Happy Easter!

It's Easter Sunday,and though this AM has bit of a cold wind,it's suppose to go up into the upper 50's.Yesterday was gorgeous,and we lost quite a bit of snow. I didn't enjoy it,however-I was in bed with a horrible migraine.

Friday night Rick and I went out for the Dance For A Cure. It was a fundraiser for Cancer. Our friend,Sue,who is in Scouts with us does the Relay For a Cure each year,since her husband passed away from cancer and her team helped sponsor the dance. I actually talked Rick into going,because,as those who know about PTSD are aware,going into unfamiliar places is very difficult. Sue had a table set aside for us in the back of the room,where she knows that Rick is more comfortable. There were some faces we knew,folks who are in Scouting with us,and we all sat together. One of our friends,Jessie,even grabbed Rick for a fast dance on the floor! (He did dance a few dances with me,too!) We used to go out a lot,but now it's rarity. After Rick assessed the room,he felt a bit more at ease,but I know going there was still very hard for him.I thanked him for taking me out,and he told me he did have a good time.

We clean up pretty good,don't we? :)

I have a cold. Colds and flu have been going around,and I had a scratchy throat for most of the week. Yesterday,I woke up with a migraine,and at first I thought I had a hangover ( I did have four mudslides,but I ate as well-I don't drink that often anymore,but man,they went down very well!)but hangover headaches are dull,not a sharp pain that goes all around the head. I figured it was  the alcohol (sometimes even a drink of wine will trigger them), the cold coming on,or both. Probably both. So I was in bed all day,coughing,sneezing,blowing my nose,and trying to find a good spot to press the pillow against on my head to help alleviate the pain. I get the migraines that travel. They start in one spot,then move to another,then another,then another. Thankfully,the Excedrin Migraine did work eventually, but between the cold coming on and the migraine,I was wiped out for the day.I had my bedroom windows open,because the fresh air felt wonderful,but every time I started to fall asleep,the neighbors would come over to talk to Rick outside the window,or a dog would bark causing Samson to bark,or the neighbor would rev his Harley,etc. I was to the point where I was overtired,and I couldn't fall asleep last until after 1:00 AM. Sigh.

Today I feel lousy,but I had to make sure that Zach got his Easter treats.Apparently,his Easter basket finally bit the dust,because I couldn't find it,but I thought of something else that would work:

A Jar O'Candy! At 15,he is getting a bit big for a basket,so this works out.

Tonight is the Season 3 premiere of "Game Of Thrones"-I can't wait!!!!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet...and Happy Easter!

Orange Scented Vinegar Cleaner

A few posts back,I talked about trying to jazz up my vinegar and water cleaner with some orange scent.

I filled some mason jars with orange peel,and then vinegar. I let them sit for a few weeks.

It was time to try it. Would it smell like oranges? Or would the vinegar scent prevail?

I took my jars down from the shelf:

I lined the strainer with cheesecloth. The first time I did it,I only doubled the cheesecloth and  had some sediment on the bottom of the bowl. I re strained it,tripling the cheesecloth,and it came out fine.

I use a 1:1 ratio-one cup of vinegar for one cup of water.

You can still smell the vinegar,but it does have  a mild orange citrus scent to it. So I would say it does work. Next time I will try it with lemons.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!

Damn That Groundhog!!!

Here we are,in the midst of yet another snowstorm! The snow had started to melt,and the paths made from the snow blower were getting wider and wider,showing grass...dead grass,but still grass. Now we are expected to get 8"-14" of the white stuff.

Damn that groundhog!!!


Some of you may be scratching your heads wondering what in the wide-wide- world of sports I'm talking about. What does a ground hog have to do with a snow storm?

Let me introduce you to Punxsutawney Phil. 

February 2,here in the States ( and Canada!),is known as Groundhog Day. In Punxsutawney PA,there is a big celebration before the dawn hours on this day,with music and food. At sunrise,Phil emerges from his home,which is actually located in Gobblers Knob ( I kid you not) which is just outside of Punxsutawney. If Phil sees his shadow,he goes back into his home,which means another 6 weeks of Winter - like weather . If he doesn't see his shadow,he stays out and it means Spring weather will come early.  If he stays out,they hold him aloft,for all to see,and apparently put a jaunty top hat on his head.

While Phil tends to be pretty much on the ball,the last two years he has slipped. Last year,he saw his shadow,which meant no early Spring. At this time last year,we had almost a whole a week of temps in the 80's. People went to the beach. In March in NH. Again,I kid you not. This year,we are suppose to have an early Spring,yet we have had more snow in the last month and half than we did all winter last year. So much for that.

 Phil has an easy life, however,and lives in the library during the rest of the year. He even has a wife! He also has his own handlers,a couple of gentlemen who plan this event every year.

This has been a tradition for over a 100 years. It originated from Celtic belief that if a hibernating animal comes out and sees it's shadow on Feb 2 (which was a Pagan holiday),it meant six more weeks of Winter;if they didn't see it,it meant an early Spring. German folks who immigrated to PA had their own beliefs.Clear skies on Feb 2 meant cold weather. Eventually this all morphed together,and now we have the present holiday.

