A Quick Update

First of all....thank you for the well wishes for Salem.

I took him back to the vet yesterday.  He turned up his nose at food yesterday morning and sounded more congested.  I swear, he sounded like he was trying to breathe through his nose through just a little pin hole for air.
Actually he checked out pretty well.  No fever, lungs sounded fine.  But his nose and eyes were running like crazy.  He got a steroid shot and a long acting antibiotic shot....no fighting to get medication into him this time.  He is refusing his usual dry food but with a little coaxing he is eating some canned food and drinking tuna water.
So I hope we are through the worst....I do believe he is moving a bit more air through his nose today.  All I can do at this point is keep him eating and drinking and keep 3 little girls who want to "take care" of him away and let him rest.

On my walk the other day I saw these wildflowers.  Does anyone know what they are called?  I would think black-eyed susans, but they look more like a cone-flower?  I am not good with names of flowers and I have walked this area before without truly seeing them I guess.  Its a very pretty area to walk, on a path by a lake.

We are getting tired of salads and the lettuce in our garden is still flourishing.  It is nice to shop and by pass the lettuces though.  We should have broccali soon.  We have never grown either before and I have no idea why.  We eat a lot of both.

I have made little progress on any knitting lately.  The days are busy with a 10  (almost 11) year old to drive to summer school, vacation bible school, swim lessons.  We really have to keep her busy....all she wants to do is be on the computer watching you tube.  So, we feel like we need to keep her busy and entertained.  I will be relieved when school starts again.

I want to welcome a new follower, Lilly's Mom, Pat.  Drop by her blog, Lilly My Cat when you have time.  She's a very interesting lady.

Well, that's all that's going on here.  I have plans for a very quiet evening and some knitting.  The girls are on their way back to their parents and Hubby is meeting a friend for dinner and 9 holes of golf.   Ahhh...peace and quiet.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Til next time,
Peace

Random Wednesday

First of all my good old boy, Salem the cat, is sick again....or still maybe?
His dizziness and staggering like a drunk resolved within 2-3 days.  We got antibiotics into him (at least as much as he didn't spit out) for a week til gone.  On the last day of antibiotics he started to sneeze a little.  Cats will sneeze occasionally but this seemed a little more often.  It's been 4-5 days of sneezing and snorting to clear his nose.  I am sure this must be viral but have no idea where he picked it up.  He is a totally indoor cat and we don't have any other animals coming in.
He eats and drinks like normal although he seems more listless.  Sometimes I think he feels a little warm so maybe a fever, but other times not.  I think seeing the Vet again would be a good idea, but since he is eating ok and his breathing is ok I don't believe there is much to be done at this point.  I am hoping to see some signs soon that he is feeling better...if not we will go back to the Vet.

Remember this little trouble maker?

I somehow managed to put one buttonhole on each side.  I ripped it out and started again (for the 3rd time) and now I have managed to get the top half finished successfully with 2 button holes on the same side....terrific!  The problem is it is supposed to have 3 button holes and I missed the middle one somehow.  It bothers me a little (only a little) but I think it will look ok with 2 buttons instead of 3.  I am going to finish it, but its possible I could rip it out again if it doesn't look good.  I love this yarn and I will not give up on this top!

Our garden is looking much better than years past.  Funny how much difference a little weeding and a little fertilizer makes.  We have an abundant supply of leaf lettuce and it looks like we will have at least 6 heads of broccali and lots of squash and beans soon.

I leave you with a foggy Lake Michigan picture from yesterday. I have lived near this lake all my life and love to see it in all its moods.  We often drive by the lake just to see what it looks like, even in winter.

 
(I had trouble adding pictures from my tablet, it's worked fine til now ((sigh)).  Anyway,  I used my phone to add the pictures and then previewed it.  The layout on my phone was all messed up.  If you are reading from a phone is it readable or is the text running down the left side?)

Til next time,
Peace

Me Time

I spent Father's Day all alone today.....and it was blissful!
Hubby was up north at a friend's vineyard helping out at a wine festival.

