A jigsaw puzzle completed recently. I don't know where this is. It would be really nice to identify the scenes. I wonder why they don't do that? However, the picture was beautiful, and I always enjoy finding the pieces and seeing the picture taking shape.
Hello Family and Friends, the latest weekly goings on for you. You are encouraging me by letting me know you enjoy these. It is always very much appreciated. I will keep going until you all say 'uncle'.
I am starting off with a question. Does anyone have an explanation of why I can’t follow back new followers when I visit their blogs? I have tried many times and always have a pop-up that tells me I have failed to become a follower. Is anyone else experiencing this? I know of one new blogging friend who mentioned that she also had this problem when visiting others. Did I mistakenly change a setting on my blog? I had read a while back that blogger may be getting rid of this feature. I haven't heard anything since. I hope you have an answer for me. It is very perplexing.
All that being said, thank you to all my followers and to my new blogging friends who followed me this week. I won’t give up until I can return the kindness. I also thank everyone very much for leaving a comment.
Monday, January 20th, 2025: it snowed yesterday but not much, enough to cover everything, including the mounds of snow that have not melted yet from the previous snowfall. Today it snowed again for 20 minutes, and the sun has been shining ever since.
Son called earlier and the three of us had our usual chat.
For breakfast I had my Weetabix et al, and Gregg a slice of buttered sourdough toast.
Around 2:00 p.m. we made our favorite soup, cheesy vegetable and corn chowder. We make it often in the winter. Snow on the ground and soup it is. Two hours later we served it with a crusty roll. I have shared it many times but just in case you haven't seen the original link, it can be found here. I have always liked the taste of parsley and added it for garnish. I kept a few sprigs for later to chew on. It is also a great palate cleanser.
Tuesday, January 21st, 2025: Gregg felt like a bagel for breakfast today and off he went. I asked him to bring one back for me.
I found a new recipe to make and added the ingredients to our shopping list. We try to make at least one new recipe each week. We share an online shopping list. I add any additions, always thinking they are there for the next shopping trip. But they immediately pop up on his feed and soon after, he's off to Wegman’s after texting me that he is going there. My additions popped up on his phone while he was eating his bagel. He usually reads the news on his phone at the same time. The shop stopped the hands-on newspaper a long time ago.
While he was gone I did my exercises like a good little girl. Teacher will be so proud. Tongue in cheek? Maybe a tad! It will be the first thing my physiotherapist will ask in the morning. I have a 10:30 appointment.
Gregg arrived home with a bagel and cream cheese, also my coffee which he picked up on his way home. He hadn’t been into the coffee shop for a few days, and it had been noticed. One of the Baristas said “You haven’t been in lately?" He told them his wife was trying to cut back. (True but he did not think to tell them we go to another coffee shop after my physiotherapy sessions, the drive-thru.) They are very friendly and he enjoys the chat. There were no other customers and as soon as he walked through the door, the three of them said, "Hi Gregg!" When he reaches the counter, even before ordering, they know what he always gets, and it is given seconds later before a word is out of his mouth. They also know he doesn't drink coffee but he pops in for me. This has left him in good standing with the young-uns behind the counter. Those young-uns come and go, this is a part-time job for most of them as they are college-age and putting themselves through school. When they graduate they move on, but he always has time to develop a rapport with the ones who are there.
At Wegmans he picked up things for the recipe, which were an onion, 1 sweet red pepper, Old Bay Seasoning, and sour cream. The recipe is a shrimp dish and I already have it set up for next Monday's Recipe Post. We have most of what we need in our supplies. Other additions the man liked the look of on his way around the store; a can of Hormel chili (he wants to try it over his roasted cabbage), crinkle cut frozen fries, 2 more crusty rolls to go with the soup and lastly, a bunch of carrots.
Our late lunch/early dinner was another bowl of the homemade soup from yesterday.
Son called but he said he didn’t mind us slurping while we were eating (family joke). We offered to call him back but he said if it was okay with us, it was okay with him. We never turn down a phone call.
Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025 at 2:38 p.m: I have been home for a few hours after my physiotherapy appointment. The place was hopping and more men in there than women this time. Many of the exercise beds were occupied. Another young lady started me off today. First the bike, then holding a ball behind my knee and pressing it against the wall, extremely painful. Standing on tippy toes before that, again extremely painful. A couple of other stand-up exercises, can't remember them exactly. Then time for my regular therapist to come in. These young-uns are the warm-up exercise team.
