead, he woke me up at 4AM. He wanted to go. Is it possible to be anxious and happy at the same time? I let the dog out to pee, checked dog and cat chow and water bowls, and got myself dressed. I helped Sweetums into shirt and pants and slippers and off we went.

Ten minutes later, we were in the hospital. There were two other groups there waiting, but everything moved along quickly and he was in a bed with oxygen and IV in no time. The ER doctor was very efficient (and nice) and asked a million questions. He heard a heart murmur and began setting up various tests and x-rays. Our family doctor came in around 7AM and said he was surprised to see him here. There’s never anything wrong with him. He listened to him and said he was 99% certain it was pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs). So then came another barrage of questions. All replies were negative. As a matter of fact, his daily walks should have helped in preventing it.

Well, enough of that for now. Things to do. Here’s a picture of mother wood duck and her kids that I took early this morning.

Still loving Delaware!

Tags:blood clots in the lungs, ER doctor, heart murmur, loving Delaware, mother wood duck, pulmonary embolism
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A Day with Friends

June 23, 2012

Serendipity was having a birthday sale so, naturally, we had to go. I left the house at 9:30 thinking I’d easily be there by 10:00. No such luck. I’m a few miles out when I thought to look at my gas. I had less than 1/4 tank nd I knew there was only one gas station and they always charge more than anybody. I turned down a side road and got out my GPS. I only had to drive three miles to save $0.16 a gallon and it was still along the way. But I was about 15 minutes late. I tried calling Maria, but she didn’t answer and her phone was full. How does voice mail fill up like that? I was going to beat her when I saw her, but I forgot. I knew it was useless to try Betty. She seldom even turns hers on. All that nonsense wasn’t even worth it. They were late too.

We had a great time. Everything was 15% off. They had various demonstrations going on and Maria’s favorite, free snacks. It is really hard not to get overwhelmed by so many beautiful fabrics, patterns, books, and kits. Somehow. I managed to get out of there with one pattern, on kit and three pieces of fabric.

And then, it was on to Sea Needles. They are only a few miles away. It would be stupid not to go. I was happy to see the new Noro magazine. Two of the on-line stores I use were sold out. Betty will become a first-time grandmother in December and I found some yarn that we both can agree on. I have a lovely pair of socks in Panda Silk so I know I’ll enjoy knitting with it.

Afterward, we had a very nice late lunch at the restaurant across the street. I finally made it home by 5:00, tired but happy. There is nothing like spending the day with friends, doing what we like to do.

Tags:birthday sale, Panda Silk, Sea Needles, Serendipity
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Cool on the Nanticoke

June 17, 2012

I was reading Facebook this morning and Jan mentioned that it was 100 degrees. I believe she lives in California. My thoughts went back to those two years I lived in Martinez. It was June when we arrived. I had a seven month old and just realized I was pregnant. The tiny house had no air conditioning. How did we ever live through that? It’s amazing what you can live through when you are young. I sometimes wonder. Would I have stayed if my husband had paid even half the attention that he paid to his friends to his own children? Well. That was long ago and far away. That book is finished. How many books have I written since then? And how many more are left in me?

Tags:California, Facebook, Martinez, Nanticoke
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What was I Going to Say?

June 4, 2012

I sat down to write, but I had mail to read. And then, I wanted to see what Otis and his brothers were up to. Is it going to rain? Should I go ahead and order that book everybody has been talking about? What’s on TV tonight? And on. And on. And on. Oh, yeah. I was going to blog about………. What? Horse feathers. I don’t know!!!

So this is what have I been up to:

The front band on my vest is almost finished. It looks pretty good, but it made need a little tweaking before I give it to my daughter. It’s been a fun knit.
I steamed five pounds of shrimp the other day. After we had our fill, I peeled the rest for salad, shrimp fried rice and anything else I can think up. We won’t be wanting shrimp again for a long time once we finish it.
I got shots in my knees this morning. I’m already noticing a difference. We’ll see after our walk tomorrow.
Dot has been giving Olive a hard time lately. I think she doesn’t her picking on Flo or she just doesn’t like the noise. Maybe she wants to be boss. That’s fine with me.
My sock club came. I’m not real thrilled with the colorway, but it will go with a lot of things. I definitely like the sock pattern. There is also a little shawl pattern that is kind of cute. I’m not much on shawls. They tend to wind up as cat beds.

Wow. Not bad for not knowing what to say. Was that a double negative? Where’s an English teacher when you need one?

Always an atention getter.