Spring!

Hi Folks!

Spring is here.

Onions and radishes.

Midge liked my new, super cool Pocketbook Plant so much, she decided to sit on it! Hopefully it will bounce back!

Tulips, weeds, dandelions, grass (not the good stuff!), lily-of-the-valley, and hosta. I have some work to do on this bed.

"Where are my zinnias?!" Midge likes to sit on this table. I move it around the yard for her. Sometimes she just sits on it, motionless, and looks up at the sky for a really long time. She's a corker, that one!

Asparagus bed, such as it is! LOL  I'm thankful for whatever I get, it's delicious.

Cabbage and invisible taters.

I've been missing the internet! Between a lightning strike at work and a router problem, I haven't been on much at all. Four inches of rain wreaked havoc around here! I am very lucky, lots of people have been displaced and have massive property damage. The piles of debris laying out for pick-up are incredible. That rain was something else. They even had to evacuate the local hospital. And that horrible business in Boston! And poor Texas. I don't like turning the news on anymore.

Years ago I had a series of 3 injections in my right knee, Synvisc. It helped a lot, so I decided to go ahead and have Synvisc injected into my sore left knee. Turns out there is a new single injection, more painful to start, but better results in the long run. Because I had minimal pain and great results before, I decided to go with the single injection. I had it yesterday morning. Holy mother, I think I sort of went into shock when I stood up and tried to move! Yowzer! I seldom show emotion in public, so now I think I'll get a new ortho place. LOL  It's sore as hell. It's a little better today, so hopefully it will be better tomorrow. Takes 6 weeks for it to really work. I'm hoping for another good result, and that I will soon stop limping, grimacing, and cursing.

Went to John's this weekend and we hit this annual benefit rummage sale in Bloomington that we like. Had a good time and I enjoyed seeing the girls. They are sweet as can be, and getting big. I found them a nice basket of cat toys (for the bargain price of $1), which they totally ignored until we went to bed. In the morning it looked like a tornado had hit! LOL  There must have been 30 cat toys in that basket, and they were everywhere, little stinkers. LOL

John had been looking at furniture a bit, but the search became more urgent after his recliner broke this weekend. He actually asked me if I had broken it! Hahaha. I hadn't even sat in it in that day, I swear! So in 6 weeks (or less!) a lovely new sofa and 2 beautiful, comfy, BOGO chocolate brown, leather recliners will be delivered! Woo hoo. Hera and Isis will be glad to have a comfy place to sit where they won't get a crick in their neck watching TV! :) And goodbye plaid bargain basement couch! Photos to follow in 6 weeks, hopefully less!

Dad is still doing pretty well. Now his new thing to say on rides is "I wasn't going to come for a ride, but I'm glad I did now. No snow, no ice. I won't go for a ride when the roads are bad." Over and over! LOL   I tell him it is April, Spring is here, and he is incredulous. April already! LOL  We took a ride to the veteran's clinic in its new location, it had relocated into an old hospital. He kept looking at the receptionist, and saying "I know her from somewhere, I've seen her before", and mom and I kept telling him he knew her from the veteran's clinic, but I don't think he believed us. It was funny. They have these chairs that are higher up, sort of like a stool, and for some reason Dad went and sat in one of those, and oh my, he is so short, he looked like a kid, his legs swinging off that high stool. Gosh it was cute. Then Mom went and sat next to him and I got the giggles. Bad. A couple more trips up there in May. Thank goodness I have personal time I can take. I still don't know how old couples manage it without help. If mom wasn't in good health and 18 years younger than Dad, yikes, this dementia/Alzheimer's thing would be even more hellish.

Keep your fingers crossed, boss is trying to get me on as a paralegal at work.  I hope it happens this time. When I got my degree there was a hiring freeze on at work. Some more money and some new duties would be a nice change. I'm hopeful. I'll keep you posted.

Still struggling with my Get Paid to Lose Weight Challenge, but I'm hopeful there as well. I guess it wouldn't hurt me if you kept your fingers crossed for that too . . .

Off to brush 2 kitties. Midge and Finn are shedding like crazy.

Kay :)

Tax Day

Happy birthday to Midge and Finn today! Four years old. They are not too happy with their rainy birthday.  I'll spare you any more pictures of them  . . . oh all right. They would not cooperate in the re-creation of one of my favorite kitten pics. In fact, they did not fancy the idea at all. They took off and will not come near me. Oh well.