I was tucked away in a corner today and I had a good view of what was going on until my physiotherapist turned up. There was also a repairman sitting on the floor who had taken one of the exercise machines apart. All the pieces were on the floor around him. I tried to be a bit nosy to see what he was doing, but it was difficult as I was at that time still doing the tippy toes, ouch, tippy toes, ouch, do that ten times I was told. I would have much rather seen what the repairman was doing. My physiotherapist stepped it up a notch and gave me a good work out! The most painful part was her trying to flatten my knee out as I was lying down on the table. It was excruciating. At the end of it all I was hunched over on my way out the door, and limping was more pronounced, as well as feeling very washed out. Gregg said “Remember to stand tall!” Actually, this is what the therapist told me to do in the beginning, try to stand tall, don't hunch over, so I get the occasional reminder through the week from the man. Good advice and actually appreciated.
I briefly met a very nice lady with her daughter today when we first arrived. The mother was using a walker, younger than me and the poor lady’s face was full of pain, she looked close to tears. I was so sad for her. She was having difficulty walking. I didn’t like to engage them in conversation while in the waiting room. They were speaking in a low tone to each other. We exchanged a few more smiles and that was it. It just didn’t feel the right thing to do somehow. There are times you know not to impose. She was called in for her physiotherapy session, but I saw them as they were leaving. By this time I was in the main foyer of the building, waiting for Gregg to get the car. The mother was stooped over her walker and the daughter was helping her. They both looked and saw me sitting across the foyer. Mother smiled, daughter waved. Daughter said something about how cold it was outside, which I didn’t quite catch all but I smiled and waved, wished them well and to stay warm. They got into a car and were gone.
The car also found itself in MickeyD’s drive-thru and, sorry to say, my resolve on no coffee and a brownie didn’t quite work out today. Next time and who am I kidding? So, lunch taken care of, with dessert.
I had a lovely cup of tea this afternoon thanks to one of my sister-in-laws.
It was one of the two gifts she gave me the last time I saw her. I took a photo of the box from all angles below. As you can see, it spoke to my heritage, with a little message added from me.
Very true!
It will be very nice to think of her and the rest of the family when I sip my tea. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see them again.
Dad and son (above as you will probably recognize by now) got together this afternoon and had a fun time in DC. Son had to be in the city and met up with a good friend, and Dad enjoyed his conversation with him too. We have all known him for years but don’t see him as much as son and daughter-in-law do. He is most definitely one of the good guys and in fact is a real sweet guy. Their dinner was at Planet Hollywood. Gregg had a Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken, son ordered a Surf and Turf Burger, which was a Cheeseburger topped Grilled Shrimp. It all looked a bit too much to me, but son said it was great. His dad had a bite, and said he wished he had ordered it instead of his salad, though even the salad was excellent.
At home my dinner was the cheesy vegetable chowder we made yesterday. Love it, will always be a favorite soup, and very comforting on a chilly day.
Gregg arrived home at about ten o’clock and it’s always fun to hear what they did. It was time to call it a day soon after.
Thursday, January 23rd, 2025 at 5:11 p.m: a quiet day. It was very cold outside, warmer than yesterday at 28 degrees F. It went down to 9 degrees last night. I am off early for my physiotherapy appointment in the morning. We will be waking up to 18 degrees F. There are two appointments a week and I have to do my own exercises daily.
Gregg didn’t go out today, shocker I told him and he laughed, agreeing.
Tomorrow’s therapy session was going to start at 7:30 a.m., but they called to ask if I could come in at 8 instead. No problem, an extra half-hour was welcomed. The receptionist said at my last appointment that they open at 6:30 a.m. after Gregg asked her. I already have my clothes laid out for the next morning. I don't mind early appointments as it's nice to have the rest of the day free and clear.
No breakfast but around 1:30 p.m. Gregg fixed two fried eggs with corned beef hash and a slice of toast. It was a nice change of pace from Weetabix.
Dinner was at 5:00 p.m. we finished off our veggie cheese and corn chowder, each having a bowl with a crusty roll.
I had an evening snack of a 1/4 cup of plain yogurt with a few raw almonds.
