Thursday, April 25, 2024

Pancakes...Roast, Enchiladas, and Relief



 


This is a new treat at Cracker Barrel.  Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes...there went my diet, again.  You seriously need to try them.




I then made a chuck roast in the Instant Pot.  Turned out wonderfully.





Then I made Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas...oh, so good!






One morning, I made Lemon Pancakes with powdered sugar.






Larry then made chicken wings in the oven...these are so good!











I cleared off the bottom two shelves of our bookcase so Sloane could have her own area with her books and toys.  I think she'll like it much better than the toy box.  She can see things better.






Here's Sloane telling Lolli and Pops (grandparents) all about her week after they picked her up for the weekend.  Lolol...




Pops and Sloane enjoying a duet...and of course Toby sang along!






Just about bedtime for all...Sloane patting the fur babies to help them sleep...<3





Sloane telling on her mommy...lolol












Roses are growing like crazy!  I love it...





Well guys, I guess that's about it for me this week.  I hope you all are safe, well and happy...
So, until next time...



Friday, April 19, 2024

Winning...Sloane, Friends and Cinnamon Rolls


Good morning, friends...Just a (short post) today...lolol...  Not much has happened since I last spoke with you.  Ruth Ann is slowly improving but...she still isn't minding the doctor's advice about not driving for several more weeks!  She showed up here saying she wanted a cup of Larry's coffee from the Jura Machine.  Did I tell you...lolol...yeah, probably not, butt...A tree's roots gave way, from all the rain we've had lately, and fell on Ruth Ann's house.  The back corner...knocked out power.... broke the electric pole.  Then her well-meaning neighbor came with his electrician ( I hesitate to call him that since no one produced a license...) to try and get her power back on...somehow breaking a water line???
Long story short, the "well-meaning" neighbor charged Ruth Ann $2200.00 and demanded his money that evening, after the work was done (no prior estimate given).  She got pissed, as you can imagine, drove to her bank... (not supposed to be driving) got a loan for it...called the neighbor to "damn-well" come get it.  He didn't want to produce an invoice but had to (handwritten on a piece of typing paper) in order for Ruth to get the loan.  He demanded cash...yeah...but the lady at the bank told Ruth that a Cashier's check would ruin his day because, all his information would be on the check and the IRS would be notified of the transaction...lol...Made me smile.  The guy supposedly has a construction business.  I don't think it's reputable.  He's sort of creepy, to me.  Cartel?  Who knows.  He owns a bunch of fancy stuff, but we never see him working...? Anyway, he has this huge fancy house...trucks...backhoes...and a sketchy workforce. I tried to tell Ruth Ann not to call on him for help but...she's thinking she'd get the "neighbors" discount...right.
Now she no longer wants to have anything to do with him (he got into her pocketbook) so the war is on.  This is what can happen if you use people you know, and something happens...just don't do it if you want to remain friends.
I'm staying OUT of it...




Meanwhile...back in my normal world, our grandson, William (in the Air Force stationed in Arkansas), Joined a 5K run and they won!  He's the one on the left side end in the red sweatshirt.  He thinks he'll stay in the AF.  He loves his new airbase and the people there.




William (R) and one of his new friends enjoying life...Lordy, we love this boychild...<3











Cousins Sloane and Arlis...That's Arlis' dad.  Country babies...




Always learning something new...





My purple roses are blooming...the bush is full of buds.








Isn't this a cute idea?  My daughter, Crystal had this made for Sloane out of a night suit that she no longer was able to wear.  A friend at her job made it. Too cute!






In case any of you have people following your blog that you'd "rather they didn't"...here's how you fix things.  I had one blogger that decided they'd like to constantly say rude and ugly things that finding a solution was a must!  It took a lot of searching but I finally figured it out.  This works on any blog...commercial or not. If they "follow" your blog...you can dump them, permanently!











Thursday, we got to enjoy a meet-up with my Blogger Buddy, Linda and Louis Dean Chapman from Irving, Texas!  They have a little place located in a nearby town that they call, The Ranch.  Well, since we live so close, we decided the best thing to do was to have a meet-up.  And we did!  Talk about a sweet couple!  We laughed the whole time...ate some good food and promised to get together again, real soon.  What a blessed day... 






My plate...yes, I gained a pound...again!  But it was worth it.  How often do you get to make new friends and have a good lunch?