Nothing much going on. I planted some onions, potatoes, cabbage, and radishes, just for fun. Midge has been having fun too, digging them up. I think I saw her tossing around an onion this a.m. I got to looking at flower seeds on Ebay and somehow ordered a bunch of seeds which will hopefully produce some lovely sunflowers. Mark (Donna's hubby) gave me a columbine yesterday, probably because he is sick of answering my question about when the hummingbirds will come back with his answer "When the columbine blooms." LOL I stuck that in too.

I moonlighted (moonlit?) - worked at the election last week, checking in precinct judges. That was fun. Did you know when you are moonlighting at the Clerk's office on election night and you hear "DNR" it does not mean "Do Not Resuscitate", what you actually heard is "D & R" and it means Democrat and Republican. LOL 

Dad goes up to the VA Clinic on Wednesday. I think it has moved from the clinic location to the old Silver Cross Hospital. I hope he doesn't pitch a fit. He is always afraid of going to the hospital. He's doing OK, we want to keep those meds coming! Plus there might be another one of those memory tests. What an amusing waste of time those are!

My cousin had a heart attack! What the hell. He's only a year old than me.

I got over my flu bug without losing a bunch of weight like some of the girls at work. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Ok I lied. More pics. LOL

Kay :)

Monday Monday

Good Day Folks, 

We had a nice Easter dinner, Mom's lasagna, which is outstanding, with salad and garlic bread. Carrot cake for dessert. It was delicious and a nice change from the usual turkey or ham with all the trimmings. Not that there is anything wrong with that!

I made Old Reliable French Bread from a recipe I found on line for my Kitchen-Aid mixer. It made 2 huge loaves and was super easy.

Pretty! And it smelled soooo good while it was baking. It made wonderful garlic bread for Easter dinner.

I had to sample a slice to make sure it was OK. It was. Very OK. Quality control you know. I should NEVER be in charge of quality control when there is bread and butter around.

Because no one else in the family is sick, and because John and I ate mostly the same foods this weekend, I'm pretty sure I have a bug and not some sort food borne illness. I was nearly asleep last night when my churning tummy wanted a TUMS. I got up to get it and yikes, too late for TUMS, I was sick. Later in the night my body was up to some more antics (censored!), and blimey I'm dizzy and have a headache, so I am home sick today. I don't feel any better, any worse. I'm just middlin'. My friend Mar called:



Mar: "Are you really sick?"

Kay: "Well it's 4:30 and I haven't had anything to eat or drink yet today, and I took two naps."

Mar: "Wow! You really are sick!" lol

I'm not a napper, and missing a meal is out of the question! And I should also interject that I am shocked Mar asked me that question, as I would NEVER NEVER take a sick day if I wasn't sick! Fingers crossed. After our conversation I had a cup of coffee, a scrambled egg and a slice of my home-made french bread, toasted. Well, OK. I had 2 slices. They are small! We will see if that was a good move or not. At the very least I feel more energized. Which is not hard compared to my energy levels earlier in the day lol. I should also add that I watched a few 70's British movies on my Roku today, of the suspense type, and I may have picked up some of the Brit lingo. Maybe.

Dad Stories:

Dad, upon seeing all the election signs around town on our ride (to the cemetery and the river, dad's favorite places now AND pre-dementia lol):

Dad: "I want to vote for Dick. He's a good mayor, I like him."

Kay: "Definitely. The race for mayor is contested this year, so I think you should get out and vote."

Dad, with a dubious look: "Well I don't think they'll let me vote here."

Kay: "Why not?"

Dad: "Well, I don't even live in this town!"

Uncle Jim called Dad, and Dad was dumbfounded. How did Jim get his phone number when Dad had just moved into his new house in Morris that very day!?

Dad: "Comiskey Park sure looks different!"

Dad is doing well. His major complaint is his tinnitus, which drives him batty. And because it drives Dad batty, it also drives Mom batty! LOL

John took 3rd place in his Biggest Loser competition at work and only needs to lose a few more pounds (and of course maintain his loss until July) to win the Get Paid to Lose Weight Challenge. He lost over 25#! Kudos to him! My procrastination might bite me in the arse on this one. Three months already gone on that challenge. How time flies!


I'm not sure if the food was a good idea or not. I'm dubious. And my energy boost from the food seems to be over. I feel a trifle dizzy and need to lie down.

Wish me luck!

Kay :)