Whats new Sunday

Hi Nan and OFF friends! OMG, it's cold . This AM it is -7 with a wind chill of -34. On top of 14" of snow that fell Fri, 2" last night; 30" just in Dec. Normally we get 50" for a whole winter season. Then another 2-4" expected Tue and a potentially bigger storm on Christmas Eve. Wi**** would end soon, but, after all, it is just the first day of winter today!

Finalized my Christmas Day menu, if anyone can get here, and made my grocery list. Bought the cutest fresh fruit bowl at a place called Edible Arrangements. They are online, but have a local store here only a few miles away. They make fruit bouquets of various types and sizes all year round. A little pricey but so cute. They have some that have a few chocolate dipped fruits interspersed, pineapple cut into daisies, etc. Cute, cute, cute. I'm supposed to pick it up Wed AM; hope it doesn't snow again as forecast.

Today I'm hanging some wall decor - 2 mirrors, some prints I just had framed, wall sconces with battery operated candles. I've really fallen in love with the flameless candles. I love candles but with the dog with her long tail, I'm always afraid to light them. And now some are on timers so you don't even have to remember to turn them on and off!

So, everyone, keep warm, or cool as your climate dictates! Have a great day.

Hi Nan and my OFF family:

I hope your family made it up there ... the weather is horrible here, so I'm sure it's worse up north. Lots of snow and blowing. It was pretty bad last night when I was driving home at 10 p.m. from work and it's gotten worse now this morning. I hope they hole up and don't drive in this mess. Better to wait a day than get stuck in a white-out.

I'm doing all the stuff to get ready for tomorrow ... laundry, dishes, baking my almond breakfast cookies that my friend Bruce made when I was in Lubbock, TX ... got the recipe awhile back but couldn't find all the ingredients for it. I'm going to add some protein powder too to amp up the protein (although with the almond butter and almond flour, it's got a lot of protein anyway). They are so good. I figured I could have them on hand and use them for lunch or snacks. It sure would be better than some of the crap I've been eating. I brought cookies into work the past two days to get them out of the house ... been eating far too many of them! Got rid of a lot, but not enough.

Jeanine, Diva's former mommy, came yesterday afternoon to take Diva away. It was tough for me ... Diva meowed and cried and I wanted to say, "No, let her stay," but I knew I had to let her go. I know this is best for her. It was hard coming home to just two cats last night. Nettie and Scooter seem content enough ... Nettie is cuddling up to Scooter more than usual, and Scooter is OK with that, although he is such a loner ... he'd be happy with just me. Nettie needs the companionship, though.

The scene outside my windows is all white ... snow blowing around and billowing and drifting ... yuck! I have nothing to do and nowhere to go, so I'm just staying home, listening to Christmas CDs right now and later watching football and reading, talking to some friends (hopefully my brother, who's my best friend in my "real" family, my friend Margie, one of my sisters of the heart ... I have so many of them, many on this board ... but Margie was my first ... she's like a surrogate mom at times, feeding my body and soul). My "real" mom will call too, she always does on Sundays.

I am not apprehensive about my surgery tomorrow at all ... I want it to be done. I hope it will take care of my pain. I know there are more risks of complications with this surgery this time. I do want my surgeon to come in and apologize to me after surgery when he realizes how much damage was there ... he doubted my pain for so long and said "You can do normal things ... you can bike and swim." Well, it took one of his colleagues to convince him I had some real issues there. I know he probably won't apologize ... surgeons are so arrogant, and I know that's what makes them good ... you have to be arrogant to cut into a person's body. But I think you have to understand that when a person says they are in pain, they're not making it up. If they're sitting there in tears, that pain is real, and that's a symptom something is wrong. Doctors need to listen to their patients and look beyond the X-rays and bone scans. They don't do that enough.

Well, back to the laundry ... I hope to sign on tomorrow before I leave. Surgery is at 2 p.m. and I leave at 11 a.m.; my friend Jeff from work is coming by to pick me up with his two little girls, Abby and Amelia (4 and 2) ... Jeff works on our Web desk and is the nicest guy, such a calming influence ... whenever I'm losing my cool over anything ... computer issues especially, there's Jeff figuring out how to solve it (he's really good on the computer stuff). He's married to one of our features writers. I'll be at Spectrum Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids, where I had my last knee surgery and my bariatric surgery ... it's one of the best hospitals for joint replacement in the state, and their nutrition unit is tops, even for post-bariatrics ... lots of good choices!

