Recovering

I got so far behind on blogger.  Right after my last post I got sick and was sick for a week.  Needless to say I spent a lot of time in the bathroom.  I called my doctor and she had no open time slots for me even though I called at 8am...and no slots for the next day either....the receptionist suggested I go to the walk in clinic.  So I did and they gave me three prescriptions and I got better.  Now I am looking for a new doctor!

Winter has been rough this year.  Last night around this time we had a complete white-out.  Lots of accidents.  I never saw snow come down so hard and fast!  I am not sure but we were suppose to get 6 inches.  I have seen 12 foot drifts right behind our apartment building.  At the mall there is a huge mountain of snow.  The snow plows go all night there, many times keeping me awake since I live right next to the mall.   Today school got delayed at 5:30 am and then at 7:30am I got another phone call that school was closed.  I'm not sure how many days this makes but I know we are over the allotted amount and will probably have to make it up at the end of the school year. Personally I think they should have cancelled mid winter break which was last Friday and Monday.  But I guess they have to stick to their calendar.

I completed one more painting and started another one.  The last one has been a real struggle and I had to set it aside for a while.  Maybe I chose too ambitious of a goal.  I have to complete 14 more and find a place to have the show...then send out invitations and do advertising.   But I won't give up....I'll just press on. 

Are you sticking to your goals or resolutions?  I only had two...give up my cane (which I did on New Year's eve) and the other was to paint twenty pictures for a private art show.  Now I have added other....exercise each day.  Today I was able to walk 10 minutes on the treadmill...I tried the exercise bike and was so disappointed that my new knee would allow me to pedal. Next week I will ask the surgeon about it.  It will already be my six month check up.  Hopefully he will offer me some kind of solution.

Painting Number Five

This is picture number five in my animal collection.  I worked on this today during another one of
our snow storms.  I can see by taking a photo of it that there is still a little work to be done on it but for the most part I am satisfied with it.  It gave me something to do today since we didn't have school
today. (Actually I did the drawing and background over the weekend) 

 I wonder if we will have school tomorrow?  I hear that we are going to have low temps with
wind chills around -30.  I am thankful for a nice warm apartment.

Thanks to those who have read my stories.  I really appreciated your comments.  I wish there were
still magazines where you could send short stories to be published.  I don't know of any, so if you do, please let me know.  Actually, for myself I dislike reading short stories....they always seem to end to
soon so I much prefer books...and yes, I read a lot....something like 4 or 5 books a week.  What is your favorite...a story, a book or a movie?

Well, it is time for dinner....thinking of making a pot of chili...sounds good on a cold snowy day!

Another snowy day

Good morning!

Well, it is another snowy day here in my little town in Michigan.  Big fat flakes are coming down at
a rapid pace.  I haven't even checked the weather, just tried to decide what to do today.  I have laundry and a box of papers to sort out.  But I discovered a new website where I could publish my stories for review by whoever.  Yes, I also like to write.  So I decided to post a few on this site.  You will find them as tabs on my home page.  Let me know what you think of them.

My other project for today will be to work on my newest painting.  The last ones were pastels on paper.  This one is acrylic on canvas.  It is a work in progress and a challenge for sure.  I will post a pic when it is looking better...right now I only have put in the background.  I was kind of discouraged about doing this art show project.....maybe, I thought, it is too ambitious a plan for a 66 year old lady.  Maybe too ambitious for someone who has never shown her art to people.  Maybe I should just give up?  Then last night I was watching my favorite funny show...The Big Bang Theory...when all of a sudden my television automatically switched channels to Joyce Meyer.  She was talking about the Bible verse that says we, as Christians,  can do all things though Christ who strengthen us.  She said that if grocery stores sold miracles in a can we would probably all go to the grocery store and buy a case.  Then she said that miracles came in cans...I CAN.  not in I CAN'T's.  So many times she repeated I can, I can, I can.  She went on to say that we need to believe we can, to speak it, and to do it.  Then we have our miracle.  So I am just saying that I can...and you can too...in whatever you have always wanted to accomplish.  I guess I was meant to watch that show.

Now to get ready to do that laundry...have a great day and stay warm!!

