Walking In A Winter Wonderland

When I wrote my first post of March I said March came in like a goat...not horrible but not lambish, (Lambish is not a word..just in case you're wondering)  Well, March is not leaving lambish either.  Not sure what I'd call it.  Yesterday it was in the 50's and rained all day.  We woke up to this today:

Winter wonderland...

Pretty, yes?  Icy under that snow? Yes.  But the roads cleared fairly quick and although it snowed off and on all day, it wasn't too bad.  Tomorrow will be in the 40's and sunny and all this will be just good blog worthy weather reporting.

Of course tomorrow is April 1st...maybe Mother Nature will fool us again.  This afternoon Jack called me up from my comfy place in the basement family room to show me we had visitors.

Oh deer...they were munching on some green grass they found near the pine trees.

When I spotted this one nibbling on the blueberry bushes I smacked my hand on the window and they moved on.

Yes deer...I mean YOU!  You need to lay off the berry bushes and head to the creepy woods! In other activities of the weekend, Jack and I went up to Akron to a place called "The Tangiers". If you're from Ohio you've probably heard of it or been there for the many entertainers or perhaps a wedding reception.   It's been in operation since 1948 and has hosted singers and entertainers like  Tina Turner, Chubby Checker, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others.  As we walked down the hall to the ballroom where our event was happening, the walls were lined with the famous from over the years.

It has a very "old world" appearance.  I kept thinking the Godfather would walk by any minute.

Not this Godfather!

It's fun to look at all the photos and billboards.  We had a fun time with friends and enjoyed the food, music and dancing.  In another room there was a "Pink Floyd" tribute band!  I don't think we would have fit in too well there! Even though we didn't have the best weather this weekend we had a good couple of days to have fun and rest up for this week.  We even had the kids over today for a birthday celebration for our youngest son, Jordan.  His birthday is Tuesday and he'll be 35....holy cow time flies! I took no pics however since I was busy with food prep and just sitting and enjoying the company.  It was a full day and now my hot cocoa is gone and Arnie is snoring at my feet so I guess it's time to head to bed. Have a good Monday everyone!

The End

March Madness...Not Really That Crazy Around Here.

A few weeks ago...my birthday week...I was hit with the crud.  I don't think it was the actual flu and frankly it doesn't matter.  It was not a fun week.  Well, I got hit with a portion of it again this week.  I think I mentioned I'm hardly ever sick with colds or flu so now I can't say that anymore...until at least a few years pass!  This time around I went to work, wore a mask and tried not to contaminate anyone. We're short staffed so staying home wasn't an option.  Today I'm feeling much better but I can tell you that having a runny nose is the worst thing for surgical nurse.  Wearing a mask is great but there's no way to blow that runny nose.  Draw your own conclusions.  But life goes on and this is what was happening in our world:

New carpet.  I know it's a stupid pic and you can't really even see the color.  I like it, it smells very new and the only reason I mention it is because when I try and remember how old the carpet is I can look back at my blog and say: "It was March of 2019!"  That's the reason I mention the redone front porch, the new outbuilding, new furnace, new roof, etc...when we go to sell one day I have the dates on record! This carpet has a 30yr warranty...it will out live me!

Arnie's not that impressed.

We put Spring flowers at the cemetery.  Saturday the temps were 50de and sunny and it felt like Spring.  Last night there was a possibility of seeing the northern lights here in Ohio.  We went outside a few times until we hit the hay and no luck.  I remember seeing them here many years ago and hoped to catch a glimpse and photo.  Not this time!

I have a friend at work that makes wreaths and I like this one.  Yep, we've rescued a couple of dogs and they all were the best...we miss our little Chubbs and we have good memories of Ferris the wonder dog. Arnie is a good guy too with his own crazy personality!  Adopt, don't shop.  Many animals in shelters need a "furever" home.

