Monthly Archives: September 2009

Mom’s got a beau

My dad has been passed away now for almost three years.  I am so thankful my mom did not follow him like a lot of couple’s do.  My father-in-law died and within a year, my mother-in-law had passed, too. They were only in their late sixties.  My dad was 92 and now mom is 85…86 next month.

Well, we go to Biloxi to the Beau Rivage Casino and Resort which is so beautiful…think it is a four star hotel.  My husband and I use to drive from Florida to NC to pick up my parents and then to Biloxi and then to NC and then to Florida to take my parents on vacation (total of 3500 miles).

So this past March, Mom was sitting at a quarter slot machine and a very sweet, handsome man starting talking to her.  Since then, they have been talking on the phone.

We traveled back to Biloxi the end of July just so she could see him again.  Now he is in the hospital in GA and she is wanting to go see him there.   Boy, like can get complicated.

My three sisters are there with Mom and take great care of her.  I am way down here in Florida and don’t help out much anymore since Dad has passed away.   For me, it is rather painful to go home and not have Dad there.  I guess my sisters had to get use to it but it hits  me every time I walk through the door and see his recliner.

I have had a very blessed life….my friend’s parents have passed away a long time ago.   My high school friend, Brenda had a triple by-pass this past week.  My best friend is taking a number of pills for high blood pressure, diabetes and thyroid problems.   I take no medication.    I had three healthy children who have college educations and careers.    Just one grandchild so far but she is beautiful, intelligent and great manners.  My son and daughter-in-law are great parents.

And then there is Calvin.  A man who waited for me for over thirty years.  Never married.  Loved me since we were 15/16 years old.   Growing old with Calvin is going to be wonderful.  He is so sweet and patient and never says a mean word to me.   We are anxiously awaiting his retirement which is less than two years.

I can totally understand why my mom wants another relationship with a man.  She was with someone she loved for over 56 years and misses the feeling only a man can give you.

Dog Sitting

During one of my son’s visits to Florida, he commented on our dog’s good behavior.  With our two acres, he suggested we take in dogs since we seem to be good with them.

Well, my daughter’s house caught on fire and during reconstruction, we offered to take her two dauschands to our home.   We told Jack and Max they were coming to Grandma’s for a country vacation.

Then my girlfriend’s apartment complex found out she had an extra dog.  She being the dog lover that she is, rescued too many dogs.  Four dogs in an apartment….not good.  The apartment complex told her to get rid of the biggest dog.  So, until she finds another home for Krista, we now have a 75 lb black Lab to dog sit.

We actually had six dogs for a few days.  Amber has her dogs back and I am going to check with Michelle today as to her progress in finding a place for Krista.   She is a sweet dog but she almost knocked me over yesterday.

I am definitely a dog lover.  I have never been one to care much for cats but they are adorable when they are kittens.

But what is really cute is a baby chick.

Frozen coffee drink

I managed a coffee shop for awhile and we had a drink there called Javachino.  I fell in love with it.  The shop closed and I can’t get the exact ingredients but I made a drink that is almost as good.  Use a blender and put:

1/2 cup of cold milk (2 %)

1/4 cup of ice cream

8 to 10 ice cubes (mine are those skinny half circle cubes).  You may need more in order to make it icy, not so much creamy like a milk shake.

2 tablespoons of Folgers Cappuccino french vanilla (or other flavor)

I blend it until the cubes are crushed thoroughly.  The drink should be icy.  It is delicious.  It is a great afternoon treat.  When my niece comes over or my girlfriend, we always enjoy one.  But keep in mind, it is fattening with the ice cream so I wouldn’t suggest drinking one every day.

Recycle your pine tree bark

We live in Florida where there is a lot of lightning striking the trees.  We have actually lost 5 trees in 13 years on our two acres.  We had over 300 trees but we cut them down and only left about 12 scattered on our property grouped in threes.

I buy bark chips for my flower beds.  So when the last tree was hit, we did not immediately cut it down.  The bark started falling off in big chunks.  I collected it and broke into smaller pieces for my beds.

Another benefit of leaving the tree up, the wood peckers love to peck on the dead trees so we enjoyed more birds in our yard.

Organizing your closet

There are a lot of different shelving ideas as well as containers for organizing your storage areas.  When my dresser drawers started filling up, I knew I needed a solution for too many clothes.

I started looking through my lingerie/underwear clothing and realized I had a variety of clothing that I seldom wore–example:  pantie girdles, slips, footies, pantie hose and so on.

In another drawer, I had pajamas for warm weather and some for cold weather.

I bought 2 of those $15 three-drawer plastic containers and slide them under my hanging blouses/slacks/jackets in the closet.  I stored my less-used items in the two containers.  There was a large wasted space under those hanging clothes.

Another idea is to look at your local thrift stores and buy a low dresser and put in your closet.

Leftover roast and potatoes

I love to put a roast in the oven before I go to bed and let it cook overnight on about 200 degrees.  I often put a frozen roast (London Broil or Rump Roast) with an inch of water in the pan and cover with aluminum foil.  Add spices of your choice…I use Nature’s Seasoning, garlic salt and beef bouillon and Worcheshire Sauce.  The roast is fall-apart tender.

Let the roast cool and refrigerate until dinner.  I add potatoes and onions and carrots and then put it back in the oven for another hour or so.

Well, my husband is a potato-eating man and I end up with a lot more meat leftover than potatoes.  So, I wash a couple of potatoes, poke holes in them and microwave them.  After quartering the potatoes, I drop the potatoes in the broth and meat to flavor while cooking.  Also, I reheat my roast in a skillet on top of the stove, often slicing the roast into smaller pieces to make it reheat faster.

If you are short on broth,  just add a couple beef bouillon cubes and some water.  And if you like it thicker than the au juis like gravy, add a mixture of one heaping tablespoon of flour to a cup of cold water that has been stirred well.   Upon heating, it will thicken.

Walking two dogs made easier

I was struggling walking my daughter’s two dogs because they kept tangling up around each other.  My husband took one loop of the leash handle  and put it through the other one.  This meant I would be holding on to only one leash and the other dog could walk out farther from the first dog.   Thus, no tangling of the leashes.

I so appreciate the little things my husband does for me.  I thought I was going to fall on my face a couple times while the dogs ran circles around me.

Horse Manure – making my life easier

I mentioned before my neighbor, Gail gives me her horse manure over the fence….into a wheel barrow/wagon.   I found another purpose for the manure.  She has two large horses now so there is an abundance of manure being thrown over the fence.  lol

We live on two acres that use to have over three hundred pine trees planted on it.  We had the trees cut down and were paid for the timber which was great.  Unfortunately, the roots are composting/rotting away under the soil.  Thus, we have low spots in our yard.

We started filling the holes with the horse manure and now after more than a year, we have great grass growing in those low spots.   The horse manure Gail gives to me has a lot of wood chips and straw in it from the barn area.

The reason it makes my life easier is I can now walk outside and not fall into low spots in my yard and it sure makes it easier to mow the lawn when the yard is level.

We still have a lot of low spots to fill but Gail assures me that as long as she keeps feeding those horses, the manure will continue.