Spring beginnings

Gee, it's been so long since I blogged that I almost forgot my password. LOL!

Well here is a pic of my new "Topsy Turvey" tomato planter. I have two tomato and one crookneck squash in it. I will post another pic later on in the season when hopefully it is full of veggies.

This is the progress of the wall to hide the propane tank. I am going to buy a couple of Virginia Creeper plants to cover the wall. Also we are going to make a little flower garden in front of it.

Jerry bought a newer riding lawn mower and is enjoying it. The place always looks so much nicer when the lawn is mowed. I love the smell of a freshly mowed lawn. Ummmmmm!

This is cilantro that I planted. They are big enough to be outside now. I started crookneck, zucchini, cucumbers and the cilantro by starting to grow the seeds indoors last month.

Saw something unique this morning looking out the bedroom slider: There was a male house finch sitting on top of a pine tree. This little bird has a bright red chest. I suddenly noticed a hummingbird bobbing around him as if he was a flower. You had to see it to really appreciate how amazing and funny it looked. I just put the hummingbird feeders out last weekend and already we have quite a few hummers visiting.

Rosemary made me do it!

See what Rosemary has done to me? Every time she mentions a type of delicious candy I have to go out and buy some. LOL

I know it's not Rosemary's fault, it's mine because I am addicted to chocolates. I need help!

Maybe if I blogged more I would have less time to eat the baaaaaddddd treats. They are so divine though!!!

Looks like Happy has had too many treats as well. No not chocolate! I give her those tiny doggie biscuits instead. One choc for me and a doggie treat for her. Really she's taking a nap since it's raining outside. She's 11 going on 12 so she doesn't bounce from room to room like a pup.

Here is a pic of green lawn coming back. What a nice sight to see after all the snow.

Last week we had three days of pure sunshine. I was able to get out and tidy up some of the garden areas. The sun felt sooooo good on my bare skin. I got to wear shorts and a tank top it was so warm.

Took a trip to Seattle a few weeks ago which was fun. Nice weather the whole weekend we were there. Can't leave Seattle without stopping at Trader Joe's for my favorite goodies. I love there Roasted tomato and garlic soup in a carton. I buy those Rosemary and Garlic crackers to crush up into the soup and it's divine. There now, everyone can buy that and become healthier instead of eating all those chocolates. Too bad the closest Trader Joe's is in Seattle for us here in the Inland Northwest.

Happy Easter everyone!!

Cherry Cordials

Oh no! I was in Rosauers this afternoon and I hadn't eaten lunch. You know what they say about going shopping on an empty stomach? It's not advisable because you tend to buy junk food. Yep, I was looking for the bread aisle and had to walk past the candy section to get to the bread. Guess what jumped out at me? Those Cherry Cordials Rosemary is always talking about. I had to buy a bag out of curiousity. I now have them h0me and I am afraid to eat one for I might become addicted. Wonder if there is a 12 step program if I get hooked LOL. It might be something like this:
1) Avoid the candy sections in all stores.
2) Take a friend with you if you go to a store and tell them to keep you away from the candy aisle.
3) Don't visit people who you know have Cherry Cordials in their cupboards.
4) Make new friends who are diabetics because you know they can't eat Cherry Cordials.
5) If you accidently run into a situation where there are Cherry Cordials, put your hands in your pockets and leave the building immediately.
6) If someone puts a Cherry Cordial in your hand, run to the nearest sink and send it down the garbage disposal.
7) Admit to your friends that you have a problem when it comes to Cherry Cordials. If they are real friends they will help you get past the cravings.
8) If by chance you absolutely find it necessary to eat a Cherry Cordial, call your sponsor immediately and explain what caused your break down. Everyone slips once in a while.
9) Keep your sponsors phone number on your cell phone under "In case of an emergency".
10) Attend group meetings with people with the same problem.
11) Do not try to disguise the Cherry Cordial in order to eat it.
12) DO NOT take Cherry Cordials in cars, buses, planes or trains. Too tempting in confined spaces.

AND MY CAT SCAN SHOWED NO ABNORMALTIES???

Occasional Blogger

Well what can I say? I am not a frequent blogger am I? Things just seem to happen and I just don't have the enthusiasm to write. Now I have to think of all the things that I want to blog about that have happened in the last month.

I have seen many movies: The Reader, Gran Torino, Slumdog Millionaire and International. I think out of all 4 of those Slumdog Millionaire was the best. I thought Clint Eastwood was great in Gran Torino though.

Most of the snow is still on the ground and the temps are still cold. Mornings in the low 20's and only getting up to maybe high 30's during the day. I can't wait till Spring. I think February is the month most of us living in the Pacific Northwest get a bad case of Cabin Fever.

The 16th of February was a sad day for me. I lost the love of my life 4 years ago. I still think of him a lot and all the gardening we used to do together. We had an amazing landscaped garden when we lived in Sandpoint. The neighbors said that we did enough work in 2 yrs that most people took 20 to do.

Have had some health issues lately(daily headaches) and had to have a CAT scan done on my head/brain/sinuses. Guess what? The results showed nothing abnormal thank God! I do have a functional brain too!! Yippee! I have been sleeping a lot. On my days off I can sleep most of the day. What a waste that is. Another Dr appointment this coming Thursday so hopefully he will have some good ideas of what is going on with me. I kind of have a good idea but will wait and see what the good ole doc has to say.