I've been trying to convince myself to write a blog.  I have been keeping a journal since the 1st of the year but somehow blogging just hasn't happened for me in a while.

It is very cold here in Michigan and school was delayed for two hours this morning.  Personally I think they should have cancelled it since when I came home the wind chill was -24.  But they won't because of all the days we have already missed due to bad weather.  We have had our fair share.  I think this is the worse winter that I have seen in a while.  I finally turned the heat on in my apartment and even have a small heater running and it is still cold in here.  All I really want to do is lay on the sofa with a blanket.

My knee is much better.  My new year's resolution was to quit using my cane and I have been successful.  I still don't have the range of motion that I should and wonder if I will ever get it now.  I see the surgeon for my six month check on February 6.  He will be proud that I am walking so well but not so proud of how I can't bend my leg...makes putting on socks and shoes very difficult...and forget about cutting toenails...I will be getting pedicures from now on I guess.

For those who aren't on facebook with me...I have gone back to my painting.  I decided to try to get enough paintings done and to try to have an art showing of my work.  I need to start searching for a place to do this.  So far I have four paintingd done and am working on the fifth. 

Here is the one I posted on facebook....

This was just before I finished it....I added some land above the water...rounded the first zebra's body and straightened out some of the stripes.  Now I need to get it matted and framed....where I have some extra cash.   The next painting is an acrylic....easier to frame than a pastel.  All the painting in this collection will be of animals.

So between being a Grandma at school, painting...and the occasional trip to the casino that is about all I have been doing. (Oh, and trying to stay warm.)  Have a great weekend!

There was no school today because of the recent snow.  Over the weekend we got a lot of snow.  The picture above was taken from my balcony when the snow had barely started....I think we got over 8 inches and the roads were a mess for a while.  Today it looks like they aren't so bad...but that is in town and I am sure the country roads are still a problem. 

Working at the school has been a challenge lately.  I guess the children are excited about Christmas.  They can't seem to sit still for very long or concentrate.  But then I think there is a lot expected of them for first grade.  For instance, number sentences like 2+3=5 are no longer called number sentences but equations.  True, this is the correct name but hard for a 1st grader to comprehend.  They are now being taught the cumulative theory....do you remember what that is?  Much easier just to say that 2+3=5 is also true for 3+2=5.  They aren't getting it...nor are they understanding fact families.  Do you remember being taught that in first grade?  Personally I never attended first grade so I have no comparison.  I started school in second grade due to childhood illnesses so I missed out on a lot. 

During the snowstorm I kept busy by making a to-do list and trying to complete it.  I have over twelve to-do items and completed about half.  Do you make to-do lists?  I enjoy crossing off the items done and it actually helps me to get things done that I usually procrastinate on doing. 

Today my to-do list will include...paying the remaining bills for the month, fixing the school children's gift bags, cleaning the apartment and laundry.   Of course I take breaks to check messages on my new Iphone and computer and read a little on my Kindle.   Most recent read was "The Color of Heaven" by Julianne MacLean.  Very good book and well written. I finished it at 3:30 this morning...another night where sleep eluded me. 

An update on my knee....it is better.  I think now the cold is making it achy.  My physical therapy sessions ended a few weeks ago and I don't have full movement but it is getting better and I think when summer gets here it will be much better than it is now.  I am still undecided as to whether I am glad that I had it done.  Time will tell and it is done and I just have to keep working on it.  

Now to get busy on that to-do list.  Have a great day!

I have had a lot going on lately.  First, I am done with physical therapy.  My knee still isn't as good as I thought it would be but since I stopped PT it has actually improved and I am starting to feel good about it.  I can actually go without my cane now but still take it if I am going to have a long day where I will do lots of walking. 

On Thanksgiving I went to the movies on a "date".  We saw the new hunger games movie, Catching Fire.  I liked it...he didn't.  But then he didn't like much...and I think that included me after I took his hand off my thigh in the movie theater.  LOL....at my age I can't believe I am even trying this again!  