Me and my hubby, Larry.  









Ann  has sent another beautiful card!  This one is absolutely gorgeous!  I better get my butt settled long enough to get one back to her!  It's a 3D kind of card with different layers...it's so pretty!
Thank you, Ann!!  I love it! 




And yes...I'm bad.  I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, this morning.  Bad Donna!!!  I only had one...with hot coffee...it was so good... I guess I'll need to add about 3,000 steps to my walk, today.  Bad Donna   ; o)

Well, I guess that's about it for me this morning.  Hope you all are enjoying warm or cool breezes...a hot or cold beverage and are safe from harm.
ALSO...I found 5 comments in my Spam folder!  You might want to check your's...
So... until next time...


Thursday, April 11, 2024

Eclipse...Toys, Surgery and Cherokee

Good morning, Friends...I'm sure everyone has had their fill of eclipse photos, by now.  Our grandson, William, took some with his Android phone and sent them to me.  Well done Will!  Beats mine! lol
Then...Remember I told you that Ruth Ann's knee surgery was to be last Thursday and if all went well...she should be home the next day at noon? Yes...well...we are talking about my sister who does things...her way and in her own time.  
 



William's photo...cool shot!




My photo...lololol...oh well.





It really got dark here.  The patio lights came on!









And of course, I had to edit Sloane's photo from color to black and white in honor of the last eclipse Larry and I will see, in our lifetimes!  The next one is 2044...I don't see myself lasting to age 92.  Maybe Larry, but not me.





Ruth Ann's recovery (in hospital) took 5 days...should have only taken a day and a half.  First, the pain medication, Oxycontin (!!!) made her sick...so there went a day and a half.  Then she decided several of the nursing staff were ugly to her...which in turn, made her less cooperative.  She wouldn't get up and walk!  Had to have two nurses hold her up to go to the bathroom...She and I had a few choice words for each other and several times, I had to leave the room and come home.  I was there daily...but there's only so much hard-headedness I can take.  Finally, by day 5, she was more than willing to get moving.  She got up and walked the hall just to show the rehab director what she could do.  If the director approved of her progress, she could go home.  Oh...did I mention it was raining that day?  Pouring, in fact?  No?  Well, it was.  It was adding insult to injury for me...lol...but I pushed forward.  Director approved and we were out of there.  It was pouring at her house.  Nothing for it but to slosh through it and get her into the house!  And she did it admirably...lolol...first step out of the car?  About 5 inches of water!  Couldn't help it...nowhere else to park that wasn't flooded.  The drive to her house was full of flooded roads and me turning around several times!  I finally went on an old gravel road we'd traveled since we were kids and splashed through.  Made it up the hill and then I had to stop the car at her gate...yes...I had to get out and open said gate.  Lightening made me hurry as well as the sideways rain...lol...oh yeah.
By the time we made it to her covered porch, we were soaked.   
Then later, after I got her settled in...she told me she needed a nap and that she wanted me to go home...fine, I went home...peeled off all my drenched clothes and started the wash.  About an hour later, she calls to tell me I needed to go get her medicine at the pharmacy...that delivers...but she doesn't like to do that...strange people delivered things to your house...that is unacceptable!  Well...by then, I found it really easy to tell her that when she called the pharmacy... to tell them to deliver her meds because I wasn't going out into the storm again!
She ended up calling and they delivered her meds...nothing else said to me about it.
Oh, and just so you know?  She's walking around just fine.  I wouldn't have ever left her if she couldn't walk, argument or not.
PS- Some of you may be wondering where my husband is while I'm dealing with my sister and her problems...He takes care of his 98yr old father...doctor appointments...house, yard...hospital, etc.  I refuse to ask him to come with me to basically, babysit my sister.  We just come if there's a real problem with either family member.  Otherwise, we give each other a break.  If we both were working, with both his dad and my sister, it would cause burnout really fast.  He's 76 and I'm 72.  We've learned to help each other out...when I come home, Larry has prepared whatever I need...breakfast, lunch or supper...housework.  I do the same for him.  We each, are there for one another.  It works.




