Slow-down Saturday

 

Today is starting out as a nice, lazy kind of day.  And it’s looking to end on a wonderful note as well.

 

I’ve been up and been doing some planning for our next trip, as well as some dreaming about future trips.  I enjoy this kind of planning/dreaming almost as much as actually taking the trip.  There are so many beautiful places that we’d like to visit … but the allure of the SE Atlantic coast is just so strong … when it comes time to actually take a trip, we always head that direction. 

 

I’m going to get in a little quilting today … I haven’t picked up a needle and thread in quite a while, and it will be nice to get in a little stitching today.

 

And right now, the plan is to head over to DD’s later this evening to watch the Ts so Mama and Daddy can have a night out, just the two of them.  Now that is what I call a win-win situation!  ;-)

 

Hope your Saturday is full of your favorite things!

A Little of This and a Little of That

Yes, friends, it’s a little more randomness here at Empty Nest but Full Heart.  But that pretty much sums up my life … a series of random happenings.  Nothing earth-shattering, but it’s still my life … and a good one at that.  

I added “Feedjit” to my blog, and I have to say that I find it interesting to see where everyone’s from.  What’s more surprising is that there have been readers stopping by from areas not all that far from me … a town about 35 minutes south of here and another town about 90 minutes east of here. 

I took the dogs outside and “furminated” them last night.  Anyone else use the “Furminator”?  It’s a blessing … especially for the heavily-coated golden retriever (although I don’t usually have enough time to really do her justice).  We usually give her a summer cut late spring, but it’s already starting to grow out.  As hot as it’s been (you didn’t think I would pass up putting something weather-related in this post, did you?), I’m contemplating getting her another one.  They trim up and thin out … so by the time it starts to get cold, her coat will be fully grown out again.

T#3 turns 4 on Wednesday; because DSIL’s sister is in town from the Chattanooga area this week, DD is going to have his birthday party this evening … at least the family party.  I can’t wait!

The watermelon I cut up the other day is almost gone … ok, I do love watermelon, but this was a smaller one.  DH is running errands and has agreed to stop and pick up another.  It just isn’t summertime without watermelon!  Just hoping that I don’t have any bloodshed with this one either.  ;-)

I’m in the process of recording all my log-ins and passwords in a spreadsheet.  It’s slow going.  It seems like you’ve got to log in to most everything any more … or maybe I just do more online … and they all have different requirements.    

Tomorrow looks to be a quiet day … a good day for quilting.     

Thursday randomness

 

Confession time:  I’m a weather geek.  Is that someone that happens to the best of us as we age … or is it just the latent meteorologist in me coming out?  I mentioned earlier yesterday morning that we’ve had a HOT July so far … I heard on the news last night that we’ve had 7 days of 100-degree weather and 12 consecutive days under an excessive heat warning.  Which got me to wondering – just what is an excessive heat warning? 

An Excessive Heat Warning is issued by the National Weather Service of the United States within 12 hours of the the heat index reaching one of two criteria levels. A warning will be issued if there is a heat index of at least 105°F for more than 3 hours per day for 2 consecutive days, or if the heat index is greater than 115°F for any period of time.

  And if that’s not enough, the forecast for the next week is for more of the same (even with a slight possibility of rain over the weekend).

 

I cut up a watermelon last night … and didn’t cut a finger!  Woo hoo!

 

Good news!  I’m a winner!  Cheri over at Maintaining My Piece hosted a giveaway of some embellishment goodies … and I won!  Now, I’ll be honest, I’ve never embellished anything … so all of this is going to be a new frontier.  But the fabrics she sent are all lovely and so full of possibility.  See for yourself:

You should be able to click on it (I hope) to see a larger picture.  Thanks, Cheri!  And when you’re done here, why not head on over to Cheri’s blog.  Her latest post features a GORGEOUS plaid string quilt that has certainly prompted me to add a similar quilt to my ever-growing list of quilts I need to make! 

 

I’ve got to remember to stop and get some wrapping paper tomorrow.  T#3’s birthday party (he’s turning 4!!) will be Friday evening. 