The house I take care of 3 times a week has a kitten named "Midnight". He is pure black from head to toe. We have become very good friends. He follows me around most of the day (in between his little naps) I have become very attached to him. Gave him a paper grocery bag to play in last Friday and he had so much fun. Animals are a blessing when you aren't feeling up to par. He just purrs and purrs when I am close to him. What a sweetie! I always give him a kiss on the head when I leave.

Had another moose siting last Tuesday morning. This one was shedding so it looked a bit scraggly. I heard our dog "Happy" barking and barking and when I looked out the window she was about 6 feet away from this moose. It looked like the moose was about to charge (head down and pawing at the ground) I yelled at Jerry to get Happy in the house. Fortunately she is very well trained and came inside right away. Whew that was a scare! The moose hung out for awhile then headed north across wide open territory. What a site! I noticed it was about a month ago when we saw the two moose here. Hmmmmm what a coincident. I will have to watch for moose around the 17th of March to see if any arrive.

Happy is getting up in age (just like me) and she just loves to chase the golf disc and brings it back to your feet for another throw. We are trying to limit her running because the next day she can barely walk. She just thinks she is still a pup. The other day she was running across the snow to get the disc and must have fallen into a hole. She limped around for the rest of the day. I have a vet appointment for her this Thursday (after my doctor appointment) to get her shots updated and have the vet look at her legs and feet. We give her Glucosamine daily for her joints but maybe she needs more. She also needs her toenails clipped and since they are pure black I am afraid of going into the quick. Looks like I have a busy week ahead of me. Monday: Spokane Movers bookkeeper to help me with the monthly bookkeeping duties. Tues/Wed: Housekeeping job. Thurs: Doctor and Vet appointments. Fri: Housekeeping job. Guess I won't have much time to sleep this week! LOL.

I know there is more to blog about but can't think right now. Maybe later.

Out and about

Up until a week ago Friday, I had never been downtown Spokane to a place called River Park Square. It has a lot of stores and a 20 theater movie house. It was the movies that introduced me to this location. My neighbor friend Patty invited me to go and see the movie "Doubt" with Meryl Streep a week ago Friday. We went and picked up Patty's sister and took off for the 9:15pm showing. Reasons we go to the late show is because Patty's sister works nights and she sleeps most of the day on Friday (her day off), also the parking isn't bad and there are fewer people in the movie so we get good seats. I got home that night at 12:30. Ugh, I am not a night person. Also the movie wasn't that good. I thought it was very slow and drab. It definitely leaves a doubt in your mind though.

This last Friday we went to dinner at a place called "Sawtooth Grill" inside the square and then caught the 9:45pm showing of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" starring Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett. It was a great movie and I recommend it to all. It's funny, sad and romantic. I didn't get home till 1:30am. It was a 2hr 48 min movie!

So now I go out with the girls every Friday night to a movie and maybe dinner if we can afford it.
I think next Friday we are going to see "Defiance".

I really miss going to the movies with you, Rosemary. Remember, we used to have to wait weeks sometimes for something decent to come to our one movie house in Sandpoint. Then those same movies would stay for almost a month. Now every time I go to the movies here in Spokane I will think of you. I miss you.

I love moose

First of all you all have to know how excited I get when I see a moose. I just love these goofy, awkward and unpredictable creatures. Our house is full of moose items such as clocks, mirrors, stuffed animals, picture frames, coffee cups, candle holders, slippers, a log bed with a metal insert in the headboard of a moose and I even have a futon with moose fabric. I have just too many to list. You get the picture though.

When I moved from Sandpoint where I saw moose often, either in the garden or on the road. I didn't think I would see moose here in Spokane. The first time Jerry said there was a moose in the yard I didn't believe him. But sure enough he wasn't kidding. From that day if I hear Jerry say there is a moose I am jumping to see it. I am usually asleep when they wander thru in the early morning. Yesterday was no exception. It was 7am and I jumped out of bed when I heard Jerry say "Barb, there's a moose". There were in fact two moose and they were rather large. Here are some of the pics I took. I was almost late for work because I couldn't stop watching them. I didn't even care that they were eating our Arborvitae bushes.

Anyone tell me how to move the pics to where I want them on the page? I wanted these at the bottom not the top.

Let it snow let it snow!

OK, I can't figure out how to get the last paragraph up to the top here. So you will have to see the pics first then read later.


This was taken out the back master bedroom slider.




This is the driveway and my car after snow blowing.





The little house in the background is where we set up the kitties when it got so cold last week. Lowest temp got down to -12 degrees. We set up a dresser by the front window and draped an electric blanket over it along with another blanket on top. We left the little side window open and placed a log (you can see on the left side) so the kitties could scamper up and into what we call the pump house. (it houses the pump that runs our well.) Once we picked them up and carried them into the house they seemed to be happy just sitting in the window watching the snow fly. There food and a little heater are in there too. They have a heated water dish by the back door that they can still get to when thirsty. Oh, and that's Jerry snow blowing.



Here is Happy walking in the snow blowed path. She loves the snow and tries to make snow angels.


This is my car and it's not an SUV. Just a little all wheel drive Subaru wagon.




Ah, just in time for Christmas. We got snow bombed today and yesterday. Started around 7am yesterday morning and finally stopped around 3pm today. We shoveled and snowblowed what seemed like forever. Snow blowed the neighbors driveway too. We are still stuck at home though because the streets haven't been plowed yet where we live (outside city limits of Spokane WA) so what else is there to do but stay home and wait. Here are a few pics I took this morning. Watching the news all day and we now have an accumulation of 23 inches of snow over a 24 hour period. Now it is suppose to get down below 0 degrees again for the next few days. Snow forcast for Sunday again. Just as well my foot is healed enough I can help with the shoveling.