Today I got some granola that the kids in my Sunday school class were selling for a fund raiser.  This is an Ashland company started by a stay at home Mom.  Truthfully I'm not that fond of it but many folks think it's really good.  I applaud anyone who runs a small, successful business.  I also try and help out with fund raisers.  If you come across this in your store try it and maybe you'll love it.  Read the back page:

Crazy Monkey Baking Company.  You never know what will be a winner in business!  That's all I've got.  Tomorrow starts the last week of March.  The folks out East and many in the middle of the country are hoping this Winter weather is over and Spring will finally arrive.  I saw some of my daffodils poking up through the ground.  I'm ready!

This Week

 I was trying so hard to think of a clever title for this post.  I wanted something that would grab everyone's attention, draw you into my web of boring.  But this was all I could think of.  It's late and I'm probably going to regret not going to bed ASAP since I'm on call, but I felt the need to post.  So here's just a few quick thoughts about this week.
#1...TGIF tomorrow.  I'm really over the work thing for some reason.
#2....I saw this story in our local newspaper. I'm sure it was suppose to be a real "feel good" story but I just thought to myself...What?

The article is about Ashland High School selling coffee at the school in the morning.  It's run by the special needs kids that are learning a skill. Like being a barista I guess. Most of the coffees are the sweet, whip cream, sprinkle kind. Why are they selling legal stimulants to kids? Did you drink coffee in high school?  Maybe you did.  I know I would have if we had a coffee bar in the foyer. (hand over the whip cream and sprinkles please!)  I know the kids are learning about working and money and other useful skills.  I'm just perplexed about selling coffee at school. But I don't drink it so I probably don't understand why they do it.  It's better than the useless money making stuff kids usually sell. (Over priced candy and wrapping paper anyone?)  I asked my son Craig if Katie has a coffee bar at her high school.  He said no but they are in Portland, Oregon so they probably sell legal marijuana. Makes sense.
#3...Can you say "WARM"?

My car thermometer on the way home today...73 degrees! Actually, it went up to 74.  Flip flop weather!  But can you tell me what rhymes with "WARM"?

STORM rhymes with warm and we had the sky that, thankfully, looked worse than it was.  We had wind warnings out and the perfect weather for tornadoes.  But all's good tonight.

It passed by quickly and now the cool down comes. Snow is a possibility over the weekend.  Go figure. Anyway, Spring is a week away and we can quit persecuting that poor groundhog Phil.  Mother Nature is a fickle woman.  Especially in Ohio.  Night All!

Blog Worthy?

It's been a week since I've blogged and frankly I'm not too sure I  have anything "blog worthy".  The weather  has turned cold and then it suppose to warm a bit this weekend.  Everyone at work has been sick.  There's been call offs for the past two weeks.  I was one of them last week but slowly this once in a decade cold is getting better. I heard that they may have a cure for HIV.  That's awesome and a huge breakthrough.  But come on people...the common cold is still not cured!!!! I'm baffled.  Anyway, all's quiet here at the Pines.  Jack hasn't got my crud and hopefully won't.  Arnie got his stitches out and has lost 2lbs.  (so far he's winning the weight loss challenge) I've been making my own dog food. Yes, I've become "one of those dog owner people".   Finally, I'm going to ride on my Granddaughter's parade float today by posting pics she has been putting on Facebook. She's been in Paris, France this past week having the trip of a lifetime!  She'll graduate from college this Spring with a degree in fashion merchandising and business.  So Paris is the place for our little artist to enjoy the fashion sense there, the designer clothes, the architecture, the street art, and of course...the food!

She's been posting photos of her food and I had to laugh because I do that too..take pics of food.  (as well as eat food!)

So pretty..so French looking.

Beautiful sights...

My beautiful little Summer...we love you and can't wait for you to get home!  That's all I've got tonight...March has come in like a goat....not horrible but not lambish...Have a good weekend!

Goodbye February

When I was a child, saying goodbye to February was always a happy occasion.  Yep, it's my birthday today.  No, I wasn't a Leap Year kiddo who had to have a fake bday today.  I'm the real February 28th deal.  I missed the first 3 days of work this week because of illness so today was my first day back.  My BFF, Donna, always does something nice for me on my bday and today was no exception.  How can you not smile when you get a beautiful and super delicious cake?