I had a text from a friend earlier today. We are going to have a proper chat on the phone for a catchup soon.
Not many birds appeared. A Mourning Dove, Mr. Cardinal and a few Dark-eyed Juncos, and that was it. Mustn’t forget the two squirrels of course. They arrived towards the end of the day.
Friday, January 24th, 2025 at 12:47 p.m: last night I went to bed early, falling asleep right away, probably around ten, but woke up at midnight and tossed and turned all night. I felt a bit light-headed on the way to my appointment. This was the one they changed to 8.00 a.m. from 7.30 a.m.
We were in the car at 7:15 a.m. when the phone rang. It was the office saying they had to cancel because my therapist called in sick. I think the receptionist was surprised that I wasn’t more upset as she apologized at least three times. I told her not to worry, these things happen and asked her to let my therapist know I wished her a speedy recovery.
She would have understood if she saw me do a silent 'Yes!" to Gregg, with pointy finger waving circles in the air above my head. I was grinning from ear to ear as I turned to him, did a tiny jiggle in the seat from side to side, my knee paid for it but what the heck. It made him laugh, not my knee obviously but because I was so happy and it was cartwheels in the head time. I find it very easy to say hello to my inner child at such times, 74 going on 16! I felt I had been given a week off from school. I was sad my therapist was under the weather, but after the last session, I was surprised how ecstatically happy and relieved I was. All that being said, I hope she feels better very soon.
An after thought as we were on our way home, I realized that I would miss it as I find it interesting. No logic there! Not just the process but I enjoy people watching. Anyhow, dear man looked at his wife and matched her grin as he turned the car around. This call came through as we were stopped at a traffic light. I told him I would do my own exercises at home. That had to wait as I immediately fell asleep on the sofa - maybe I will rest my eyes for a few minutes first - and two hours later...
From my nap I woke up cold but a cup of green tea took care of that. The temperature outside was 35 degrees F. The house always seems to feel a bit chilly to me. Gregg was out of the house for a couple of hours, and I barely remember him leaving. A little while later the phone pinged and he sent me a picture of a fox. It isn’t very clear, just a back view but look at that tail? Gregg was quietly sitting in his car in a parking lot when the fox suddenly appeared, seemingly oblivious to his presence. This is another built-up area he was in.
For dinner we had a simple meal of sautéed cubed pork, boiled and cubed potatoes and roasted cabbage with a light dressing. There was enough left over cabbage for one more meal the next day. I will be adding it to the Monday morning recipe post, with thanks to the chef who put it all together. He did a great job having found the recipe on Instagram (hopefully this is the one I shared yesterday, the 27th).
Saturday, January 25th, 2025 at 7:33 p.m: not much going on today. Gregg went to our local supermarket for our weekly doughnut and my coffee from a couple of doors up.
We pottered, read a bit and had our daily chat about current events. Son called for his daily chat. He will be over in the morning for a couple of hours after he drops our daughter-in-law off.
I remembered my sketch pad and pencils and drew this from a picture. Well, I guess it looks like a cat! He also looks like he’s been sipping on the sherry, leaning to the side a bit. My first try in a very, very long time. I am going to look for some tutorials how to draw a cat. I used a black pencil from my new set and didn't take a long time doing it. I rushed it a bit too much. I just wanted to make a start.
Lunch/dinner was at 4:00 p.m. and we had one of the man’s delicious cheeseburgers with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, grilled onions and sliced dill pickles. I said he should go sell these on a street corner. I have often told him I like them much better than the ones sold at our fast food drive-thru, at which he looked fake-shocked and said “Yeah, but tradition!”
Snack in the evening was a small bowl of cottage cheese with a few pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top.
I am once again tired, and it will be an early night for me.
Sunday, January 26th, 2025 at 1.08 p.m: son left half an hour ago to pick up our daughter-in-law. Had a lovely time as always. Breakfast was courtesy of Chef Gregg (mine was 1 each of egg, sausage patty, bacon and toast) and the three of us had another good discussion about a lot of things. He helped his dad carry a few things down to the basement. The Christmas tree has finally been stored away. It has taken me a lot longer to get things moving so far this year.
It looks very bare at the window. I lost my temporary ‘blind’. The birds can see me coming. I am going to have to put my thinking cap on.