On Friday my phone quit....turns out that my daughter purchased a new Iphone for my grandson and somehow things got mixed up and my number was given to him.  We got it straightened out with Sprint and then I decided for $50 that I would get a new IPhone too.  I got the 5c...it is a skinny little phone.  I had a choice of blue, pink or white.  Since my grandkids had blue and pink I took white.  However, I had to buy a rubber case (in case I dropped it my daughter warned me over and over not to drop my phone!)  The case is red and black so you can't even tell what color my phone is. Next I had to learn to use it.  My grand children had some good laughs at my expense....especially since I said....someone is calling me and words are on the screen...turns out it was a text from Sprint.  
I can get my mail...facebook...and a lot more right on my phone!

I had my grand daughter Hailey on Saturday.  I haven't spent much time with her and I actually enjoyed our time together.  We went shopping.  Tried out the scents in bath and body works...bought her some cool shoes at the resale shop and watched some netflix together.  

Yesterday my grandson Andrew called and wanted to come over.  I said sure.  We went to see the movie Delivery Man.  I was hesitant to go to this movie with him...he just turned 13 and I knew he would have lots of questions about sperm donations and he did.  I guess I handled it ok.  The movie is actually very good and entertaining.  Later we shared some of his birthday cake which he brought over....as he left last night he said that we had a good time and he liked coming to my place....and was going to come more often because I could die someday....interesting.

Today our school is closed for records day.  I am heading out shortly to take the bus to the casino.  I have only done this one other time and I had an excellent time.  I hope today goes well too and that I can get on the bus okay with my stiff knee.  So wish me luck....and I hope you all have a good Monday.

What Does Thanksgiving Mean To Me?

Saturday was our family Thanksgiving celebration.  It got me thinking about Thanksgiving and what it means and has meant to me in the past. 

It took a lot to try to remember what Thanksgiving was like for me as a child at home.  After all it was a zillion years ago...and a lot of my childhood memories somehow seem to be blocked for me.  I used to call my sister, Shirley, to find out how things were back then.  But she died several years ago, so I lost my source.  Sad to say the rest of my family doesn't seem willing to communicate with me.  But I remember Mom got up long before us and must have prepared a lot of the food.  The pies would be sitting on the buffet and the turkey roasting in the oven long before we (the children) woke up.  Our morning was spent watching tv....yes we did have one...black and white...small oval screen.  

When I grew up and married I remembered how frightened I was the first time I cooked a turkey.  You see, I had never planned on being a housewife..I never took Home Ec in school because I was going to live in the big city and have a career....there was no way that I was staying in Ohio and being a farm wife!  Well, I did go to the big city for a while...New York City....but a job led me to Toledo Oh where I met and married my first husband.  So I had no idea how to fix a turkey.  I did find a cookbook and did my best.   I set the oven, rinsed the turkey, rubbed butter and salt on it, and put it in the oven.  While it was roasting, I fixed the other things we ate.  Later as I was carving the turkey, can you imagine how surprised I was to find that plastic bag with the neck and other body parts in it...still in the turkey!  But did I stop to think what Thanksgiving meant to me?  No, I was busy putting on Thanksgiving.

So now things have changed.  I no longer get to cook the turkey.  Instead, my daughter's fiance does a fine job.  This year we had quite an assortment of food.  I contributed deviled eggs and although I made plenty...they were gone in the flash of an eye!  My son arrived late and I could hear him in the kitchen saying with disappointment.."but where are the deviled eggs that Mom brought?"  (so making a note to myself...make extra eggs next time!)  After eating we just sat around and visited.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Thursday (the real Thanksgiving Day) will be here soon.  I have contemplated how I will spend the day.  I won't be cooking a dinner, nor will I be sitting down with anyone to eat one.  Today I thought about it at the grocery store and decided that it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a turkey dinner...so I bought a Mary Callender's frozen dinner...stuffing, turkey and mashed potatoes...and I bought a pumpkin pie for dessert.  If nothing comes up, I'll be eating that on my TV tray...maybe watching my first Christmas movie.   My family will be getting ready to hit the stores for the pre-black Friday sales...then the real black Friday sales...that isn't for me.

I guess that Thanksgiving is a time for being thankful for the things we have, our experiences, our family and friends, and just to be alive.  It is also a time for remembering...old times, places, dear ones who are departed, and for getting ready for the holiday season. 

What does Thanksgiving mean to you?  How do you celebrate it?