Not only did she bring a smile to my face, she made the whole surgery department happy!  OR people love to eat.  Thanks so much Donna!  (I also love the beautiful bowls you gave me!)  Some other goodies I received:

Flowers from my Sweetie!  Plus a gift card to my hair salon...a win win! Thanks Babe!  All the happy wishes, cards, and other gifts from my kids...movie from Jordan, gift card from Jackie and then my son Phil gave me a fun and interesting gift:

This box was full of this:

Candy that was popular in 1953...and many of it still is!  I told his girls to give some a try and they enjoyed sampling candy from my childhood.

This little booklet was interesting to read and see how prices, salaries and what was popular back when I was born has changed over the years.  A fun and creative gift! A phone call from Craig out west with the news that they are coming to visit this summer made me smile even brighter.  Yes, I'm blessed with a loving family, and good friends.  Mom called today too and I'm happy I still have her with us and can share this day with her.  She did all work to get me here after all!  My older brother, Phil,  sent me a sweet message reminding me that now I'm the 3rd of us to get to retirement age...66. That's something that my Dad didn't get and Jack's folks both passed at 66.  So he said we need to do what they didn't get to do...retire and enjoy our life.  I'm making my plans and hopefully will do just that at the end of this year.  It's hard to think about leaving something I've done since I was 18.  Working now is different because of the big hospital that bought us out. Corporate medicine has changed the face of our hospital in terms of how we work.  We have to work with less but do more.  What hasn't changed however is who we work for...our patients.  What hasn't changed is why we do what we do each day.  Today was a perfect example of the Ying and Yang of surgery life.  First case this morning a baby was born by c-section.  When a baby is born the family presses a button and a lullaby is heard throughout the hospital. I thought, "how fun to have a baby born on my birthday!"  A lucky family with a healthy baby.   A few hours later I stood by another patient who was having a miscarriage and facing the loss of her baby.  We held her hand, wiped her tears, wrapped the tiny little boy in a towel so she could hold him and say good-bye.  We took extra time with that case.  Made arrangements so Dad could see his little boy too and say his goodbyes.  Not everyone can experience the first breath of a new life or the last one.  Those experiences and many, many others I've had over the years are what keeps me doing my job for now.  The pressures of a fast pace, changing technology, and big corporate regulations that speak more of money than compassion are what's motivating me to know when to go.  But today isn't that day.  I'll put the emotions and work stress by for now and say thanks to all my family and friends for helping me celebrate and slide into another year.  Dad, and Mom and Dad Starkey...I'm dedicating the rest of this year to you guys... let's make it a great one!

Weird Week..And It's Only Tuesday

I've been home sick with the crud that has been flying all over work and church.  I was a little under the weather a few weeks ago but it passed quickly and I didn't miss work.  This past weekend found me feeling poorly again.  I'm usually a fairly healthy person. Jack and I both feel blessed to be that way.  That's why I get pretty bummed when it actually takes me out of my usual schedule!  I'm feeling a little more normal today but decided I would stay home anyway just to feel more rested.  Sometimes pushing yourself isn't the smartest move.  I just have to get over feeling guilty or like I'm letting my coworkers down.  We're very short staffed because that's how the corporation likes it, but when sickness happens then we...the worker bees...suffer.  Anyway, I'm hoping for a better end to the week!  The other strange thing was the wind storm over the weekend.  Sunday started out 60de and sunny but by 10am it was blowing and the temps dropped and snow flurries hit the air.  The snow didn't amount to anything but there were power outages, downed trees, and wind damage around town.  We were lucky to have kept the power and I always worry about the pine trees falling.  Pine trees don't have super deep roots.  Ours have helped block the wind many times.  Our only testament to strong wind was the little pergola that fell over in the garden:

Jack says he'll fix it and I know he will.  He's threatening to put re-bar about 12 feet deep in the bottom! Ha!  Some other folks weren't as lucky as us.

This tree fell on a chimney that then went through the roof.  Ouch!  Also the pine tree that the University always uses for it's Christmas tree lighting ceremony was uprooted.  Another tragedy, that wasn't because of the wind storm, was our favorite orchard where we get our apples from lost it's barn to a fire.