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

It’s Wednesday again, and that means that it’s time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge.  Yay!  If you want to join in or see what others’ answers are, just click on the link above.

 

1. July is National Ice Cream month...your favorite flavor? Soft served, hand dipped, or frozen yogurt...which do you prefer? And technically yogurt is not ice cream but its hot outside so I'll let that slide for today.

Frozen custard … served soft.  Preferably from the local frozen custard stand here in town.  My favorite treat there is called the “crunch” … it’s a concrete made with vanilla frozen custard, chocolate flavored krispies, hard shell chocolate bits.  I am not a fan of the ultra-rich, ultra-decadent ice cream treats … the “crunch” is just enough to suit me.

 

2. When you travel do you tend to pack too much or too little?

We’ve been traveling long/often enough that you’d think that I have how much to pack down to a science.  And we do pack significantly less than we used to.  But I still pack with the thought of “what if” in the back of my mind … so I still pack more than what we need/use.  I don’t sweat it as much as I used to because we drive everywhere, so what’s one more suitcase in the back of the car?  ;-) 

 

3. What's your favorite cleaning product?

Household cleaning?  Facial/body cleaning?  Other than the Magic Eraser, I don’t know that I have a favorite or preference on any kind of cleaning product.  Or at least not one that comes to mind right now.

 

4. Which is the greater tragedy-an innocent person imprisoned or a guilty person set free? Explain.

Wow, you’re really making us think this morning, Joyce!  I guess if I had to choose one, I’d choose the innocent person imprisoned … if only because with a guilty person set free, there’s a very real possibility that he/she will commit more crimes, likely harming many other innocent people.  All I can say is that I’m glad that this is a decision that I do not have to make. 

 

5. What's the longest trip you've taken by car?

This past March, we drove to Deerfield Beach, FL then to Key West and then back home.  2813 miles, 46 hours total driving time.  We spent a few days in the Deerfield Beach area to take in a Spring Training game and see some sights, so trip down was broken up enough that it didn’t feel any longer than our usual trips.  But that trip back … it was a long one (1433 miles 23:30 hours).  We want to go back to Key West some day, and when we do, we’ll definitely plan a stop along the way to break up the return home.  

 

6. tennis-golf-canoeing-biking...pick one.

Biking … by a landslide.  And as soon as this hot weather leaves, I’ll get back out on that bike.  Our county has over 100 miles of bike trails, and there’s one about a half mile from our house.  Unfortunately, we have to travel a fairly busy road with a very narrow shoulder, so we pack our bikes onto our bike carrier and drive to a parking lot at the bike trail access.  It’s a bit of an inconvenience, and I miss being able to bike straight from the house to the trail (like we could at our old house) … but we enjoy biking enough to deal with it.

 

7. What sound drives you crazy?

I love dogs, but those little yippy dogs who bark incessantly … those drive me crazy.  We used to have a neighbor who had two of them … they’d let them out at 5:30 every morning (and leave them out), and those dogs would bark, bark, bark … and the neighbors just ignored them (even after we asked them – more than once – to please not let their dogs sit outside and bark at that time of day).       

 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Yep, it’s hot here.  For 19 of the 26 days so far in July, we’ve had 90+ temperatures (most of them 95 or higher, with heat indices of over 105) … with 95+ degree days forecast for the remainder of the month.  And we haven’t had a drop of rain in over a month now.   

Monday, Monday …

 

This Monday morning isn’t finding me “cryin’ all of the time”.  ;-)  (For you younguns, Monday, Monday was a song by the Mamas and the Papas from back in the day.)

 

Why, you ask?  Because I got a good night’s sleep last night.  Eventually the lack of sleep catches up with my brain and I get a good night’s sleep.  Which doesn’t bode well for tonight.  ;-)  Thanks to everyone for the advice on the melatonin … I’ll definitely stop and pick some up this afternoon.  It’s amazing how much difference a good night’s sleep makes in my attitude, in my spirit, in my patience. 