One of the days I was there, I needed lunch...so I made my way to the cafeteria in the basement of the hospital.  Big mistake.  $12 dollars for this?  And by the way?  My diet is messed up so I'm having to start over...I'm 2 1/2 pounds up...  :o(







In other news...I bought a Zwilling pump.  LOVE it.  Now I can save fruit to eat 5 to 10 days longer than in just normal storage Ziplocs.  It pulls out all the air.  This glass bowl came with it and 4 different sized bags.  I also ordered extra bags.  You preppers out there would love this!  $102.  Well worth it...the food that it'll save us...will pay for itself in no time.  You can get just the unit, by itself, for $89.  But you'll need the reusable bags.




No more ruined bread before we can finish a loaf!





My granddaughter, Samantha, sent these photos of Everett (granson inlaw) finding these arrowheads on their land.  The Cherokee use to live and roam this area, years ago.  No telling what else he'll find if he keeps digging.
Well, now that I've written a novel for you today, I'll let you get to it...Have a sweet and peaceful day.
Until next time...


Friday, April 5, 2024

Bones and Sloane, Cooking and Keys.




Good morning, Friends...It's been a rather busy week for us.  Cooking, cleaning, Ruth Ann's knee surgery and Easter.  
Hope you all enjoyed the holiday and rejoiced in His gift of life...to us.

 


Sloane was, in particular, interested in what the rose smelled like...lolol



Very interesting! lol...  We think she liked it.  Her hands and face a bit dirty from running around the yard picking up bunny eggs...Why is the egg a symbol of Easter?  The eggs represent new life...so sweet.




Samantha, Sloane and Everett...



Sopapilla Cheese Cake... SO good!!  (There again, I got to have one tablespoon of it while family ate the rest.)











Air fryer "chicken fried steak"...Batter was egg wash and ground up pork rinds.  Good and satisfied my "crunch" desire.  And a very small amount of potato soup...I still lost weight.  You can have a cheat day, once a week...but I don't usually do it.










The G key on my new computer was hard to hit, causing me to make mistakes when I typed.
I popped the letter G off the board to see the problem.  The rubber key stop was misaligned...so, I placed a tiny bit of paper towel on top of the rubber then put the key back on.  Much better but sad that it's a new keyboard and I had to make the adjustment!






My roses are blooming everywhere!





Cinnamon rolls done in my Cosori  air fryer...Larry said he loved them!







Believe it or not...I am now down 7.7 lbs!  I'm pretty excited about it.  I just eat locarb or no carb...any kind of meat...cheeses...fish...occasional piece of fruit... Coffee with my usual creamer but I changed from regular sugar to monk fruit sugar.  It tastes just like sugar but it's healthy.  Pounds are coming off in ounces but that's fine with me.  I've had a few 1-pound losses but only two.  Slow and steady!  I don't want to have to do this again!  And I refuse to buy a new wardrobe!    And I continue to walk 3-5000 steps a day.  I'm far from being obese...not even close...but...when you feel fat...do something about it.  My sister, Ruth Ann, underwent knee surgery yesterday...her weight, over the years, caused her knee bones to grind on one another.  Now they're bone on bone...both of them.  I have to pick her up today from the hospital.  Hopefully, she did as the nurses asked and got out of the bed and walked.  We'll see when I get there.  The operation only took an hour!






Easter goodies for Sloane...




I made a banana pudding... (no, I didn't have a bowl, but I did enjoy a spoonful...lol...still lost weight and got to satisfy my tastebuds at the same time. 
Larry and family enjoy my baked goods.  Larry can just turn over in bed and drop 20 pounds...lol








When Ruth Ann gets nervous, she talks...constantly...to the nurses...doctors...holding them up from doing their jobs.  I had to finally step in and gain some control of the situation by "gently" reminding her that the more she held these people up...the longer she'd be there.  She took my meaning.  Her doctor finally stopped in before surgery, and before he left the room, prayed for her and his hands to be guided by God.  I loved it!  And it calmed Ruth Ann right down.  I also have her permission to take photos of her to post on my blog, only.  I have a Facebook account...have had since 2009.  I really don't post much over there anymore.  I'm finding some of the people I follow to be posting some silly garbage, games, memes...not from their lives...hence, I'm not there much...I just mainly keep up with a few sweet friends and family. And yes...If you're a blogger friend, I keep up with you!  





Well, I guess I've bored you enough this morning...I know you are excited to get to work or that laundry...lol
Have a bright and beautiful day!
Until next time...