Thankfully it happened before the wind storm or I'm sure the orchards would have been damaged too. Hopefully it will be rebuilt and ready for the owners by Fall harvest.  On another note I didn't say how our Arnie's surgery went last week.  He came through it much better than the first time he had surgery last year.  We switched Vets and are very happy with them.  The fatty tumor will probably come back again because it's pretty deep in the muscle and trying to get it all out could damage the nerves in his front leg. So we'll see how it goes but he's doing well although he's on a diet.  He's a little overweight so we're working on getting him back in shape for swimsuit season!

If he just didn't beg so dang cute we might have a better chance at slimming him down!  The only nice thing so far this week was seeing some sunshine yesterday.

It's pretty cold out but I'll take cold with no snow and lots of sun.  Even if it's just seeing it for the time it takes to get the dog out for a potty break....dang flu.  Hope your week is going better.

It's Keen To Be Seventeen

Does anyone even say "Keen" any more?  I know I don't use that word very often but it rhymed with seventeen. The only other word I could think of to rhyme was "spleen"....and that's not too keen.  Anyway, today is Anthony's birthday.  My Grandson is 17 and this YaYa can hardly believe it.  He's a wonderful young man....kind of quiet...kind of funny...kind of a keen kiddo!  He's been doing great in basketball at the high school this year and he's always had great grades.  As we all gathered together tonight I had to think that we're a bit of an unconventional family.  My son Jack...Anthony's Dad...is divorced but everyone gets along and we all celebrate life's moments together.  Even Jack's wife Evelyn and his ex, Stephanie, get along.  It's so much better to be friends and family and all the kids are happy.  So we went to Stephanie's home and she made a lovely dinner and we had cake and icecream and sang the birthday song and all is good with our world.  Happy Birthday Anthony....we love you!

Not too embarrassed to wear a silly birthday hat. Well, maybe just a little!

His other Grandmother made his cake.

He made his wish...you should never be too old to wish.  His lovely girlfriend was there tonight too.  Yep, he's getting older! Here are a few of the other players tonight:

His Dad and Summer's dog, Happy.

His sister Driana who's in nursing school and doing great!

His sister Summer and her long time boyfriend, Brett.  Summer is going to Paris, France next week! She's a senior at Ashland University and will graduate in May with a Bachelor's in fashion merchandising.  Paris is a dream come true for her and we wish her a fun, fun trip!

Little brother Cameron.  It was a fun evening and I'm so glad to have all of these kids together to share in happy moments.   We have many family members with February birthdays.   My Dad's birthday was Monday.  He would have been 99 this year!  Since he died young, 56, it's hard to imagine him old.  Here's a  pic of him not too long before he passed away. 

He's with his dog Rebel.  Reb and Dad were best friends and Mom struggled with Rebel afterwards.  Reb died about 3 yrs after Dad.   It's a cliche' I know, but life is very short and unpredictable.  We should celebrate those moments in time and be thankful for the happy ones.  This short month is coming to an end....enjoy the final weekend of it and do something fun!

Do You Celebrate VD?

Ok, I'm sure you all know that by VD I mean:  VALENTINE'S DAY!  People have strong opinions about this holiday. Many blame it on Hallmark and feel it's just an excuse for buying their cards. I don't really like to call it an actual "holiday".  You don't get the day off or any over-time pay for working it.  Those are the main criteria for me when describing a holiday.  When I was a little nugget in grade school we made the Valentine's day boxes to collect all those love notes from our classmates.  I didn't really like making those boxes. I'm not super creative.   I  REALLY didn't enjoy it when my kids were in school because you were suppose to do something creative and no matter how hard we tried there was always that overachiever parent who made a box that looked like the Vatican or something.  We all knew the kid didn't even get to glue on a single scrap of craft paper to the project! (Not that I'm bitter or anything)  Well, I do enjoy giving out Valentines.  Any reason to celebrate something in the middle of a dreary Winter is OK by me.  I found this old picture of my parents on a Valentine's Day. I remember that day because, of course, I snapped the pic and I made the dinner and gave them gifts.  Looks like they enjoyed them!