 

We didn’t get any of the rain forecast for yesterday.  :-(  We sure could use it … things are getting kinda crispy out in the yard.  :-( 

 

T#2 has a softball game this evening.  Time with DD and the Ts … the perfect antidote to a sad morning (the funeral for my friend from work).

 

I have to confess that I’ve gotten lazy with meal preparation now that I’m back to work (temporarily).  I’m getting into a rut and need to find some new recipes to add to my repertoire … I’m getting tired of preparing (and eating) the same meals.  If anyone has any “go-to” recipes that they’d like to share, I’d love to give them a try.

Sunday Afternoon Randomness

It’s been windy and alternating between cloudy and sunny.  The temperature has dropped … it’s still hot, but it’s a far cry from the mid 90’s we saw on our way home from church this morning.  We’re supposed to have rain today, but so far it’s been going all around us.  We haven’t had rain in 6 weeks, so we could definitely use some. 

Something has been digging in our landscaping mulch again … this time, whatever it is has gotten serious … digging deeper, bigger “holes” … exposing parts of the roots of some of my plants.  <grrrr>

T#1’s team lost the first round of the playoffs/tournament last night.  They just were not hitting … I don’t know if it was the stress from having strikes called (during the regular season, they only call strikes on swings and misses), from falling behind early in the game, the heat or what.  They had several injuries, including 3 players (of whom T#1 was one) who had to leave the field for a time.  Sure, it would have been wonderful to see them advance … but they had a pretty good “regular season” and hopefully had a good time playing.

I was chopping a watermelon yesterday afternoon and sliced into my pinkie finger (fleshy part of the tip and middle parts).  It wasn’t a deep cut … but it did bleed quite a bit.  The worst part of it was that the watermelon wasn’t very good at all. 

Am I the only one who’s had times where I felt left out, like chopped liver … even though I know that’s not the case? 

T#3 is the one with the double ear infections this time … and from DD’s report, T#4 isn’t far behind from a similar diagnosis.  Those poor little ones.  T#4 is getting a referral to a pediatric ENT … hopefully they’ll be able to get this resolved.

Tomorrow is the funeral for my friend from work. 

This lying in bed for 2-3 hours before I can fall asleep is getting old.  It’s like my mind just won’t stop working … it’s not like I’m laying awake worrying … I just can’t stop thinking about whatever comes to my mind.  I don’t want to take any medical sleep aids if I can help it (if for no other reason than I get up early enough in the morning that by the time I realize that I need to take something, I’m not going to have the 7-8 hours they recommend).  DD’s previous pediatrician recommended melatonin for the Ts … wonder if that will work for Nana, too?

Thankful Thursday

It’s Thursday, and as you may know, I make it my practice to take the time to be intentionally thankful on Thursday.  That doesn’t mean that I am not thankful on the other 6 days of the week, but Thursday is the day that I make a concerted effort to express my thankfulness.

I’m thankful for:

• a good report from the ophthalmologist for my dad; he was diagnosed with glaucoma and has lost some vision in one eye.  Thankfully, his medicines are helping to keep the glaucoma under control.

• getting to spend some time in the pool this afternoon with DD, the Ts and DSIL’s mom.  We swam in the indoor pool thankfully (it would have been just way too hot to be outdoors – even in the pool).

• fresh homegrown produce … watermelon, sweet corn, cantelopes, green beans, peaches.  Yummy!  I could make a meal out of that!

• air conditioning.  With temperatures around 100 and heat indices of 115 plus, our air conditioner is getting quite a workout. 

*****************

I have a favor to ask from you all.  A co-worker was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer not more than a month ago.  Yesterday, her lungs collapsed and were filling with fluid, she’s been moved to ICU, she’s heavily sedated and on a ventilator … if it weren’t for the machines, she’d be gone.  Her son was in Africa on a college assignment and has gotten a flight back home … he should be arriving today.  I’m praying that she will hang on long enough for him to be able to have some time with his mom, and if you could join me, I would appreciate it.   Thanks.