Some of you may have seen the movie,"Groundhog Day," with Bill Murray which used Phil as part of it's story line.

Damn that groundhog!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!

Happy St.Patrick's Day...and Happy Birthday,Sasha!

Today is St.Patrick's Day. Everyone,even if they have no Irish ancestry,is Irish today. I think it might have something to do with history of drinking on St.Patrick's Day to celebrate :)

Both Rick and I have Irish cred. Rick's fourth great grandfather,William McQuilkin, his wife,Annie Watson,and their son,Rick's third great grandfather,Henry McQuilkin and his wife,Betsey Kennedy,give him his Irish roots. My third great grandfather,George McDale,a his wife,Mary Maguire,and their daughter,my second great grandmother,Mary McDale,give me mine. Rick's third great grandfather Henry went to Maine from Ireland. I have yet to discover if  Betsey was born in Ireland or if her parents were immigrants. On my side,I have read that George Mc Dale and Mary Maguire immigrated from Ireland or  that they were born in Canada. I'm still looking to find out what exactly is true. At any rate, they were all either first generation Irish American or immigrated right from Ireland.

Naturally,we celebrate today with some crockpot corned beef and cabbage. No green beer,though.

Today is also our chocolate lab's 63rd birthday. Sasha,in dog years, is now 9.

Erin Go Bragh!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

Comment Moderation

Good afternoon all!

Just a heads up that all the comments I receive here from now on will be moderated. It's not because I have been receiving nasty or rude comments,but because of the number of "Anonymous" comments that have been appearing of late. One post had approx 8 "Anonymous" comments,some from the same place three times. I assume that's because they were trying to advertise their site. I appreciate folks trying to get the word out about their blog/product,but please do not use my comment section to do so.

While I enjoy seeing new readers find my little blog, and I love comments,I ask that in the future you leave a  name with your post. Otherwise,your comment will not be posted and will be deleted.

Thank ye kindly,folks!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Making A Pot Rack From A Wooden Ladder

The pot rack is finished! 

 We measured the space, picked the best end of the ladder,and sawed it off.  Since we have strapping that runs across our joists,we screwed the ceiling hooks into those (we used a stud finder and climbed up into the attic to make sure we were on the right path). To help him remember,Rick drew lines on the ceiling that were the width of the strapping.You can barely see the lines in the photo. We couldn't center it over the window because of our cabinet doors-we would like to still open them!

We bought two 24" lengths of chain,and four screw hooks to put in the ladder. Rick started the screw holes with a drill,and was careful not to split the wood. We bought large S hooks.They didn't quite fit over the ladder rungs,so Rick made them wider. 

Voila' !

Now I have a bit more space in my cabinet for storing things we don't use all the time. I can't wait for the kitchen closet to be built!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Paper Can Weigh You Down

Our file cabinet was at the point where if I opened the top drawer to access some of Rick's paperwork,the cabinet would pitch forward. Guess that means it's time weed out some documents!

A good portion of what I pulled out were duplicates of Rick's TDRL ( Temporary Disability Retirement List) appointment reports.Anyone in the military who has been diagnosed with PTSD is automatically put on this list for up to 5 years.They have to see a Dr when the military asks to see if the PTSD is better or not. Well,at this point,going on 8 years of being wounded and things staying the same,I would hope that the military would see that Rick should be fully retired.He has had three appts over the last two years,which my regular readers probably remember. Each time he has an appt,we have to wait for the Dr's report to be sent to a specific company who is handling the TDRL,and they send the hard copy to us.Rick has to sign a paper saying he agrees with the findings,a release of info form,and send a copy of what medications he's taking from the VA. Each time they send a new report,they also send copies of the old ones. We had over 240 pages of reports total,including the duplicates. Today I went through those reports and threw out the extras,so we only have one copy of each. I also went through some other old paperwork that we no longer need. I think the pile of paper weighed at least 5 lbs. It certainly freed up some space! At least the file cabinet no longer wants fall on top me when I open the top drawer.

Rick had been having a hard time lately. He has kept busy,to a point,but his confusion keeps him frustrated and his speech has been dragging,which adds to his frustration.A couple of times he broke down and cried. I don't blame him. No one can hold all that in indefinitely. You have to release it. I myself had a bad day yesterday.

 We did begin making a pot rack out of an old ladder that My Dear Friend Michelle found for me ( Do I still owe you for that ladder,Michelle?). It only took two years,but hey, it's getting done. We do have to move it over slightly to the right,and we have to see if Rick can make the opening on one end of the "S" hooks we bought a bit bigger. I don't want to post a photo of it until it's completed,though.

 Zach just celebrated his 15th birthday on March 3. We are so very proud of him. Zach and I went down to Somersworth to visit my Mom on his birthday and it was nice. We finally ( I say finally because Zach has been asking since 4th grade) bought him a phone. He is involved in different activities,so it's good to have his own line of communication. It's a very basic pay as you go phone,and we told him that he will have to pay for the minutes. We did buy him a new IPOD as well. 

I went through my seeds and discovered that I have to get more corn seed. It's almost time to start some of my seedlings!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!