Have a good day, stay warm and safe, don't drive if you don't have to if you're in this bad weather belt.

Good morning Nan and everyone....

Nan I hope your son and granddaughters make it to your home safely. Prayers are being sent up now.

Margo...prayers for your gramma...it is so hard to watch them go thru that. Bless your heart sweetie!!

Sounds like everyone is scurrying around getting things in order for Christmas. I am as ready as I will ever be!!

My car is giving me fits. I arrived here and my transmission started slipping in drive. My SIL is great at car repairs. He change the fluid and filter and thought  that should do it...NO...it didn't work!! Now it will have to go into the shop tomorrow...who knows I may be buying a new car to go home in...UGH!! Of all times of the year for this to happen.....

Otherwise all is fun and tons of love around to share!!

I wish everyone safe travels and a very very Happy Holiday!!

Love and hugs....connie d

I didn’t go to bed until 3:30. I was knitting – three things – and I just didn’t want to stop. Gosh, you’d think I was addicted   
I couldn’t sleep as my discs in my lower back are degenerating and I need an adjustment and so the pain was keeping me awake. And, there is so much of the white stuff on the ground that it makes my bedroom almost as light as day, so it's hard to sleep!   (one small window is made of glass blocks and I haven't covered it because I like its looks) So I was still awake at 4:30. I guess that I wasn’t the only one.   I'm on my third tea.  I just got up at noon (let the dogs out earlier and brought them back in) and haven't even had a shower yet.  I find tea very soothing.  BTW, for those of you who may drink tea, Tetley has a wonderful tea called Apple and Cinnamon.  It has black tea in it, so it's not a herbal tea.  There is no sugar or sweetener, so you can add artificial sweetener if you like.  It's the only apple/cinnamon tea I've found that does not have any kind of sweetener  -  very nice.  (for those in Canada reading this, I found it at Giant Tiger for .90!!) This will be a lazy day for me and the "guys", Creena and Derwood Kirby.  Just more knitting and a little cleaning.  It is cold today, and I'm not walking anywhere with the dogs or driving unless I have to.  I have a small SUV and driving it in the snow is wonderful  It automatically goes in to 4 wheel drive, when needed, so I don't have to worry as much as others about getting stuck  -  hallelujah (sp?)! 
People have shown up, out of the blue, at my door to shovel the driveway and some guy I don't know fixes my fallen-over porch Christmas tree when he walks by with his dog and notices.  Life is good.

Margo - I hope that things go well for your grandma - my grandmother was the fudge-making, rummy-playing type of grandma who I loved and always wanted to be around.  She was my beacon of light in a dysfunctional family.  She would be 123 years old if she were alive!!!  My mother would be 98!!!  My mother was 40 when I was born.

Eileen - good wishes for tomorrow and for this surgery to be the one to take away the pain. 
And everyone else, have a great day!!
Hugs  
Margaret

Well itis actually good night to everyone as I got to this so late. I spent the day shopping with my DD who is here from Chicago. It is so cold here it ismiserable to be outside. It is 7 degrees and windy.  I finally finished all the shopping and wrapping. Tomorrow is the baking day.  I finally got the decorations up. I had to wait for DH to finish the painting. Our front room looked so dirty. we had not painted in17 years. Much better now.
Margo--Sending prayers for your gramma. I had a temp of 107 once. It is possible and can't go on for very long without causing problems.
Eileen--Good luck with your surgery tomorrow
Connie--Hope you are able to get your car problems fixed.
Nan-glad to see your kids made it. Things are so much better when the kids are home
Annette- Just give your kitty some time, she will eventually trust you. My cat was OK with us but terrified of our dogs. He spent 6 years avoiding them. then last summer all of a sudden he decided the dogs were OK. He sleeps right by them now.

Went to a potluck today. Everyone made a fuss over my weight loss which is always nice and the protein banana muffins and crab egg bites I brought all disappeared quickly. At first all the food was baked goods, but eventually some meat showed up so I could actually have something to eat.