Can you tell it's a late 60's, early 70's kitchen?  Anyway, they look happy!   I usually do something for Jack on this day.  This year it's a card, some food stuff he loves, and I threw in a gift card...hey, he deserves it! 

He wondered if I was trying to give him  a message about shooting him with my bow and arrow!  He gave me some beautiful flowers because he knows how much I love fresh flowers.

Thanks Babe!  We have another tradition that I just made up.  We have to eat burgers on Valentine's Day.  It started 3 years ago and this year was no exception.

As I've said many times, I'm a burger kind of gal!  That pretty much sums up our day except we had a surprise visit from my brother Jim and my sister's son,  Bill.  They were on their way home from a job in Pennsylvania and stopped by to spend the night before heading out early this morning. They work together for my sister's company....Corporate Communications.  We got to sit and chat for a while and it was fun to catch up with them.  So glad they stopped by.  I just wish I had taken a picture of them.  They are probably glad I didn't!   Now on to the weekend.  Today after work I took Arnie for some grooming:

He's going to have surgery on Monday and I thought it would be good to get his hair clipped. His little tumor under his right leg grew back. He had it removed last summer shortly after we adopted him.  We took him to another vet for a second opinion and decided to get it done again since it's affecting his walking. Oh, he has to lose weight too....sorry buddy, no more snitching food from us! I don't care how cute you look begging!  I think I mentioned in a previous post we were getting the front porch redone.  Here it is:

It will look better after it's painted some time this summer, and all our green plants come back this Spring.  At least it won't collapse on anyone!

 I hope everyone had a nice Valentines Day.  We can always use a bit more love in this world!

Peaceful Sunday

Today was a very quiet and peaceful day. Nothing traumatic, nothing hugely even blog worthy.  I just felt I should blog anyway. Illness seems to be spreading around these parts rapidly. At work this week we had a few "call offs".  I had a bit of a cold that lasted a week or so but nothing that kept me down for long.  At Church today none of my 7&8 year old kiddos showed up for class and it was a sparse number in the congregation.  I thought maybe it was because I was a speaker today.  The first 2 speakers ahead of me didn't take very long and left me a lot of time. I looked at Jack with a little bit of "great, I have to fill this in for 25 minutes" angst.  Always having my back and knowing I can talk up a storm he just said: "Pretend you're talking to your sister." (We do tend to chat a bit long) He's so funny.  Anyway, it all went well and I'm probably off the hook for speaking for another year! I was suppose to give this talk last month but God saved me by sending a blizzard.  No such luck today! In fact, we've had pretty nice weather the past few days.  All that snow melted with warm temps.

Car thermometers don't lie.  What this lovely raise in temps did was melt and flood everywhere. Then we had tons of rain to go with it. Never a dull weather moment here.  Although the snow had melted the temps hit bottom again and we had a very cold weekend.

I don't know if you can tell from this pic but Jordan came over with his truck on Friday to go get wood with Jack. After unloading he took off thinking the ground should be fairly frozen still...NOT! It took them over an hour to get out of this mess.  Saturday morning I took this pic and all the water had frozen.  I think this is a prime example of  "No good deed goes unpunished" as his truck, inside and out, was mud covered and they were both pretty frozen themselves.   I was ready for a nice, quiet Sunday.  I made a roast with a new recipe using...drumrolllllll....pickles! It was really yummy!

I threw the pickles in this just for the picture.

Mashed potatoes and a fresh salad were all this needed for comfort food today.

I made drop scones Saturday that Jack took for his early morning meeting at Church today. They turned out good too.  A great way to spend a cold weekend...baking, cooking and sharing it all.

The snow gently fell this afternoon and we're going to get about 3 inches before it's over. Tomorrow there's an Amish man coming to redo our front porch. We'll see if that happens! Anyway, I hope everyone has had a nice weekend and now on to Monday.

Last night's sunset...Still looking peaceful.