I slept late, and spent a leisurely hour or so (more like two?) on Facebook and blog catch up.  I ate leftover spaghetti for breakfast.  I watched some DVR'd shows and caught up on those while I did a little knitting.

Then something came over me and I decided to declutter the kitchen a little.  My intention was to do 1 cupboard today.  Well, you know how one thing can lead to another and I ended up going through all the cupboards. I filled a box with glasses we don't use and don't need.  Really, how many wine glasses do 2 people need?  I got rid of over a dozen....then hubby came home with 3 more from the wine festival!  Do you see my problem?
I filled another box with dishes and stuff that I never use and rearranged some things.  Then I moved some food storage around.  I was able to clear a spot in a cupboard to store my bread machine.  It has been sitting on my counter and I rarely use it.  I put my toaster, crockpot, and blender on one side of the sink and that freed up the counter on the other side.  I love the clean uncluttered look of nothing on the counters but I wouldn't like to get the toaster out of the cupboard almost every day.  So, I have one clean uncluttered side and it works for me.

When Hubby came home I made a nice shrimp stir-fry with fresh veggies for dinner. We also had salad with our very first harvest from our garden.  Look at this leaf lettuce...isn't it green and pretty?

I am pleased because we have never tried growing lettuce before and it is looking good.  The garden has been Hubby's thing in the past but he plants it and then ignores it.  This year I took command!  I helped plant it, and mulch it and weed it.  "I am woman, hear me roar!" LOL.  It looks like we are going to be eating lots of salad for awhile.

I hope you and your families had a blessed and happy Father's Day.

Til next time,

Peace

Flower Day

We picked a freezing cold day to go to the greenhouse for flowers.  It was my daughter's day off and she wanted to go with us.  I love to go to this greenhouse.  It is about a 45 minute drive and they have what seems like miles of flowers at very good prices.

We got a hanging basket of purple petunias for my mother-in-law,  a hanging basket of red stripe petunias for me, a flat of impatiens, some tomatoes, a lavendar plant, and a basil plant.  The impatiens will fill 2 pots on the deck and 2 hanging baskets.
I tried to limit our spending a lot this year.  We are on a budget, no impulse buying.
This is enough to add some color along with the perennials I already have.

Little Miss had a great time.  We had to visit all the birdbaths, yard and garden statues, and all the fake animals in the place.  Are these big animals to put in your yard?  A deer or a gnome, sure....but a tiger or an elephant?

                               

(sorry this picture is blurry....no idea what happened)


A cow maybe?

Our Little Miss had to pick out a flower to take home to her Momma ( my DIL).  Pink of course!

Hope it is warmer where you are.  

Til next time,

Peace

Let's Get Started!

I planned to start this blog shortly after my 60th birthday.  I wasn't quite sure where to start and I think life got in the way.
So ....a few years later....here goes.

One of the most important things in my life is family.  I am blessed to have our son and daughter living nearby and get to spend lots of time with granddaughters Amber (10), Marley (5), and Hayley (2 1/2).  I like to think they are helping to keep Hubby and me young, but sometimes I think they just keep us tired.

Today we took Hayley with us to the Farm and Garden store to see the baby chicks and ducks.  She loved watching them.  Hello peep-peeps.  Hello quack-quacks!

We bought seeds for the garden. We plant a garden every year and it's never very productive.  We aren't good with the actual care of a garden.....we just want to plant it and harvest it.  We vowed again, as we do every year, to do better this time. Right now we have a vision (delusion) of a bountiful garden.   I'll let you know how that works out.

I retired in June 2013.  I am still trying to find the right balance between necessary chores, relaxation, fun, and making the world a better place in some way.  I worked for almost 20 years as an RN at a Federally Qualified Health Clinic.  It was more than a paycheck to me.  It was also a mission, and I know that I was able to make a difference.
Today I spent the afternoon (while Hayley was napping) doing some charity knitting. For now that seems to satisfy my need to make a positive contribution to the world.
I am also working on a shawl for myself and trying to knit my very first sock on DPNs.  I will post some pictures when/if I get them finished.
,
I'm looking forward to this new adventure into blog land!  I hope you will join me.